Producers of the new musical Opening Night, starring Sheridan Smith, have announced the arrival of new members to the cast ahead of its forthcoming run at the Gielgud Theatre from 6th March 2024.
West End regular Hadley Fraser, who has previously appeared in The Lehman Trilogy, City of Angels, and Les Misérables, will join the cast, alongside Shira Haas, the star of the popular Netflix series Unorthodox, who will make her West End debut in the production. Olivier Award nominees Amy Lennox, Nicola Hughes, and John Marquez, who recently starred at the Old Vic as Alfred Doolittle in Pygmalion complete the casting announcement.
The new musical features a book by Ivo van Hove and music and lyrics from singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright. Van Hove also directs the production and commented in a statement on the new musical, stating:
“I am truly delighted to be bringing this new musical to the West End and thrilled we’ve assembled such a stellar cast to join Sheridan. It is a real privilege to be collaborating with the wonderful Rufus Wainwright, fulfilling our ambition of bringing this tale of the trials and tribulations behind the scenes of the theatre to the stage.”
Taking its inspiration from John Cassavetes' 1977 movie, Opening Night follows the fortunes of a theatre company as they prepare to stage a new Broadway play. But after the leading lady is hit by tragedy, drama flares up behind the scenes, and her turmoil forces the rest of the company to deliver the performance of a lifetime.
Further casting will be announced at a later date.
Booking & Theatre Information For Opening Night
The Gielgud Theatre is a medium size West End theatre that has three levels of seating with a capacity of 974 seats.
Premium seats in the theatre are located towards the middle of the Stalls section, just below the overhang from the Dress Circle. Patrons sitting up close to the front of the Stalls may miss some of the action at the rear of the stage, due to the height of the stage so aim to sit in rows N-P for the best overall experience.
The Gielgud Theatre also has three boxes at the rear of the Dress Circle enabling you to watch the production with added privacy, all of which boast a dedicated private entrance and quick access to the toilets and the bar in the interval.
The elevated sections of the theatre offer good value for those on a budget looking for lastminute shows or cheap tickets to Opening Night however, due to the shape of the Dress Circle, a number of these seats have a slightly restricted view of the stage, in particular towards the end of rows A and B which face the stage at an angle. There is also good value to be found in the Grand Circle but as always it is recommended to study the seating plan in detail before purchase as there are also some restrictions in this section due to the curve in the seating.