Sixty-five years after Julie Andrews made her Broadway debut in The Boy Friend, Menier Chocolate Factory’s revival of the Sandy Wilson ode to '20s musicals has found its cast.
Returning to Menier as director is Matthew White, who previously helmed productions of She Loves Me and Little Shop of Horrors, among others. He’ll direct a cast including Jack Butterworth (Hamilton) as Bobby van Husen, Olivier Award winner Janie Dee (Carousel, Comic Potential) as Mme Dubonnet, Adrian Edmondson (Neville’s Island) as Lord Brockhurst, Tiffany Graves (Sweet Charity) as Hortense, Dylan Mason (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) as Tony, Amara Okereke (Les Misérables) as Polly, and two-time Olivier nominee Issy van Randwyck (Fascinating Aida, Kiss Me Kate) as Lady Brockhurst. Complete casting will be announced at a later date.
Set in Madame Dubonnet's finishing school in the French Riviera, the musical follows a group of young girls as they grow up and fall in love.
The production begins previews November 22, with an opening set for December 3. The Boy Friend is scheduled to run until March 7, 2020.
Joining the creative team are choreographer and associate director Bill Deamer, set and costume designer Paul Farnsworth, lighting designer Paul Anderson, sound designer Gregory Clarke, hair and wig designer Richard Mawbey, musical supervisor Simon Beck, and orchestrator David Cullen
The Boy Friend originally opened in London in 1953 and on Broadway in 1954, the later production turning a then-unknown Julie Andrews into a star.