Artwork (c) Adam Villers 2020
INTRODUCTION
Good evening and welcome to fantasies come true!
My name is James Lovelock and I have been researching LGBTQ+ characters in contemporary musical theatre for the past five years. During my research, I have discovered over a hundred musicals with queer characters and I am delighted to present songs from fourteen of these shows tonight. You can find more queer characters on my website at www.queermusicals.com, which supports my research. You will also find links to my Represent - the queermusicals.com podcast, which includes episodes recorded with many of tonight’s performers.
Since I started my research, I have become more aware of how diverse our queer community is. Our queerness intersects with our gender, race, disability, social class and so many other factors, and too often our queer experiences have been flattened out into tropes and stereotypes in musical theatre. I hope that this evening you will be introduced to some new, lovable, flawed and diverse queer characters that might just reflect you, your loved ones and our community more clearly.
Thank you so much for watching tonight. It has been a pleasure to work with this amazing team of people - I hope that you enjoy the show!
James
Your thoughts?
I am grateful to the University of Wolverhampton for generously funding this evening’s concert from their Research Investment Fund, and for their support for my research over the past decade. I would love tonight’s event to be the first of many, and it would be great if you could fill in one of the two surveys below at the end of the concert so that we can show how important these events are in developing queer spaces in musical theatre.
The short quick one - mostly multiple choice questions about tonight’s event
The big long one - the same as the short quick one but with more free-text questions to help shape our future research
RUNNING ORDER
ACT 1
‘Threesome’ from Triangularity - by Flora Leo
Roshani Abbey (Lenny), Madeline Charlemagne (B), Beth Hinton-Lever (C)
‘I Don’t Look’ from Interstate: A New Musical by Melissa Lee and Kit Yan (orchestrations by Macy Schmidt)
Roshani Abbey (Henry) with Jamie-Lee Lee Grant , D’arcelle Wright-Harvey, Aaron Shales
‘Nuninia’ from XY by Oliver Houser (orchestrations by Ash Collard)
Madeline Charlemagne (Nuni), Kaidyn Niall Hinds (Chris)
‘Married Life’ from The Unconventionals by Jude Taylor (orchestrations by Ash Collard)
Elliott Wooster (Wilfred)
‘Crazy Notion’ from The View Upstairs by Max Vernon (orchestrations by James Dobinson)
Joshua Clemetson (Wes), Lucas Piquero (Patrick)
‘An Unmade Bed’ from A Mother’s Song by Finn Anderson and Tania Azevedo (orchestrations by Flynn Sturgeon)
Beth Hinton-Lever (Sarah), Madeline Charlemagne (Alix) with Jamie-Lee Lee Grant (Cait), D’arcelle Wright-Harvey (Betty), Roshani Abbey (Cait) and Kaidyn Niall Hinds (Man)
‘I’m Not A Girl’ from & Juliet by Max Martin and David West Read (orchestrations by Bill Sherman)
Jo Foster and Aaron Shales
‘My Name’ from Lifeboats by Gus Gowland (orchestrations by Ash Collard)
Jaz Terry
‘Our Fight Is Not Over’ from Triangularity by Flora Leo
Roshani Abbey
ACT 2
‘That Smile’ from It’s Only Life by John Bucchino (orchestrations by Flynn Sturgeon)
D’arcelle Wright-Harvey, Allie Daniel, Joshua Clemetson, Nicholas McLean, Lucas Piquero
‘The Date’ from Unicorn by AJ O'Neill, Simon Lock and Jennifer Whyte (orchestrations by Jennifer Whyte)
Allie Daniel (Ellie), Nicholas McLean (JP)
‘Invisible’ from Interstate: A New Musical by Mellisa Lee and Kit Yan (orchestrations by Macy Schmidt)
Jamie-Lee Lee Grant (Carly)
‘Brother’ from Brother by Robin Simões da Silva and Annabelle Mutale Reed (orchestrations by Jack Trzcinski)
Robin Simões da Silva (Reid) and Elliott Wooster (Jackson)
‘Hold On’ from Bad Queers by Marti Hope Stump (orchestrations by Ash Collard and Flynn Sturgeon)
D'arcelle Wright-Harvey (Vera), Jamie-Lee Lee Grant (Cait), Robin Simoes da Silva (Rae), Elliott Wooster (Charlie)
‘Action Man’ from The Edge of Me by Finn Anderson (orchestrations by Flynn Sturgeon)
Jo Foster (Kit)
‘To Be Known’ from XY by Oliver Houser (orchestrations by Ash Collard)
Kaidyn Niall Hinds (Chris), Madeline Charlemagne (Nuni)
‘Unexpected Joy’ from Unexpected Joy by Bill Russell and Janet Hood
Melissa Jacques (Joy), Jacqui Dubois (Lou)
‘Unexpected Joy’ (bows)
The band
CREDITS
Performers
Roshani Abbey (she/they)
Ryan Ball (he/him - BSL interpretation)
Madeline Charlemagne (she/her)
Joshua Clemetson (he/him)
Robin Simões Da Silva (he/they)
Allie Daniel (she/her)
Jacqui Dubois (she/her)
Jo Foster (they/them)
Kaidyn Niall Hinds (he/him)
Beth Hinton-Lever (she/her)
Melissa Jacques (she/her)
Jamie-Lee Lee Grant (she/her)
Nicholas McLean (he/him)
Sarah Meeks (she/her - BSL interpretation)
Lucas Piquero (he/him)
Aaron Shales (he/him/she/her)
Jaz Terry (she/her)
Elliott Wooster (they/them)
D’arcelle Wright-Harvey (she/her)
Musicals and Writers
A MOTHER’S SONG (Finn Anderson & Tania Azevedo)
BAD QUEERS (Marti Hope Stump)
BROTHER (Robin Simões da Silva)
LIFEBOATS (Gus Gowland)
INTERSTATE (Melissa Li & Kit Yan)
IT’S ONLY LIFE (John Bucchino)
THE EDGE OF ME (Finn Anderson)
THE UNCONVENTIONALS (Jude Taylor)
THE VIEW UPSTAIRS (Max Vernon)
TRIANGULARITY (Flora Leo)
& JULIET (Max Martin)
UNEXPECTED JOY (Janet Hood & Bill Russell)
UNICORN (AJ O’Neill & Simon Lock)
XY (Oliver Houser)
Creative Team
Presenter: Dr James Lovelock (he/they)
Director Tania Azevedo (she/her)
Assistant Director: Robin Lexi (they/them)
Musical Director: Flynn Sturgeon (he/him)
Associate Musical Director: Flora Leo (she/her)
Orchestrator: Ash Collard (he/him)
Producers: Matt Powell (they/she/he) for Chromatic Creative and James Lovelock for the University of Wolverhampton
Production Assistant: Nathan Shanley (he/they)
The Band
Flynn Sturgeon - Musical Director / Piano
Jack Pennifold - Guitars
Oliver Copeland - Basses
Nick Anderson - Drum Kit
