Glenn Carter and Robyn North Lead FLOYD COLLINS at Southwark Playhouse

Peter Huntley Productions, in association with Southwark Playhouse, will present Floyd Collins.

Floyd Collins delivers an account of the events that occur when a personal disaster becomes public news. This musical is an examination of the media’s reaction to the events in the cave, the various attempts to rescue Floyd.

Floyd Collins was commissioned by the American Music Theater Festival, Philadelphia, which produced its world premiere in 1994 and first produced in New York by Playwrights Horizons in 1996. It was the recipient of the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical (1996), an Obie for Best Score and seven Drama Desk nominations including Best Direction, Best Book and Best Musical. This production, specially conceived for the cavernous depths of Southwark Playhouse’s Vault space, marks its first London revival in over ten years.

Glenn Carter will star as Floyd Collins with Robyn North as Nellie Collins. Other confirmed cast members include Vlach Ashton as Reporter, Kit Benjamin as Carmichael, Dayle Hodge as Reporter and Dance Captain, Donovan Preston as Jewell Estes, Ryan Sampson as “Skeets” Miller and Jane Webster as Miss Jane. Further casting will be announced in the New Year.

Glenn Carter recently appeared in Exonerated (Charing Cross Theatre) after playing Tommy DeVito in the award-winning Jersey Boys (Prince Edward Theatre) and Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar on Broadway (recipient of the Drama League Most Outstanding Performance in a Musical Award), the West End and film. His other theatre appearances include Alfie (Theatre Royal, St Anne's), Chess (Prince Edward Theatre), Les Misérables (Palace Theatre), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (London Palladium), Grease, Whistle Down the Wind (Aldwych Theatre and tour), Hamlet (Ludlow Festival) and As You Like It (tour and USA). Glenn has performed at Derby Playhouse in Company, Macbeth, Arabian Nights, Into the Woods, Merrily We Roll Along and Moonlanding. Television work includes Ten Glorious Years, The Travelling Man, The Bill, Doctors and Psychoville.

Robyn North played Christine in The Phantom of the Opera (Her Majesty’s Theatre), a role she played for three years, and she recently appeared in the 25th birthday concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. Other theatre credits include Sophie de Palma in Master Class (Theatre Royal Bath/Chichester/National Tour), Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady (Cambridge), Stacy in Rebels and Retail (Trafalgar Studios), Miss Dorothy in Thoroughly Modern Millie (National Tour) in which she also covered the title role of Millie, Isabel/Helen in Scrooge (National Tour), Evita (Adelphi Theatre). Robyn recorded her debut album Make Believe at Abbey Road Studios, which features duets with fellow Phantom stars Ramin Karimloo and Leila Benn Harris. Other recordings include Evita, Maria in The Sound of Music, Guilietta in The Postman & The Poet (Jay Records). She appears regularly in concert internationally, and on Friday Night is Music Night. Television credits include Yummy Mummy's and she can be seen in the forthcoming series of Hustle.

Donovan Preston is currently understudying Elvis Presley in Million Dollar Quartet (Noel Coward Theatre). His other credits include Black in Michael John LaChiusa's The Wild Party (Bridewell Theatre) and Troy Bolton in High School Musical 1 and High School Musical 2 (DUCTAC Theatre, Dubai)

Ryan Sampson’s theatre credits includes The Kitchen Sink, 66 Books, Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Qur’an (Bush Theatre), Brighton Beach Memoirs (Watford Palace – TMA Award nomination for Best Supporting Performance in a Play), Canary (Liverpool Everyman, Hampstead Theatre), Dido, Queen of Carthage, DNA and The Miracle (National Theatre), A Brief History of Helen of Troy (Soho Theatre/UK Tour), Over Gardens Out (Southwark Playhouse), Richard III and Edward II (Sheffield Crucible). Television credits include Interns, Fresh Meat, After You've Gone, Doctor Who, Holby City, In Denial of Murder, Heartbeat and Wire in the Blood.

Jane Webster studied at the Royal Academy of Music. She was chosen by the BBC to represent England for the prestigious BBC’s Cardiff Singer of the World competition, and subsequently went on to make her solo principal operatic debut with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Scottish Opera. She made her West End debut in The Phantom of the Opera. She has recorded five solo vocal albums and has also been a regular Guest Artiste on The Good Old Days. She has sung with many of the great orchestras including The London Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra. Jane joined the original cast of The Sound of Music at The London Palladium and appeared in nearly 100 performances as The Mother Abbess. Most recently she has toured the UK in Annie as Mrs Greer and understudy Miss Hannigan and Scrooge as Mrs Fezziwig.

