Workshop presentation announced for new jukebox musical SMALLTOWN BOY
A forthcoming workshop presentation of new jukebox musical, Smalltown Boy, has been announced, featuring some of the West End’s best performers.
With a book by Jeffrey Fischer-Smith, and orchestrated and music directed by Mark Crossland, this invite-only industry presentation marks the next step toward a full commercial production.
Smalltown Boy is set to the iconic sounds of the 1980s New Wave era, exploring love, rebellion, and the search for belonging.
Set in New York’s East Village in the summer of 1983, the show follows a teenage runaway who flees suburbia and is swept into the city’s underground New Wave scene - just as the AIDS crisis emerges and the world around him begins to close in.
Featuring 22 iconic tracks including ‘Smalltown Boy’, ‘Tainted Love’, ‘This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)’, ‘Always’, and ‘True Colors’, the musical delivers a fierce, funny, and universally resonant story of identity, survival, and chosen family, using the LGBTQ+ experience as its emotional point of departure.
The workshop cast includes Aimie Atkinson (Pretty Woman, West End; SIX The Musical, West End/UK Tour) as Jenny New Wave, Benjamin Cameron (The Book of Mormon, International tour) as Simon, Rosanna Hyland (Back To The Future The Musical; Elf, West End) as Madga, Rob Fowler (Bat Out of Hell, West End/Toronto'/UK & International tour) as John, Aonghas Ewen (Sleeping Beauty, Belgrade Theatre) as Scotty, Adam Filipe (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Titanic, UK tour) as Max, Jack Butterworth (Here We Are, National Theatre; Kiss Me, Kate, Barbican) as Robbie, Grace Mouat (13 Going on 30, Manchester Opera House; Mean Girls, West End) as Julia, Kat Ronney (Titanique, West End; Hex, National Theatre) as Lisa, Jo Foster (Into The Woods, Bridge Theatre; Why am I so Single, West End) as Deeds, Lucca Chadwick Patel (Mean Girls; Mamma Mia!, West End) as Rick, Liv Andrusier (Fiddler on the Roof, Regents Park Open Air Theatre; RIDE, Curve/Southwark Playhouse) as Thal, and Olly Manley (Hairspray, UK tour; Jersey Boys, West End/UK Tour) as Dave.
The industry presentations will take place @sohoplace in London on 13 March.
Smalltown Boy is a new musical directed by Jonathan O’Boyle, with casting by Harry Blumenau Casting, dramaturgy by Ken Cerniglia, and sound design by Chris Whybrow.
Book writer Jeffrey Fischer-Smith said: “Smalltown Boy was born out of a deep love for the music and spirit of the 1980s - a time of extraordinary creativity and profound loss. This music defined a generation. Our hope is to honour its emotional power while telling a story that is urgent and contemporary. At its heart, this is a story about young people finding family when the world feels uncertain. I’m thrilled to be collaborating with this extraordinary creative team as we take the next step in bringing the piece to the stage.”