Producers Stephen Doorey and George Youakim from James Anthony Productions have announced the rest of the cast for their upcoming devilishly cheeky, fun-filled Broadway musical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
Joining the cast will be Zoe Coppinger, Rodney Dobson, Xander Ellis, Jillian Green, Matthew Hamilton, Glenn Hill, Vincent Hooper, Zoe Jarrett, Annabel Knight, Nadia Komazec, Phillip Lowe, Stephanie Morrison, Lisa Sontag, Darren Tyler, Caleb Vines, Jake Walasek and Sophie Weiss.
Principal cast already announced are Tony Sheldon as Lawrence Jameson and Matt Hetherington as Freddy Benson. Sheldon is returning to Australia to play this role following his huge success on the West End and Broadway in Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
Christine Colgate, the naive American heiress targeted by Lawrence and Freddy, will be played by Amy Lehpamer, while John Wood plays Lawrence’s “bodyguard” Andre Thibault. Two of the women conned by the pair, Muriel Eubanks and Jolene Oakes, are played by musical theatre favourites Anne Wood and Katrina Retallick.
This all new Australian production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels will be directed by Roger Hodgman, musically directed by Guy Simpson and choreographed by Dana Jolly.
The plot is based on the highly successful and much loved 1988 film with music and lyrics by David Yazbek and book by Jeffrey Lane, and centres around the two con men, Lawrence Jameson and Freddy Benson, on the French Riviera.
When Freddy threatens to expose Lawrence’s operation, Lawrence begrudgingly agrees to take him under his wing and tutor him in the ‘art of the con’. The pair join forces and successfully work the Riviera until Freddy, frustrated by his apprentice ‘monkey boy’ role, abandons the partnership and starts to compete with Lawrence.
It soon becomes apparent that the small French town of Beumont sur Mer isn’t big enough for the two of them. They agree on a bet – the first one to extract $50,000 from a young female ‘soap’ heiress, Christine Colgate, wins and gets to stay. The other must leave town forever. A hilarious battle of ‘cons’ ensues that will keep audiences laughing, humming and guessing right to the end!
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was nominated for 11 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and 10 Drama Desk Awards. It was originally directed by two-time Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell (Legally Blonde).
The 1988 film of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was directed by Frank Oz, and starred Steve Martin and Michael Caine.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Theatre Royal – King Street, Sydney
Season: From 24 October 2013
Bookings: 1300 723 038 or online at: www.ticketmaster.com.au
For more information, visit: www.dirtyrottenscoundrels.com.au for details.