Auguste Janonyte - Violin and Viola
Abby Lorimier - Cello
Technical Team
Caitlin Shay - Stage Manager
Chris Galler - Technical Manager
Alex LeClair - Lighting programming and operation
Rob Atkinson - Sound
Livestreaming - Technical Solutions Ltd
With thanks to:
Kiki Stevenson, Kate Bonynge and the staff of The Other Palace theatre
Camelia Dijkstra, Joanne Mills, Clare Schofield, Caroline Rushton and the research team at the University of Wolverhampton
Chris Baldwin, Nicola Beddoe, Jane Buckingham, Amrit Chodda, Beverley Fielding, David Reeve and Kerin Suman from the finance office at the University of Wolverhampton
Sukie and Cameron Kauldhar
Christian Czornyj
Danceworks Studios
This concert is generously funded by the University of Wolverhampton from their research investment fund
& Juliet
Romeo who?! With her bags packed and ready to escape Verona, Juliet recovers from heartbreak in the best way possible… by dancing the night away with her best friends by her side! But when the sparkle fades, the confetti falls and reality catches up, it’s clear that Juliet needs to face her past in order to find her future. Can she reclaim a story that has been written in the stars? Is there really life after Romeo…or could he be worth one more try?
Come along for the ride as the original Anne Hathaway takes on her husband William Shakespeare to remix his legendary play. Will Juliet get the ending she truly deserves? And most importantly, can their love survive this battle of wills?
Fabulously fresh and riotously funny, & JULIET explodes with dozens of pop anthems you already know and love by legendary songwriter Max Martin, including …Baby One More Time, Since U Been Gone, Roar, It’s My Life, I Want It That Way, and Can’t Stop the Feeling!; as well as One More Try, a brand-new song written by Max especially for the musical.
Winner of six WhatsOnStage Awards and three Olivier Awards, this vibrant, colourful and timely musical is brought to life by an award-winning creative team, with direction by Luke Sheppard (In the Heights), story by David West Read (Schitt’s Creek), and electrifying choreography by Jennifer Weber.
Max Martin (music and lyrics)
Along with various collaborators Max has created some of the biggest hits that span over two and half decades. His musical awards include The Polar Music Prize, 5 Grammy Awards, including Producer of the year and the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year which he was awarded 11 times. A prolific songwriter, he is only second to Paul McCartney and John Lennon with number one US singles. Most recently he was inducted in to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. & Juliet is his first musical production. Max is not just a musical collaborator with his extensive catalog, but serves as producer overseeing all aspects of the development.
David West Read (book)
Theatre credits include: The Performers (Longacre Theatre on Broadway) – Broadway.com Audience Choice nominee for Best New Play), The Dream of the Burning Boy (O’Neill Theater Conference, Roundabout Underground; Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award nomination for New American Play, Drama League Award nomination for Distinguished Production of a Play), The Great Pretender (Old Globe New Voices Festival, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley; Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Original Script, Theatre Bay Area Award nomination for Outstanding World Premiere).
Television credits include: Schitt’s Creek (CBC/POP/Netflix; Emmy and Golden Globe winner as writer and executive producer), The Big Door Prize (Apple TV+, upcoming; creator, showrunner, and executive producer).
Training includes: NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (MFA in Dramatic Writing), The Juilliard School (Artist’s Diploma in Playwriting).
Bill Sherman (orchestrations)
Theatre credits include: In The Heights (2008 Tony Award for Best Orchestrations), Fly (Composer) Dallas Theatre Centre.
Television credits include: as Music Director – Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Nature Cat, Julie’s Greenroom. As Composer - Sesame Street’s, “What I Am” (2011 Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song – Children’s and Animation), “A Song About Songs” (2018 Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song-Children’s and Animation for Sesame Street’s), “The Power of Yet” (2014 Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song-Children’s and Animation) AMC’s Storymakers Theme Song, (Emmy Nominee).
Film Credits include: Executive Music Producer of In the Heights and tick, tick….Boom!, Composer of All Things Must Pass.
Album credits include: Producer of In The Heights Original Broadway Cast Recording (2008 Grammy Award), Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Recording (2016 Grammy Award).
Bad Queers: The Musical
In a fictional suburban town called Mercy Point, a hidden religious cult-like history has interwoven the lives of a chaotic group of queer coworkers, all in different stages of self-acceptance. Join the quick-witted ensemble as they navigate their relationships with one another, the complexity of calling a broken place home, and, perhaps most formidable of all, the plight of working in customer service.
Marti Stump (they/them - book, music and lyrics)
Marti (They/them) is a proudly queer and neurodivergent musician, writer, performer, and teaching artist. They are a Junior at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, with a major in Communications, Media, and Theatre and a minor in Theatre Performance. They are the composer and librettist for their ongoing virtual charity show Bad Queers: The Musical. Marti is thrilled to have their work included in fantasies come true – the queermusicals.com concert. They wish to thank the cast and crew, their online supporters, and their amazing loved ones for their encouragement.
