Carly Anderson & Samuel Edwards to Lead UK Premiere of XANADU at Southwark Playhouse

Casting is announced today for the UK Premiere of the smash-hit Broadway musical comedy Xanadu.

Carly Anderson will star as Kira, Samuel Edwards as Sonny, Alison Jiear as Melpomene, Lizzy Connolly as Calliope, Micha Richardson as Erato, Joel Burman as Terpsicore, Nicholas Duncan as Thalia and Emily McGougan as Euterpe.

Carly Anderson is currently appearing in Sunny Afternoon at the Harold Pinter Theatre in the West End. Her other theatre credits include Candide at the Menier Chocolate Factory, My Fair Lady at Sheffield Crucible and the national tours of South Pacific and The Sound of Music.

Samuel Edwards is currently playing the lead role of Fiyero on the national tour of Wicked. His West End credits include Les Miserables, Ghost and Wicked, as well as The Sound of Music at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.

Alison Jiear was most recently seen wowing the nation as a semi-finalist in this year's Britain's Got Talent. She was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Shawntel in Jerry Springer The Opera, a part she played at both the National Theatre and in the West End. Her other theatre credits include On the Town for English National Opera and Shoes at Sadler's Wells.

Lizzy Connolly is soon to appear in the World Premiere of Mrs Henderson Presents at Theatre Royal Bath. She was most recently seen as Jolene in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Savoy Theatre in the West End.

Micha Richardson has appeared in the national tours of Legally Blonde and We Will Rock You.

Joel Burman is currently appearing in Legally Blonde at Kilworth House and recently completed a national tour of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Nicholas Duncan is currently appearing in the West End production of Matilda. His other theatre credits include the national tours of Oliver! and Avenue Q as well as Mamma Mia! in the West End.

Emily McGougan recently appeared in Carrie at the Southwark Playhouse where she made her professional debut.

Xanadu is the hilarious roller skating musical adventure based on the 1980s cult movie classic which starred Olivia Newton John and Gene Kelly. Kira, the magical and beautiful Greek muse, descends from the heavens of Mount Olympus for Venice Beach, California, on a quest to inspire a struggling artist, Sonny, to achieve the greatest artistic creation of all time - the first roller disco... Well hey, it is 1980! But, when Kira falls into forbidden love with the mortal Sonny, her jealous sisters take advantage of the situation and chaos abounds. Xanadu features the chart topping songs from the film: "Magic", "Suddenly", "I'm Alive", "Evil Woman", "All Over the World" and of course, "Xanadu"!

Xanadu originally opened at the Helen Hayes Theatre on Broadway in 2007 where it ran for over 500 performances, winning the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical and a Drama Desk Award for Best Book. It was also nominated for four Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Actress, Best Book of a Musical and Best Choreography. The musical broke the Helen Hayes one-day box office record the day after the reviews came out.

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