But I’m a Cheerleader: The Musical Extends London Run, Announces Temporary Pause and New Cast Members

But I’m a Cheerleader: The Musical, the stage adaptation of the cult film, has extended its engagement at London's The Turbine Theatre. The new musical, which began previews February 18 prior to an official opening February 23, was originally scheduled to run through April 16. Performances will now continue through May 8.

Producers also announced that the new musical will close April 17-18 to incorporate a few changes for its future life. New cast members are also on the horizon. Leslie Bowan will take over the role of André, and Kurt Kansley will step into the role of Mike at the end of April, while Lauren Soley and Owen McHugh will join the company as swings. Ruthie Stephens has joined the creative team as the resident director-choreographer.

Alice Croft stars as Megan Williams, the high school senior who loves cheerleading, joined by Oliver Brooks as Dad/Larry, Edward Chitticks as Jared/Rock, Damon Gould as André, Tiffany Graves as Mary Brown, Jodie Jacobs as Mom/Lloyd, Lemuel Knights as Mike, Evie Rose Lane as Graham, Harry Singh as Jalal, Jodie Steele as Kimberly/Hilary, Aaron Teoh as Dolph, and Kia-Paris Walcott as Sinead.

Based on the film of the same name, But I’m a Cheerleader was originally presented as part of MTFestUK at The Other Palace in 2019. The musical has a book and lyrics by Bill Augustin, music by Andrew Abrams, direction by Tania Azevedo, and choreography by Alexzandra Sarmiento.

The story follows Megan, an all-American high school cheerleader who has the perfect life—until she finds out her friends and family suspect her of being a lesbian and send her to a rehabilitation camp to set her straight.

Turbine Theatre Artistic Director Paul Taylor-Mills said, “The Turbine Theatre was always meant to be a safe space in which we could develop, shape, and hone work. For the last few months we have produced the sell-out musical But, I’m a Cheerleader and have learnt so much from our audiences. I’ve always acknowledged how crucial listening to the audience is in terms of how we learn more about where our show sits, and with whom it resonates. Our audience’s reactions have been wonderful and incredibly positive, many commenting on how wonderful it is to see two queer characters leading a musical. That said, we believe there is work still to do on our show and are therefore taking a short pause to make some adjustments. Following this we will be returning for a few weeks to finish off our triumphant run with what we hope will be the definitive (if that ever exists!) version of the show.…In light of the recent news today we’re desperate to try and do something meaningful and have set up a petition to Ban Conversion Therapy to everyone in the U.K. If you have a second to sign, then we’d be very grateful.” Visit Change.org.

The production features musical direction and orchestrations by Josh Sood, set and costume design by David Shields, lighting by Martha Godfrey, sound design by Chris Whybrow, projection design by George Reeve, and casting by Will Burton.

The London premiere is presented by Taylor-Mills and Bill Kenwright, in association with Adam Bialow, by special arrangement with Lionsgate.