Find out more about Bad Queers on Marti's Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@badqueersthemusical5157
Brother
Brother is an intimate new folk musical about grief, new beginnings and brotherly love. Reid is an aspiring artist and a young transgender man beginning to find his way in the world; Jackson is his smart and focused older brother, set on a career in medicine and beginning to re-navigate his relationship with his younger brother after years away. Their mother Cassie is their biggest champion, and the heart of their home. Everything seems possible and wonderful - until Cassie's sudden death causes the brothers to lose their most important lifeline, and contemplate the loss of their childhood home and all the memories it holds.
Robin Simões da Silva (music and lyrics)
As a composer and lyricist, Robin's debut musical, Brother, written alongside book writer, Annabel Mutale Reed, premiered online in a workshop production at Southwark Playhouse in 2021 (DEM Productions). He has also composed the score for new play, Charmane (Tobacco Factory Theatres 2019, UK Tour 2020). In 2015, three of Robin’s original songs were recorded and released worldwide by Sony ATV/EMI Production Music as licensed Sync Music.
Robin is also an actor-musician and singer. Shortly after having performed in the National Youth Music Theatre’s (NYMT) Imaginary (The Other Palace) in 2018 as an actor-musician, he gained his first professional acting credit in Spring Awakening (Hope Mill Theatre 2019, directed by Luke Sheppard). He has also performed as an actor-musician in his own show, Works of Art, and performed his compositions for Charmane on-stage in the Bristol and UK Tour runs. He can also be heard singing and playing guitar on NYMT’s Imaginary cast recording.
Annabel Mutale Reed (book) and Jack Trzcinski (orchestrations)
Annabel & Jack are a writing team comprised of Jack Trzcinski (Composer, Orchestrator) and Annabel Mutale Reed (Playwright, Lyricist, Director), M.F.A.s of Musical Theatre Writing and protégés of Claude-Michel Schönberg (Composer Les Misérables). They create contemporary, urgent musical theatre combining modern British pop sensibilities with exciting musical theatre storytelling. They have had their work performed in festivals and theatres in the UK and the US both collaboratively and independently.
The Edge of Me
The Edge of Me is a synth-pop odyssey following a young gay man who gets lost and found again in Britain’s BDSM underworld. Kit can’t contain himself. He’s tried, but he is overflowing with desires he doesn’t know how to tame or even how to name. That is until he uncovers a hidden community and a playground of possibility where he’s free to explore. But when his secret world goes public, Kit must build a new relationship to the world around him and the world inside his mind. A genre-bending, playful new musical with a big heart, exploring power dynamics and the complexity of human desire.
Finn Anderson (book, music and lyrics)
A singer-songwriter, writer and composer, Finn has co-created four award-nominated musicals, released two solo albums, and collaborated on an eclectic range of projects with leading theatre companies, artists and musicians throughout the UK and internationally. As a writer and theatre-maker, Finn consistently tackles complex themes and ambitious fusions of musical styles to challenge perceptions of what original Scottish musical theatre can look like. In 2018 he composed Islander - a contemporary folktale brought to life by just two performers and live vocal looping technology. Conceived and created on the Isle of Mull, Islander was part of the Made In Scotland showcase in Edinburgh, winning Musical Theatre Review’s award for Best Musical before transferring to London’s Southwark Playhouse where the show was nominated for the Off-West-End Award for Best New Musical. Islander has been translated into Korean, Japanese & Polish, adapted for BBC Radio 4, re-imagined for screen with Dundee Rep Theatre and Eden Court Highlands, and captured in an Original Cast Recording released online in 2020. The New York premiere ran for 9 weeks Off-Broadway at Playhouse 46 in Spring 2022.
Other music theatre work includes City of Dreams and A Mother's Song (American Music Theatre Project/Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) Call to Adventure (BBC Scotland/National Theatre of Scotland, Scenes For Survival) Come Hell or High Water (Citizens Theatre/Sky Arts) Streets (Hackney Empire/The Cockpit/The Vaults, ‘Best New Musical’ nominee, Off West End Awards). Finn is currently the Cameron Mackintosh Resident Composer at The Lowry and Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester where is developing an original sung-through musical.
Interstate
Interstate is an Asian-American pop-rock poetry musical that follows Dash, a transgender spoken word performer who becomes internet-famous along with his best friend Adrian, a lesbian singer-songwriter. Fueled by the allure of fame and a desire to connect with their community, the band embarks on a road trip across America for their first national tour. Their fiercely political and deeply personal music touches Henry, a transgender teenage boy living in small-town middle America, and he finds solace in their art as he struggles with his own identity and family. After blogging about the band and documenting his own gender journey, he decides to set out on a quest to meet his heroes in person, hoping to find answers to his own struggles. Interstate is a touching story about how two transgender people at different stages of their journey navigate love, family, masculinity, and finding a community in the era of social media.
Melissa Li (music and lyrics)
Melissa Li is a composer, lyricist, performer, and writer based in New York City & Montreal. She is a recipient of the 2023 ASCAP Foundation Harold Adamson Lyric Award, 2021 Kleban Prize, Jonathan Larson Award, a Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellow, a Lincoln Center Theater Writer-in-Residence, a 2019 Musical Theatre Factory Maker, a MacDowell Fellow, a Company One Pao Arts Fellow, and a former Queer|Art|Mentorship Fellow. Musicals include Interstate (New York Musical Festival, Winner “Outstanding Lyrics”), MISS STEP (5th Avenue Theatre commission), Cancelled (Keen Company), May Day (NewYorkRep), Surviving the Nian (The Theater Offensive, IRNE Award Winner for "Best New Play" 2007), and 99% Stone (The Theater Offensive). Upcoming: BachelorX (Playwrights Horizons), Adventurephile (Keen Company), and OSF Presents (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). Her works have received support from 5th Avenue Theatre, The Village Theater, Musical Theater Factory, Playwrights Horizons, Keen Company, Weston Playhouse, NewYorkRep, Company One Theatre, National Performance Network, and New England Foundation for the Arts, among others. Melissa has released music solo and collaboratively, including 2 Seconds Away, Drive Away Home (as Good Asian Drivers), and The Beginning (as Melissa Li & The Barely Theirs).
