West End regulars Dave Willetts, Siobhan McCarthy and Julie Atherton will star in the forthcoming world premiere of Pure Imagination at the St James Theatre.
Celebrating the songs of musical theatre composer Leslie Bricusse, Pure Imagination will run at the Victoria venue from 24 September to 17 October.
West End veteran Willetts returns to the London stage having notched up an impressive array of musical credits including lead roles in Les Misérables, The Phantom Of The Opera, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar and Sunset Boulevard, the latter of which earned him an Olivier Award nomination in 2009.
Fellow Olivier Award nominee McCarthy, who was recognised in 2000 for creating the role of Donna in Mamma Mia!, has a similarly impressive string of credits to her name. They include West End productions of Blood Brothers, Hairspray and Les Misérables, but the actress was more recently seen baking her way through the title characters’ victims in the acclaimed Harrington Pie Shop-based production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street.
Atherton, the second actress to play Sophie Sheridan in the London production of Mamma Mia!, joins the cast of Pure Imagination following performances in musicals including Avenue Q and Fame.
Completing the five-strong line-up are Superstar finalist Niall Sheehy (Miss Saigon, West End) and original The Book Of Mormon cast member Giles Terera, who also appeared opposite Atherton in Avenue Q.
For Pure Imagination’s premiere, the cast will lend their vocal talents to hit musical numbers including What Kind Of Fool Am I?, If I Ruled The World, Talk To The Animals, Le Jazz Hot, Feeling Good and Goldfinger, which comprise just a few of the 1,000 songs written by Bricusse during the course of his six decade career.
Directed by Christopher Renshaw, the show will begin its run at the St James Theatre following a season of plays celebrating Ukrainian culture and prior to Jules Verne’s much-loved adventure tale Around The World In 80 Days.