Ben Richards to Star in SOME LOVERS at From Page To Stage Summer Festival; Further Casting Announced

Ben Richards returns to musical theatre in the premiere of Burt Bacharach and Steven Sater's SOME LOVERS - the head line show for Aria Entertainment's From Page To Stage (FPTS) Summer Festival at The Other Palace. With just 12 performances, the seats will be some of the hottest musical theatre tickets in Town this summer (Thursday 24 August - 2 September 2017)!

SOME LOVERS is the new musical from Tony and Grammy Award winning writer Steven Sater (Spring Awakening), and Academy Award, Grammy Award winning pop legend Burt Bacharach - his first score for the theatre since 1968's Promises Promises. A valentine to New York SOME LOVERS is a contemporary parable about the gifts we give one another -- a love story, set over twenty years.

Four actors play two characters, Ben and Molly, caught between the present and past. Ben will be played by Ben Richards (The Bodyguard, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert - West End, Footballers' Wives, Hollyoaks); Molly by Gemma Wardle (Betty Blue Eyes - West End, Eponine in Les Miserables - West End); Young Molly is Jenna Innes (Charlotte Donne in Animus - The Bridewell Theatre); and making his professional debut as Young Ben is Aaron Kavanagh who graduates from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland this month (July 2017.)

Steven Sater says: "Burt and I came to recognise how distinct our love songs were from those ubiquitous pop anthems of young love. Our love songs seemed invariably to express a sort of disaffection, a disappointment, a dark joy, or the renewed determination of a more mature, mid-relationship romance. What if we revisited that Depression-Era classic story, The Gift of the Magi? What became of those young Christmas lovers, twenty years after their happily ever after? And that was the beginning of SOME LOVERS."**

Burt Bacharach says: "Writing songs with Steven has been a different process for me because most of the time it's the lyrics that come first and then I set them to music. Steven is a very musical lyric writer and it is always a pleasure to take his lyrics with consummate ease and set them and feel very good about the result."

The creative team for SOME LOVERS: Director - Katherine Hare (Co-founder of Triptic, Resident Dir Sunny Afternoon - West End); MD - Jordan Li-Smith (Ragtime - Charing Cross Theatre); Choreographer - Philip Thomas (Tick Tick Boom! - Park Theatre); Designer - Nik Corrall (Tick Tick Boom! - Park Theatre, Ass Designer Marlowe Theatre); Lighting Designer - James Smith (Ass LD Wind In The Willows - London Palladium); Sound Designer - Chris Bogg (Yank! The Musical - Charing Cross Theatre.) SOME LOVERS is produced in association with SENBLA.

Also confirmed is a terrific cast of West End performers for You Know How To Love Me - A Charles Miller Celebration including: Carolyn Maitland (Ghost, Miss Saigon), Oliver Tompsett (Guys & Dolls, We Will Rock You, Wicked), Shona White (Mamma Mia, Wicked) and Miranda Wilford (Remembering Fred, Thriller Live!) in the Studio (18/08-19/08.) MD/Piano - David Randall and Cello - Sarah Bowler. Co-producer Guy James.

Aria Entertainment's From Page To Stage (FPTS) - a ground breaking International Summer Musical Festival for new musicals at the start of their musical theatre life, runs for three weeks at The Other Palace from MONDAY 14 AUGUST to SUNDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 2017.

**Steven Sater will be in London and available for interview, from the start of rehearsals for SOME LOVERS on 31 July 2017 through to the closing Closing Gala Concert of FPTS: An Evening Of Songs From Spring Awakening Creators Duncan Sheik & Steven Sater: 8pm on Sunday 3 September 2017.

FPTS Summer Festival: Monday 14 August - Sunday 3 September 2017.

The Other Palace - 12 Palace Street, Westminster, London SW1E 5JA.

Ticket prices from £7.50 - £20. (SOME LOVERS: ALL tickets £20).

For more information visit theotherpalace.co.uk or www.frompage2stage.com.

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