Kit Yan (book and lyrics)
Kit Yan is a Yellow American New York based artist, born in China, and raised in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Kit is a 2021 Jonathan Larson Grant and Kleban Prize recipient for Libretto, a 2021 Sundance IDP Fellow and grantee, a Vivace Award recipient for big ideas in musical theater, a former Musical Theater Factory Makers Fellow, Playwright’s Center fellow, Company One/Pao Arts Fellow, Lincoln Center Writer in residence, Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellow and MacDowell Fellow. They have written for Disney and their films have been shown at OUTfest, CAAMfest, The LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, and The Asian American International Film Festival among many others. Kit is currently developing work for tv and film. Kit’s first musical co-created with Melissa Li, Interstate, which won "Best Lyrics" at the 2018 New York Musical Theater Festival, showcased in the 2019 NAMT festival, and produced by Mixed Blood in 2020, and East West Players in 2022. Their second musical MISS STEP received a commission from 5th Avenue theater, and has a forthcoming workshop with Playwrights Horizons and Musical Theater Factory, and a beta production in Feb 2023 at the Village Theater.
Their work has also been produced by the American Repertory Theater, the Smithsonian, and Diversionary Theater.
Find out more about Interstate on their website: https://www.interstatemusical.com/
It's Only Life
It’s Only Life is a musical revue showcasing the compositions of John Bucchino. Examining themes of life, longing, fear, fulfillment, and finding personal growth, this revue will touch the hearts of every audience with its beautifully complex vocal score. Since this is a musical revue, the songs are linked by a theme and there is no continuous plotline. This provides an opportunity for the actors to add in a lot of their own context to the material, giving an opportunity for very personalized work.
John Bucchino (music and lyrics)
John Bucchino's songs have been performed and recorded by renowned pop (Art Garfunkel, Judy Collins), theatre (Liza Minnelli, Patti LuPone, Kristin Chenoweth, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Audra McDonald), cabaret (Barbara Cook, Michael Feinstein), and classical (Yo-Yo Ma, Deborah Voight, Nathan Gunn), artists as well as The Boston Pops, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in venues including Carnegie Hall, The Metropolitan Opera, The Hollywood Bowl, The Sydney Opera House, London’s O2 Arena and The White House.
Among his honors are two Drama Desk nominations, The Johnny Mercer Songwriter Award, The ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award, The Jonathan Larson Award, The Kleban Award, The Los Angeles Ovation Award (for the revue It’s Only Life), The DVD Premiere Award (for the song “Better Than I”), and the first annual Fred Ebb Award.
He has written scores for the musicals Urban Myths, Lavender Girl, Broadway’s A Catered Affair (nominated for 12 Drama Desk Awards, and winner of the New York Drama League Award for Best Musical, with a book by Harvey Fierstein), It’s Only Life, and the Dreamworks animated film Joseph, King of Dreams, and lyrics for the children’s musical Simeon’s Gift (with a book by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton and music by Ian Fraser). Some recordings of his work are: Grateful, the songs of John Bucchino (with companion songbook), Solitude Lessons (another collection of original songs), On Richard Rodgers’ Piano (solo piano interpretations of Rodgers songs on the composer’s own Steinway, voted Best Instrumental CD by Show Business Weekly), and the PS Classics releases of the cast albums of It’s Only Life (with companion songbook) and A Catered Affair. As part of their Julie Andrews Collection, Harper Collins published a children's book, based on John’s song, called “Grateful, A Song of Giving Thanks” which was awarded the Parents’ Choice Gold Award.
For more information, please visit www.johnbucchino.com
Lifeboats
Lifeboats is a heartwarming song cycle that rejects stories of queer tragedy to present joyful and hopeful stories from the communities. Throughout history, LGBTQ+ people have found solace, support and security in the stories of others. Each song enables the characters and the audience to realise they are not alone: that some one just like them has walked this path before. Through hearing about the characters' lives and loves, we come to recognise that we are all part of a history and a community that is rich and vibrant, resilient and hopeful. That resilience - those individual lifeboats of hope and happiness - is central to both the musical and the queer community that it speaks (and sings) to. Lifeboats gives LGBTQ+ people moments of identification and recognition. Each song acts as a lifeboat to the audience, telling them that they are here, queer, and not going anywhere.
Gus Gowland (music and lyrics)
Gus is an award-winning writer/composer.
His first musical Pieces of String was The Stage’s Best Regional Musical of the year and was nominated for the UK Theatre Best Musical Production award. Gus won The Stage Debut Award for Best Composer/Lyricist, and was nominated for the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Musical Theatre Bookwriting. His second musical Mayflies was produced at York Theatre Royal in 2023.
Other work includes Subway, an audio short musical and In Motion, an EP of original songs written with Craig Mather.
A Mother's Song
From 17th century Stirling to 21st century New York City, themes of identity, motherhood, and choice collide in a bold and life-affirming story which follows three remarkable women at different moments in history, and traces the incredible journey of Scottish folk music across the Atlantic.
Sarah comes from a long line of ballad singers, but has severed ties with the folk traditions of her childhood. In modern-day New York City, Sarah’s rediscovery of these songs and the family stories within them, force her to go on an unexpected and life-changing journey across time.
Finn Anderson (co-creator)
A singer-songwriter, writer and composer, Finn has co-created four award-nominated musicals, released two solo albums, and collaborated on an eclectic range of projects with leading theatre companies, artists and musicians throughout the UK and internationally. As a writer and theatre-maker, Finn consistently tackles complex themes and ambitious fusions of musical styles to challenge perceptions of what original Scottish musical theatre can look like. In 2018 he composed Islander - a contemporary folktale brought to life by just two performers and live vocal looping technology. Conceived and created on the Isle of Mull, Islander was part of the Made In Scotland showcase in Edinburgh, winning Musical Theatre Review’s award for Best Musical before transferring to London’s Southwark Playhouse where the show was nominated for the Off-West-End Award for Best New Musical. Islander has been translated into Korean, Japanese & Polish, adapted for BBC Radio 4, re-imagined for screen with Dundee Rep Theatre and Eden Court Highlands, and captured in an Original Cast Recording released online in 2020. The New York premiere ran for 9 weeks Off-Broadway at Playhouse 46 in Spring 2022.
