Finborough Theatre Announces All Star Lineup for West End Premiere of 'Ordinary Days'

Finborough Theatre's upcoming production of Ordinary Days – the musical's European premiere – will feature Julie Atherton, (Kate Monster in Avenue Q on the West End) as Claire; Kenneth Avery-Clark (of the West End's The Producers and The Drowsy Chaperone) as Jason; Hayley Gallivan (Follies in Concert at the London Palladium) as Deb; and Lee William-Davis (most recently of Mamma Mia! and Mary Poppins in the West End) as Warren.

The European premiere of this vibrant new musical introduces London to American composer and lyricist Adam Gwon, one of the most startlingly talented young musical dramatists working today.  Ordinary Days, which follows Deb as she loses her most precious possession – the notes to her graduate thesis – and unwittingly starts a chain of events that turns the ordinary days of four New Yorkers into something extraordinary, made its world premiere this summer at Pennsylvania Centre Stage, and will be seen at the 2008 NAMT Festival of New Musicals in New York.

In anticipation of the European premiere of Ordinary Days, Adam Gwon will be appearing in an exclusive concert featuring extracts from Ordinary Days and selected material from his other works, all performed by stars from the West End and Broadway.  The concert will take place on Saturday 1 November 2008 at St. Paul's, Knightsbridge.

Ordinary Days, directed by Adam Lenson, will play the Finborough Theatre, 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED on Monday 3, Sunday 9, Monday 10, Sunday 16 and Monday 17 November 2008.  All performances at 7.30pm. Tickets £18, £14 concessions, can be purchased at the Box Office on 0844 847 1652 or www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk.

Biographies

Julie Atherton made her West End debut as Sophie in Mamma Mia! and originated the roles of Kate Monster and Lucy The Slut in Avenue Q on the West End.  Other credits include Serena in Fame (Aldwych Theatre and National Tour), Kolokolo Bird in Just So (Chichester Festival Theatre), and, most recently, The Last Five Years (Theatre Royal Haymarket). As a founder member of the Notes from New York company she has starred in shows at the Donmar Warehouse, the Arts Theatre, the Trafalger Studios and the Duchess Theatre and has headlined both instalments of Christmas in New York at the Apollo Theatre and Lyric Theatre respectively.  www.julieatherton.com 

Kenneth Avery-Clark has appeared extensively in the West End, including the original London cast of The Producers (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), Ragtime (Piccadilly Theatre) and The Drowsy Chaperone (Novello Theatre). Most recently, Kenneth appeared in The Music Man at Chichester Festival Theatre. Other UK theatre includes Mamma Mia In Concert (Bournemouth Symphony), The Typographer's Dream (Menier Factory and Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Gideon in The Last Session (Hackney Empire), and Officer Barrel in the workshop of the Broadway hit Urinetown.

Hayley Gallivan's credits include playing Fruma Sarah in Fiddler on the Roof (National Tour), The Boy Friend and Lady Be Good (Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park) and Follies in Concert (London Palladium).

Lee William-Davis' theatre credits include Eddie in Mamma Mia! and Valentine in Mary Poppins (both at the Prince Edward Theatre, West End), Love's Labour's Lost (National Theatre), On the Town (English National Opera), Anything Goes (National Theatre), Aladdin (Old Vic), and the national tour of A Chorus Line.

Adam Gwon is a composer and lyricist whose musicals include Ordinary Days, Bernice Bobs Her Hair (with librettist Julia Jordan), Ethan Frome (with bookwriter Michael Ruby), and Lulu.  He is currently at work on an original musical with playwright Sarah Hammond, commissioned by Broadway Across America, and an adaptation of Joe Meno's The Boy Detective Fails, commissioned by Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA, as part of their American Musical Voices Project: The Next Generation.  Visit www.adamgwon.com.

Director Adam Lenson has assisted Nikolai Foster on the National Tour of Aspects of Love, Terry Johnson on La Cage Aux Folles at the Menier Chocolate Factory and Rachel Kavanaugh on The Music Man at the Chichester Festival Theatre.

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