Carly Anderson, Samuel Edwards and Alison Jiear will lead the cast of Xanadu when the Drama Desk Award-winning musical comedy receives its UK premiere at Southwark Playhouse this autumn.
The Broadway import, which is based on the cult 1980s movie starring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly, will play from 16 October to 21 November.
Anderson, who can currently be seen in Olivier Award-winning hit Sunny Afternoon, will play Kira, the beautiful Greek muse made famous by Newton-John on screen, alongside Edwards, who follows roles in West End musicals Wicked, Les Misérables and Ghost The Musical to take on the role of struggling artist Sonny.
Olivier Award nominated actress Jiear, who is currently starring in The 3 Little Pigs at the Palace Theatre, will play Melpomene alongside a cast that also includes Dirty Rotten Scoundrels The Musical’s Lizzy Connolly, Nicholas Duncan (Matilda The Musical), Emily McGougan, who returns to Southwark Playhouse following her professional debut in Carrie: The Musical earlier this year, Micha Richardson and Joel Burman.
Featuring a book by Douglas Carter Beane with music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, Xanadu follows Kira as she descends from the heavens of Mount Olympus to inspire the talented Sonny to achieve the greatest artistic creation of all time: the first roller disco.
With musical numbers including Magic, Suddenly, I’m Alive, Evil Woman, All Over The World and the title track, Xanudu, the production will open at Southwark Playhouse’s Large auditorium following the forthcoming run of Harvey Fierstein’s Casa Valentina, which plays from 10 September to 10 October.