Other music theatre work includes City of Dreams and A Mother's Song (American Music Theatre Project/Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) Call to Adventure (BBC Scotland/National Theatre of Scotland, Scenes For Survival) Come Hell or High Water (Citizens Theatre/Sky Arts) Streets (Hackney Empire/The Cockpit/The Vaults, ‘Best New Musical’ nominee, Off West End Awards). Finn is currently the Cameron Mackintosh Resident Composer at The Lowry and Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester where is developing an original sung-through musical.
Tania Azevedo (co-creator)
Tania Azevedo is a Portuguese theatre maker, director and dramaturg who graduated from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, the King’s Head Theatre and the Royal Opera House’s Opera Directors Training Programme led by Katie Mitchell. She has recently been Resident Director on & Juliet (West End), was the King’s Head Theatre guest Artistic Director in June/July and is currently Associate Director on new musical In Dreams (Leeds Playhouse/Mervish Theatre). She specialises in development of new work and has worked on R&D workshops and fully staged productions with venues which include National Theatre Scotland, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Dundee Rep, The Bush, Capital Theatres, American Music Theatre Project and The Other Palace. She has been part of the UK's leading New Musical Theatre festivals, including BEAM, From Page to Stage and MT Fest. Other directing credits include A Mother’s Song (Macrobert Arts Centre), It’s Only Life (Union Theatre), Toyboy Diaries (Hope Mill Theatre),Tenderly (New Wimbledon Theatre), Paper Hearts (Upstairs at the Gatehouse and international tour), Piece of Silk and Hello Again (Hope Theatre) and Assistant Director on Heathers (West End and UK National Tour). Most recently she directed the world premiere of But I’m A Cheerleader (Turbine Theatre) based on the cult LGBTQ+ film, receiving Off-West-End Award and Broadway World Award nominations for “Best Director” and winner of Whatsonstage Award for "Best Off-West End Production".
Triangularity - A New Musical
A classic tale of girl meets girl... meets girl 34-year-old vlogger and TV recapper Lenny Morgan is having a restless night. In the morning she will be going to a queer convention to meet her favourite actress, but before she gets there she must survive a night-long dream-vlog in which her unconscious mind calls upon her exes and her favourite TV characters to join her on a journey of self-discovery (and love triangles). From formative pre-internet romances to sapphic TV obsessions, Lenny’s story arc highlights how visibility and positive LGBTQ+ content in the media can inspire and change people forever. Oh, and she also has an awesome magical remote control which she can do cool stuff with. Cue the music!
Flora Leo (book, music and lyrics)
Flora studied Composition at the Royal Academy of Music and now works as a composer, lyricist and MD. Her original musicals include Show & Tell (All Star Entertainment NYC) and The Lightning Road, which was featured in the Search for a Twitter Composer competition at the Soho Theatre and was staged as part of Iris Theatre’s Workin Progress scheme. In 2021 she won the Voice, Vision & Potential Prize at the Stiles + Drewe Best New Song Finals with her song Our Fight Is Not Over (The Ballad of Lexa) from Triangularity and in 2022 she won the overall Best New Song Prize with her song One Last Request from The Most Beautiful Suicide.
As an MD she was nominated for Best Musical Director at the Offies in 2018 for Free Solo at the Drayton Arms.
Listen to more songs from Triangularity on Flora's Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FloraLeoProductions
The Unconventionals
Once upon a time, Wilfred and their exclusive clique of ‘unconventional’ friends could often be found absorbed in a whirlwind of fabulously indulgent evenings across London’s West End – but now, they are trapped in present day London, unwilling to move on from past mistakes, and quite literally trapped outside of Heaven (in Charing Cross, that is).
As they take a rather theatrical wander through their memories one last time accompanied by an eccentric old mentor, they reflect on their extraordinary experiences of navigating the 1930s queer scene in London and beyond, and the people, places and stories that once made them who they are.
The Unconventionals is an intimate, joyous musical comedy inspired by the true stories of the queer friends who loved, lived and partied across 1930s London.
Jude Taylor (book, music and lyrics)
Jude Taylor is a composer, lyricist and writer from Leicestershire. His first full length musical Steep Themselves in Night premiered at The Other Palace in London during October 2018 and was followed by Make Me Infamous, a new full cast musical theatre audio production (produced by MP Theatricals) released online in November 2020. His most recent work, Is He Musical?, a musical comedy inspired by real stories of LGBTQ+ people in 1930s London, received its first full production in February 2022, touring to Leicester's Curve, The Other Palace and the University of Wolverhampton. A new, cabaret-style version of IHM, The Unconventionals, will play VAULT Festival in London during 2023. Since 2021, Jude has been a Resident Creative at Curve in Leicester.
Jude is interested in creating quirky new musical comedies and fairytales which explore and challenge the usual representation of LGBTQ+ people in musical theatre. Other credits as a composer/writer include: QUEERME (MP Theatricals, 2021); SIGNAL x MT Pride (2020, MP Theatricals/Queerly Productions/Adam Lenson); on hope: a digital song cycle (2020, MP Theatricals/Victoria Saxton); All That Scratch podcast (2019; All That Productions/The Other Palace); (Hey) Jude Taylor live at The Pheasantry, London (2019); Lionel Bart Masterclass (Mercury Musical Developments, 2018) His first EP, (Hey) Jude Taylor, was released in 2019 and is available to stream online.
Unexpected Joy
Unexpected Joy is the story of three generations of female singers, long-held family tensions, and a week together where change is in the air. In modern day Cape Cod, Joy, a baby boomer and proud hippie, is holding a memorial concert for the other half of her popular musical duo, Jump & Joy. When her tightly-wound conservative daughter and her sweet rebellious granddaughter arrive from Oklahoma, the sparks fly as one family seeks to find the common ground in their different values, dreams and goals. Unexpected Joy is a heartfelt and hilarious story that weaves folk-rock, pop, and blues in uniting a family that hasn’t experienced true joy together for decades.
