Laura Benanti and Julian Ovenden Join Studio Cast Recording of JO - THE LITTLE WOMEN MUSICAL

Tony Award winner and five-time Tony Award nominee Laura Benanti will play Marmee March and Olivier nominated West End and Broadway star Julian Ovenden, Father, in a new musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s iconic coming-of-age novel Little Women.

Jo - The Little Women Musical, with music by Dan Redfeld, book and lyrics by Christina Harding and John Gabriel Koladziej, will get its world premiere with a Studio Album to be recorded in January at London’s iconic Abbey Road Studios featuring a mix of Broadway, West End and international stars and a 29-piece orchestra, produced by five-time Grammy nominee and three-time Emmy winner Nigel Wright and Dan Redfeld.

The recording session will be followed by the release of several tracks and videos, the album and the full show will be presented in semi-staged concert on the West End, directed by JoAnn M. Hunter (20 Broadway shows to her credit as a Choreographer including Bad Cinderella and School of Rock, Associate Choreographer and Performer. Most recently Director of SuperYou a new Rock Musical at Curve, Leicester and Choreographer of the upcoming Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat UK tour starring Donny Osmond).

Jo - The Little Women Musical studio album will be released under Grammy® winning record label Center Stage Records.

The date, theatre and ticket onsale for the West End concert will be announced in the coming weeks.

Laura Benanti, a Tony Award® winner and five-time Tony Award® nominee, took Broadway by storm at the age of 18 as Maria in The Sound of Music and has subsequently starred in 10 more Broadway shows (musicals, straight plays, comedies, and dramas) including Into the Woods, Nine (opposite Antonio Banderas), Gypsy (for which she won a Tony Award), She Loves Me, My Fair Lady, and Steve Martin’s Meteor Shower opposite Amy Schumer and Keegan-Michael Key. Benanti recently debuted her highly celebrated solo comedy show, Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares,which she created, wrote, and starred in. This New York Times critic pick is available for streaming on Audible. She co-starred in the hit film No Hard Feelings with Jennifer Lawrence and Matthew Broderick and guest stars on TV’s Gilded Age, Life & Beth (created by and starring Amy Schumer), and Elsbeth. Laura earned rave reviews for her portrayal of a grieving widow in Netflix’s film Worth, starring Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci, and Amy Ryan. She can be seen in the film Goodrich opposite Michael Keaton and Everything’s Going to Be Great with Bryan Cranston and Allison Janney. Her iconic impression of Melania Trump on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is widely praised. Other TV work includes Younger, Ziwe, Gossip Girl, Supergirl, Nashville, and Inside Amy Schumer (among many others).

Julian Ovenden’s theatre work includes leading roles at The Donmar Warehouse; the Almeida; the Theatre Royal Haymarket; the Young Vic; the RSC; the Roundabout in NYC, and in the West End and on Broadway. His recent stage work includes starring opposite Gillian Anderson in Ivo van Hove’s All About Eve and playing Emile de Becque in the smash-hit revival of South Pacific, directed by Daniel Evans at Chichester Festival and Sadler’s Wells ,for which he was nominated for the 2023 Olivier Award for Leading Actor in a Musical. Julian has starred in many TV shows on both sides of the Atlantic, including Downton Abbey, Foyle’s War, Person of Interest, Any Human Heart, Knightfall, Smash, The Crown, The Sound of Music and Adult Material. Recent screen work includes NCIS: Tony & Ziva, the second season of Armando Ianucci’s Avenue 5, the global hit Bridgerton,  Shonda Rimes and The People You Hate At The Wedding. Julian recently filmed the second season of Trigger Point for Jed Mercurio. As a singer, Julian has headlined at some of the world’s great venues, including Lincoln Center; Carnegie Hall; Sydney Opera House; the Royal Opera House; the Concertgebouw; Theatre Royal Drury Lane; the London Palladium; the Royal Albert Hall; the Royal Festival Hall. He has been a recording artist for both Warner Music and Universal; his latest recording work includes a Broadway Duets album with the
American soprano Sierra Boggess and Carousel for John Wilson and the London Sinfonia.

Other cast previously announced for the album recording include:

Christine Allado (as Jo March) is a Grammy Award nominated artist. She was Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds in the original London cast of Hamilton (Victoria Palace Theatre), Cinderella in Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends (Gielgud Theatre); Meat in We Will Rock You (London Coliseum); Tzipporah in The Prince of Egypt (Dominion Theatre).

Eleanor Grant (Beth March) was recently a guest soloist in the world premiere screening of Avatar LIVE (Royal Albert Hall). Her other credits include the film soundtracks Cinderella, Cruella, Puss in Boots and Disney’s live-action remakes of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid.

Rob Houchen (Theodore “Laurie” Laurence) is about to open in Titanique in the West End. His other West End credits include Sondheim’s Old Friends,  South Pacific, The Light in the Piazza and the Les Miserables All Star Concert.

Chris Mann (Professor Bhaer) is a critically-acclaimed singer, actor and viral comedian. He starred as The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera’s 25th Anniversary Tour for over 700 performances. His self-shot musical parody videos during covid have been viewed 600 million times. He appeared in Emmy-winning miniseries, Pam and Tommy, playing Motley Crüe’s legendary guitarist, Mick Mars.

Kelly Mathieson (Meg March) made her West End debut as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera and played the role for almost three years. Her other credits include Cinderella in Into the Woods (Lyric Theatre, Belfast), Nellie in South Pacific (Toulon Opera house) and Tonia in Dr Zhivago (London Palladium).

Sophie Pollono (Amy March) was Delia Abbott for five seasons on the long-running daytime soap opera Young and the Restless. She starred as the titular character in the Disney Channel limited series  Fastlayne. Her stage credits include the American premiere of Oppenheimer and the world premiere of My Girlfriend is an Alien.

Liam Tamne (John Brooke) was recently seen in The Baker’s Wife at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Assassins at Chichester Festival Theatre, and in the West End as Ted Hinton in Bonnie & Clyde, Ramses in The Prince of Egypt, Raoul in Phantom Of The Opera, Enjolras in Les Misérables, Fiyero in Wicked.