The full cast for the World Premiere of An Officer And A Gentleman – The Musical is officially announced. Emma Williams will play ‘Paula Pokrifiki’, Jonny Fines is ‘Zack Mayo’, Ray Shell as ‘Foley’, Ian Macintosh as ‘Sid Worley’ and Jessica Daley as ‘Lynette Pomeroy’. The production will open at Curve on Friday 6th April 2018 before playing at Liverpool Empire 21st-26th May.
Nikolai Foster, Artistic Director of Curve and Director of An Officer and Gentleman – The Musical said, “Douglas Day Stewart wrote An Officer and a Gentleman in response to his time serving in the American Air Force and the challenges he faced during training. It is a visceral, uncompromising and ultimately tender portrait of these personal experiences and the lives of folk living near the training facility in the early 1980s.
We are proud to have assembled such an accomplished company of actors, led by Emma, Ray, Jonny, Ian and Jess to create our production and realise this beautiful portrait of working class lives. All of us at Curve are excited to tell this story – set to a fantastic 80s playlist – and to be working with the talented team at Jamie Wilson Productions. Productions like this couldn’t be made without the support of our collaborators and we are thrilled to be working with Jamie and his team. Officer will certainly be a memorable moment in our theatre’s 10th birthday year.”
Four-time Laurence Olivier Award nominated actress Emma Williams will play ‘Paula Pokrifki’. Emma’s previous credits include Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mrs Henderson Presents and Love Story, all in the West End. This year Emma won the What’s On Stage Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for playing ‘Helen’ in Cameron Mackintosh’s revival of Half A Sixpence at the Noel Coward Theatre.
Jonny Fines will play the iconic role of ‘Zack Mayo’ – the role made famous by Richard Gere in the beloved 80s film. Jonny most recently played the role of ‘Rooster’ in the West End production of Annie at The Piccadilly Theatre. Other theatre credits include the U.K. Tours of The Sound of Music and Avenue Q.
Ray Shell will play ‘Foley’. Ray is probably most famous for creating the roles of ‘Rusty’ in Starlight Express and ‘Nomax’ in Five Guys Named Moe, both in the West End. His other theatre credits include the iconic productions of Miss Saigon and Jesus Christ Superstar.
Ian Macintosh will play ‘Sid Worley’. Ian is an Olivier nominated actor for his role in the West End production of Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, his other credits include The Commitments and Rock of Ages.
Jessica Daley will play ‘Lynette Pomeroy’. Jessica was a finalist on the B.B.C. 1’s Over The Rainbow and previous theatre credits include Mamma Mia! in the West End and the U.K. Tour of The Sound of Music.
The cast also includes Keisha Atwell who will play ‘Casey Seegar’, Andy Barke in the role of ‘Louis Perryman’, Darren Bennett in the role of ‘Bryon Mayo’, James Darch in the role of ‘Troy’, Nathaniel Landskroner in the role of ‘Craig’, George Loannides in the role of ‘Eduardo Cortez’, Joe Maxwell in the role of ‘Fin Hooper’, Corinna Powlesland in the role of ‘Aunt Bunny’ and Rachel Stanley will play ‘Esther Pokrifki’.
Joining them will be David Burrows, Vanessa Fisher, Aimee Hodnett, Keiran McGinn and Rhys Whitfield.
This brand-new musical is based on the 1982 Oscar-winning film starring Richard Gere which tells the story of Zack Mayo who is in training to become a US Navy Pilot. When Zack rolls into boot camp with a bit too much of a swagger, drill Sergeant Foley doesn’t make life easy for him. When he falls for local girl Paula Pokrifki and tragedy befalls his friend and fellow candidate, Zack realises the importance of love and friendship and finds the courage to be himself and win the heart of the woman he loves. It’s only then he can truly become both an Officer and a Gentleman.
The musical includes the hit song from the movie ‘Up Where We Belong’ along, with 80’s classics such as Alone, Don’t Cry Out Loud, You’re the Voice, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Heart of Glass, Toy Soldiers and Material Girl and features one of the most iconic romantic scenes ever portrayed on screen.
Tickets for An Officer And A Gentleman are on sale now from the Empire Theatre Box office.