Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester has announced the full cast and creative team for its world stage premiere of To Wong Foo The Musical, based on the 1995, ground-breaking, cult drag queen film To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar.
The 1995 film featured an all-star cast including Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo, Stockard Channing, Robin Williams and Ru Paul. Set in 1990s New York, it tells the story of three drag queens, Vida, Noxeema and Chichi, who embark on a trip across America to attend the Drag Queen of the Year Finals in Hollywood.
The premiere of the stage version is at Hope Mill from October 21-December 17, and is written and directed by original film screenplay writer and multiple Tony award nominee Douglas Carter Beane, with music and lyrics by Lewis Flinn.
Peter Caulfield (Tammy Faye, Almeida, Jesus Christ Superstar, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) is Vida Boheme; Gregory Haney (TINA – The Tina Turner Musical, West End; Hamilton, Original Broadway Production) is Noxeema Jackson and Pablo Gómez Jones (In Dreams, Leeds Playhouse, Les Misérables, Mexico City) is Chichi Rodríguez.
Joining them are Carolyn Maitland (Next To Normal, Donmar Warehouse; Jersey Boys, West End) as Carol Ann; Duncan Burt (FRIENDSICAL, UK Tour) as Sheriff Dollard; Alexander Kranz as Bobby Ray (professional debut); Arthur Boan (OKLAHOMA!, West End) as Tommy Paul; Ayesha Maynard (Hairspray) as Beulah June; Emily Ooi (Miss Saigon, Sheffield Crucible) as Bobby Lee; Jermaine Woods (Sister Act, Apollo) as Willie Joe/John Jacob; Lee Harris (Les Misérables, West End) as Ed Earl/Crazy Elijah; Natalie Day (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Arts Theatre) as Mary Lou; Scott Hunter (The Play That Goes Wrong, West End) as Billy Budd; Susie Fenwick (Beautiful, UK Tour) as Clara Pearl; Samantha Bingley (Beauty and the Beast, London Palladium) as Rose of Sharon; Theo Maddix (Cabaret, The KitKat
Club) as Rachel Tensions/Jimmy Jack.
Also in the cast are Jamil Abbasi (Great British Bake-Off Musical, Noel Coward Theatre) and Megan Davies-Truin (Jerry Springer the Opera, Hope Mill Theatre).
More info and tickets here