Bill Russell (book and lyrics)
Bill Russell is an internationally produced author and director of musicals for the stage. He received Tony Award nominations for the book and lyrics of Side Show. An acclaimed revival, directed by Oscar winning screenwriter and director, Bill Condon, was on Broadway in 2014. He penned book and lyrics for Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens, music by Janet Hood, and has directed it frequently in America as well as the Fringe and West End of London. At the end of 2020, he co-directed a streamed version as a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids with a cast of 51 stars of stage, film and television, including Nathan Lane, Cynthia Nixon, Fran Descher, Norm Lewis, Cherry Jones, JK Simmons, Joaquina Kalukango, Anthony Rapp, J Harrison Ghee and Seth Rudetsky, to name a few. Pageant (co-author, book and lyrics) ran for a year off-Broadway, was revived there in 2014 and Mr. Russell directed productions in Chicago, L.A., Atlanta, Boston and in the Fringe and West End of London. His latest musical with Janet Hood, Unexpected Joy, premiered off-Broadway and in London at the Southwark Playhouse in 2018. Bill’s other off-Broadway book and lyric credits include Lucky Duck, The Last Smoker in America, Fourtune and The Texas Chainsaw Musical. His newest project, which includes several songs by Janet, is called has anyone seen my mind?
Janet Hood (composer)
Janet Hood has written five musicals with book writer/lyricist Bill Russell. Their latest, Unexpected Joy, opened in New York (York Theatre) and London (Southwark Playhouse) in 2018. Their first, Sun, Son was presented at the University of Kansas and won the BMI Inter-Varsity Show Competition. The Blob That Ate Vermont was written for the Bradford Repertory Theater (Vermont.) Family Style was presented in Minneapolis. Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens has been produced in New York, London’s fringe and West End and continues to be performed around the world. The score has been recorded numerous times, including an all-star benefit in New York. Janet was musical director of Elegies… at the Criterion and King’s Head Theatres and several productions in New York and other American cities. During the height of the pandemic, Ms. Hood acted as musical director for a streamed version of Elegies… as a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids, with 51 stars from stage, film and television, filming themselves at home. She has performed as pianist and singer and has played on many albums, including her own, “Jade and Sarsaparilla.” Janet has also performed with the Boston Pops. She has toured with Ronnie Gilbert and Holly Near and has accompanied Ronnie Gilbert in her one-woman show “American Agitator.
Unicorn: A New Musical
Meet Ellie! She’s in her thirties. She’s single. And she’s trans. All Ellie wants is to go through life without being seen and bothered which is unfortunately difficult in a world that often refuses to see her as she sees herself.
When a chance encounter with a likably weird newcomer up-ends her self imposed solitude, Ellie is forced to reconcile with her past for a chance at a happier future. But the past has a way of gripping on the harder you try to escape. Join Ellie and her friends and family as past and present collide in a story for anyone who has ever worried that they are different. A perfect tale for fans of Fun Home, Fleabag and… feeling seen.
With a memorable score and funny, relatable characters, Unicorn is a love song to the family we choose and the people we lose on the way to finding our worth.
AJ O’Neill (book, music and lyrics)
AJ (he/they) is an Irish queer non-binary writer, performer and choreographer who is a graduate of Laine Theatre Arts. AJ’s writing credits include Tiny Love Stories (lyricist, Sydney Gay & Lesbian Choir), The Hunger Games: A New Musical workshop (co-composer/co-lyricist, Crazy Coqs, London), Elephant in the Room (lyricist), and On Hope (composer/lyricist, Online Original Musical Theatre Concert). AJ has choreographed for Sainsburys, Tictac, and Red Nose Day commercials, magazine covers (Tatler), Music promos (The Staves, Sara Belkner, Jack Colwell), musical workshops (The 43 Club, The Other Palace), and TV (PopUp Popstar, RTE; Comic Relief, BBC). As a Performer AJ has appeared in Chicago (Cambridge Theatre, London), A Man Of No Importance (West End, Europe), The Last Five Years (Ireland), Mrs Brown’s Boys, Ella Enchanted, Eastenders (BBC) and The Tudors (Showtime).
Simon Lock (book)
Simon (he/they) is a queer and genderqueer British writer, activist and associate professor in London. They are the co-director of their university’s research centre and network on gender and sexual diversity. They teach and research issues of power, equality, diversity and inclusion for marginalised identities (race, gender, sexuality, disability) within science, medicine and politics. Simon’s current focus is on the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ people. Their expertise has most recently been used by the BBC as Script consultant on BBC Radio 4’s 50 Years of Pride and have consulted for The Wellcome Trust, The Royal Society of Arts, and UK government departments. They are the co-founder of LGBT Glitterati a trans advocacy and fundraising non-profit and are currently also writing a fictionalised account of his great-grandmother’s life with infamous actor, bisexual and theatre celebrity Tallulah Bankhead in the 1920s and 30s.
Jen Whyte (music)
Jen (she/her) is an accomplished queer Scottish musician with decades of experience in theatre, television and film. She has conducted classical concerts, live television shows, orchestral recording sessions and several West End musicals.As Musical Supervisor: La Cage aux Folles (Regents Park Open Air Theatre), 42nd Street (Leicester Curve, Sadlers Wells), Cabaret (Kit Kat Club/Playhouse Theatre), Avenue Q (GWB Entertainment, South Korea), The Highland Quest: Search For A Scottish Musical (Cameron Mackintosh) and Chasing Fate (Hippodrome, Birmingham). As Musical Director: A Merry Little Christmas Celebration (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Crown (Netflix), The Midnight Gang (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Famished Land (Greenwood Theatre), Avenue Q (Cameron Mackintosh), Les Misérables (Cameron Mackintosh), Sunset Boulevard (Really Useful Group), The Threepenny Opera (National Theatre), PopIdol (TalkbackThames), Can’t Sing Singers (BBC1), Follies (BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Glasgow), Christmas Concert (BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Aberdeen) and Radio Broadcast (BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Glasgow).