Director Derek Bond’s theatre credits include Saraband (Jermyn Street Theatre), Trying (Finborough), The Wonder! A Woman Keeps a Secret (White Bear, BAC). Credits as Associate Director include Enron (Noel Coward Theatre and UK Tour), Desperately Seeking Susan (Novello Theatre), Cabaret (Lyric Theatre), The Alchemist (National Theatre) and The History Boys (National Theatre, UK and International Tours and Broadway). He has been Artistic Associate at Theatre503 where credits include Playlist and Many Moons.

Designer James Perkins is one third of theatre collective paper/scissors/stone and resident designer for Charles Court Opera. Design highlights include The Girl in The Yellow Dress (Salisbury Playhouse), Matters of Life and Death (UK contemporary dance tour), Many Moons (Theatre 503), Beowulf (Charles Court Opera), Stockwell (Tricycle Theatre), The Marriage of Figaro (Wilton’s Music Hall), Saraband (Jermyn Street Theatre), Foxfinder, Trying (Finborough Theatre), Girls and Dolls and Colourings (Old Red Lion), Orpheus, Troy Boy (UK Tour), Iolanthe, The Way Through The Woods (Pleasance London), Pirates and Pinafore (Buxton Opera House), The Barber (Greenwich Theatre), The Faerie Queen (Lilian Baylis Theatre), and The Wonder (Old Red Lion, BAC).

Lighting Designer Sally Ferguson’s theatre credits include Many Moons (Theatre 503), Slowly (Riverside Studios), Red (BAC Scratch Season), Eschara, Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat (Northcott Theatre, Exeter), Whispers (Ajose-Cutting Dance for the The Place Prize) and the Firsts season (Linbury Studio), Colourings (Old Red Lion), and The Jailer's Tale (Arts Depot).

Musical Director Tim Jackson credits as an MD/Arranger/Composer include A Slice of Saturday Night (Upstairs at The Gatehouse), Dreamboats and Petticoats (UK Tour), The Merchant of Venice (Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds), The Boatswain's Mate and Ordinary Days (Finborough Theatre), Kean (Apollo Theatre) and Two Dreams.

Choreographer Richard Jones is currently appearing in Crazy For You (Novello Theatre). Previous credits include Me and My Girl (Sheffield Crucible), Dance Captain in Sweet Charity (Royal Haymarket and Menier Chocolate Factory), Hello Dolly! (Regent’s Park), Mary Poppins (UK Tour), and Chicago (International Tour). He recently choreographed The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Union Theatre).

Tina Landau is a writer and director whose original work includes the play Space, which premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre and Dream True. She also wrote and directed States of Independence (American Musical Theatre Festival, Philadelphia), 1969 (or Howie Takes a Trip) (Actors Theatre, Louisville), American Vaudeville (Alley Theatre, Houston) and In Twilite (American Repertory Theatre, Boston). Tina recently became a member of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company. She made her Broadway directing debut in 2001 with the revival of Bells are Ringing. (Plymouth Theatre, Broadway).

Adam Guettel’s newest musical, The Light in the Piazza, premiered on Broadway in 2005. It went on to receive six Tony Awards including two for Best Original Score, and Best Orchestrations as well as 5 Drama Desk Awards, including Best Music, and Best Orchestrations. Other credits include Saturn Returns which was recorded under the title Myths and Hymns. Adam was the recipient of the Stephen Sondheim Award (1990), the ASCAP New Horizons Award (1997), and the American Composers Orchestra Award (2005).

Peter Huntley Productions return to Southwark Playhouse after the critically-acclaimed The Belle’s Stratagem which was long listed for the Evening Standard Award for Best Director, the Time Out Award for Best Fringe Production and is nominated for Best Off-West End Production at the What’s On Stage Awards. Previous productions include The Kissing-Dance (Jermyn Street Theatre) and Austentatious (Landor Theatre).

Performances
22 February – 31 March 2012
Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm
Saturday matinees at 3.00pm

Box Office
Online
www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
24 HOURS/NO BOOKING FEES

By Telephone
020 7407 0234/NO BOOKING FEES

Ticket Prices
£10, £16.50, £22.50
‘Airline Style’ pricing. The earlier you book, the cheaper the tickets!

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