Musical theatre stars bring glitter and hilarity to new musical MIDNIGHT AT THE PALACE
Casting has been announced for the world premiere of rebellious new musical, Midnight at the Palace, which plays at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer.
Inspired by The Cockettes, the iconic and flamboyant drag ensemble from San Francisco in the 1970s, a star-studded musical theatre cast will bring a night of radical joy and glitter-encrusted anarchy to the stage. Packed full of on-your-feet numbers and raucous hilarity, Midnight at the Palace dismantles the lines between art and showbiz, politics and performance.
The cast comprises of Andrew Horton (The Way Old Friends Do, Birmingham Rep) as radical flowers-in-guns founder Hibiscus, Baylie Carson (Mean Girls the Musical, West End) as founding member Sweet Pam, Gregory Haney (Hamilton, West End) as disco diva Sylvester, and Al Cammish (West Side Story, Birmingham Hippodrome) as troupe director Scrumbly. Also joining the glitter-fuelled hit are Al Knott (Starlight Express, Troubadour Wembley Park) as Harlow, Jordan Walker (Diva: Live From Hell, Turbine Theatre) as Link, Aaron Douglas (The Spider, Bush Theatre) as Irving, and Becky Sanneh (House of Cleopatra, Assembly Edinburgh) as Dusty Dawn.
Cast member Gregory Haney said: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of this glitter bomb of a show. We’re diving headfirst into the wild, fearless world of THE original counterculture trailblazers The Cockettes!!!
“For me this isn’t just a musical. It’s a rhinestone-studded celebration of radical joy, rebellion, and chosen family. What makes this show hit different is its heart. The cast and creative team pour real soul into the chaos. Rae Binstock’s script captures the raw, unfiltered spirit of a group that redefined gender, art, and identity. Paul McGill directs like a live wire!! His vision oozes with unpredictability and purpose, letting the story breathe and the characters burn bright. AND original score by Brandon James Gwinn which has some dangerously catchy songs impossible to forget.
“The Cockettes didn’t ask for permission. They didn’t follow rules. They built a world where anyone bold enough to be seen could belong. Now we’re taking that riotous, glitter-soaked spirit to the Gilded Balloon, and it won’t be the same after!! Dress code: Glitter and grins. You bring the sparkle, I'll bring the sass!!!”
The Cockettes’ iconic style will be brought to life by set and costume designers Allen and Adcock, alongside lighting designer Adam King, and features music and lyrics by Brandon James Gwinn, a book by Rae Binstock, and direction and choreography by Paul McGill.
Paying homage to the multi-decade journey of this legendary psychedelic group, Brandon James Gwinn's original score brings to life the electricity and excitement of The Cockettes in the 1970s for a modern-day audience. Midnight at the Palace offers a lens into this genre-pushing world in an eccentric and dazzling celebration of the queens who came before.