Ben Van Tienan (additional music)
Ben (he/him) is a gay Australian writer, composer and musical director. He graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2007, earning first class honours and the university medal. As Musical Director: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella (Gillian Lynne Theatre), Rothschild & Sons in NYC (Lincoln Center/NYPL) and London (Park Theatre), the UK tours of White Christmas, Funny Girl (and worldwide cinema broadcast), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, West Side Story, and The Rocky Horror Show, Les Miserables in Concert (Guernsey), Chicago (Hong Kong), and Ordinary Days (Australia). As Assistant Music Director: School of Rock (Gillian Lynne Theatre), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (London Palladium), Wicked (Singapore), Doctor Zhivago (Australia, Seoul), West Side Story (Australia, Europe) and Chicago (Australia, Singapore).
The View Upstairs
When Wes, a young fashion designer from 2017, buys an abandoned building in the French Quarter of New Orleans, he finds himself transported to the UpStairs Lounge, a vibrant seventies gay bar. As this forgotten community comes to life, Wes embarks on an exhilarating journey of self-exploration that spans two generations of queer history. This smash Off Broadway hit features a gritty, glam rock score and a tight-knit ensemble of unforgettable characters. The View UpStairs asks what has been gained and lost in the fight for equality, and how the past can help guide all of us through an uncertain future.
Max Vernon (book, music and lyrics)
Max is a Tony Award nominated playwright & songwriter whose musicals include The View UpStairs (30+ productions including New York, Chicago, Tokyo, London, and Sydney), KPOP (Broadway @ Circle in the Square), The Tattooed Lady, and Show & Tell. They have also written work for Audible, Disney, Broadway Video, Virgin Group, and Tyra Banks. They are an Out100 Honoree, three-time Drama Desk nominee, two-time MacDowell Fellow, Barrymore Award nominee, Dramatist Guild Fellow and recipient of the Lucille Lortel Award, Richard Rodgers Award, Jonathan Larson Grant, Pew Arts and Culture Grant, JFund Award (Jerome Foundation), and New York Foundation of the Arts Fellowship, among others. Notable concerts include Joe’s Pub, the Kennedy Center, Kimmel Center, Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
IG: @frauleinsallybowels
XY
XY is an original musical that follows Chris, an intersex man navigating his first romantic relationship while he is haunted by memories of his eleven-year-old female-presenting self, Christine.
When Chris, a guarded gym instructor, falls in love with Nuni, his fitness student, Chris is forced to confront the painful memories of his past as he and Nuni become intimate. Meanwhile, Chris struggles to reconnect with his estranged mom, whom Chris blames for the mistakes she made while raising him.
As Chris becomes increasingly vulnerable in his relationship with Nuni, he must decide whether opening his heart is worth the risk. XY is an intimate piece about family, forgiveness, and the painful but liberating journey of becoming and embracing who we are.
Oliver Houser (book, music and lyrics)
Winner of the inaugural Stephen Schwartz Award, the ASCAP Foundation Sammy Cahn Award and a Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellowship, Oliver Houser (he/him) is an intersex musical theater artist who is passionate about creating original life-affirming work that facilitates healing and connection. Oliver has headlined at the Kennedy Center and presented his musicals at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Village Theater, London's Other Palace Theatre, the NAMT Conference and beyond. Oliver’s original musical, XY, inspired by his journey to embrace his identity as an intersex man, was one of three finalists for the 2022 Relentless Award, the largest prize presented to an unproduced musical.
Creative Team
Tania Azevedo (director)
Tania Azevedo is a Portuguese theatre maker, director and dramaturg who graduated from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, the King’s Head Theatre and the Royal Opera House’s Opera Directors Training Programme led by Katie Mitchell. She has recently been Resident Director on & Juliet (West End), was the King’s Head Theatre guest Artistic Director in June/July and is currently Associate Director on new musical In Dreams (Leeds Playhouse/Mervish Theatre).
She specialises in development of new work and has worked on R&D workshops and fully staged productions with venues which include National Theatre Scotland, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Dundee Rep, The Bush, Capital Theatres, American Music Theatre Project and The Other Palace. She has been part of the UK's leading New Musical Theatre festivals, including BEAM, From Page to Stage and MT Fest.
Other directing credits include A Mother’s Song (Macrobert Arts Centre), It’s Only Life (Union Theatre), Toyboy Diaries (Hope Mill Theatre),Tenderly (New Wimbledon Theatre), Paper Hearts (Upstairs at the Gatehouse and international tour), Piece of Silk and Hello Again (Hope Theatre) and Assistant Director on Heathers (West End and UK National Tour).
Most recently she directed the world premiere of But I’m A Cheerleader (Turbine Theatre) based on the cult LGBTQ+ film, receiving Off-West-End Award and Broadway World Award nominations for “Best Director” and winner of Whatsonstage Award for "Best Off-West End Production".
Flynn Sturgeon (musical director and orchestrator)
Credits include; as musical director: Roles We’ll Never Play (Vaudeville/Apollo/Lyric), 42 Balloons (Vaudeville), I Could Use A Drink (Garrick), Aladdin (Oman), Three Little Pigs (UK Tour); as associate musical director: The Secret Garden (Palladium), Love Story (Cadogan Hall); as cover conductor: Cabaret (Kit Kat Club), How To Succeed In Business (Southwark Playhouse), Soho Cinders (Charing Cross); as assistant musical director: Songs for a New World (Palladium).
Ash Collard (orchestrator)
Ash Collard (he/him) is an orchestrator, composer, and music researcher with interests in musical theatre and queer stories. He composed the music for the film Home Safe (2022) and has orchestrated music for various groups, including marching bands, choral groups, and jazz bands. He is currently researching for a PhD exploring trans masculine inclusion in musical theatre.
Robin Lexi (assistant director)
Lex (they/them) is a neurodivergent trans non-binary director and theatre-maker, originally from Sheffield. Their practice centres staging queer and trans+ stories and experiences through non-conventional and movement-driven forms, aspiring to have joy at their core. Earlier this year they worked with theatre company Milk Presents on the UK Tour of their queer kids show Marty And The Party, and have recently directed an R&D for new writing by ShayShay, as well as assisting on an R&D for new work by Tabby Lamb. Lex was also shortlisted for the Young Vic’s Genesis Future Director Award 2023 and is excited to continue to create work that queers the theatre space and celebrates the multiplicities and complexities of the queer community.
Dr James Lovelock (host / co-producer)
James (he/they) is a researcher and senior lecturer in musical theatre at the University of Wolverhampton. He is the host of Represent - the queermusicals.com podcast and the curator of www.queermusicals.com, and his book on LGBTQ+ characters and queer representation in contemporary musical theatre will be published by Methuen Drama in 2024.
James’ musical Sunshine Guy was part of the inaugural From Page to Stage season in 2013, and he previously worked as the musical director / pianist for Showstopper! The Improvised Musical between 2007 and 2009. He is an experienced tutor in musical theatre writing and has developed several musicals with students that have been performed at The Arena Theatre in Wolverhampton.
Matt Powell for Chromatic Creative (co-producer)
Matt (they/she/he) is a non-binary, Offie Nominated video designer, musical theatre creative and queer practitioner based in the East Midlands. They are a part time PhD candidate exploring LGBTQ+ representation in musical theatre at the University of Wolverhampton. Their video design work across the West End, Off West End, Regionally and Internationally includes REBECCA (Charing Cross Theatre), RIDE (Curve & Southwark Playhouse) ANIMAL (Offie Nominated - Hope Mill Theatre & Park Theatre), Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Theatre Royal Haymarket, Lyric Hammersmith & Sheffield Theatres), RUMI (D’asha Performing Arts Festival & London Coliseum), Public Domain (Vaudeville Theatre & Southwark Playhouse)
Their musical and gig theatre work includes Santa Must Die (North Tour & Leeds Playhouse - Director), Nativity (Derby Theatre & Derby Youth Musical Theatre - Director), The Unconventionals (VAULT - Director/Development), Crazy for You (Derby Theatre & Derby Youth Musical Theatre - Director), Is He Musical (Curve, Stream & Other Palace - Director/Development), Snowflake (The Lowry - Producer/Developer), Public Domain (Vaudeville Theatre & Southwark Playhouse - Associate Director), Wilf Goes Wild (Digital - Director/Development), Make Me Infamous (Audio - Producer), Subway (Audio - Director), Catch Me (Central - Assistant Director), The Limit (Central - Assistant Director), Into the Woods (Central - Assistant Director), On Hope: A Digital Song Cycle (The Other Palace Digital - Curator/Director), MTPride (Digital - Director/Producer)
Full portfolio available at www.matt-powell.co.uk
Performers
Roshani Abbey (she/they)
Roshani recently finished playing Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds in Hamilton: An American Musical (Victoria Palace Theatre). She trained at the Royal Academy of Music (MA, LRAM), having previously obtained her MSci in Mathematics from Imperial College London. Other theatre includes Lucy and u/s Juliet, Lady Capulet in & Juliet (Shaftesbury), Original Cast of Rumi: The Musical (Concept Album & London Coliseum), Ensemble and u/s Louise in Gypsy (Royal Exchange). TV includes a live duet to represent Sri Lanka and the Asian region at the Royal Commonwealth Service 2023 (BBC One). Workshops: Key/Tina in PIN, Anna in Red Book (Global Musicals), Ayesha in Our Generation (National Theatre), Chloe in STOP (DEM Productions). Credits whilst training include Queenie in LaChiusa's The Wild Party, and Nurse/Actress in Hello Again. Choreography includes SING: Ultimate A Cappella (Sky One).
Ryan Ball (he/him - BSL interpretation)
Ryan Ball is a Registered BSL/English Interpreter based in the Midlands who works across a range of domains including; TV Production, Theatre Rehearsals and Performance Interpreting. As a part of the LGBTQIA+ Community himself and a member of the LGBTQIA+ Interpreter and Translators Network, he is passionate about making authentically self-affirming spaces accessible via interpretation.
Madeleine Charlemagne (she/her)
Training: Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Theatre includes: The Secret Life of Bees (Almeida Theatre); 42 Balloons (Vaudeville Theatre), Kick (Lyric Hammersmith Theatre), Hex (National Theatre), Carousel (Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park).
Workshops include: Chasing the Rainbow – The Road to Oz.
Joshua Clemetson (he/him)
Currently appearing in Wicked in the West End as 1st cover Boq/Ensemble
Training: Arts Eduactional Schools London
Theatre Includes: Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs Panto (New Wimbledon Theatre); The Color Purple (UK Tour); Back To the Future: The Musical (Adelphi Theatre); BBC Proms: West Side Story (Royal Albert Hall)
Workshops Include: Lovestuck (Churchill Theatre) and Soapdish (Turbine Theatre)
Other Works Include: Back to the Future: The Musical (Original Cast Album)
Allie Daniel (she/her)
Allie trained at Mountview Academy. Her recent credits include Amiens and cover Jaques, Phoebe and Audrey in ‘As You Like It’ (@Sohoplace) Bette in 'Happy Meal' (Traverse Theatre & U.K. Tour), Featured Ensemble and cover Margot in 'Legally Blonde' (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre), Jan in ‘I’m Here’, a short film by Tabby Lamb (Pentabus), Ensemble covering Diva, Bernadette and Miss Understanding in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (U.K. Tour), Millennials (Turbine Theatre), Ensemble in RENT (Hope Mill Theatre), Sleeping Beauty in Disenchanted (West End Musical Productions).
Concert credits include; Backing Vocalist for Ariana DeBose (The London Palladium), West End Besties, (Cadogan Hall) Narrator in Peter And The Wolf at Cadogan Hall and with Triorca, Roles We’ll Never Play (Lyric Theatre), Always Starting Over (True Voices Cabaret), Secret Society Of Leading Ladies (The Barn Theatre Cirencester), and 'Break Free' (Thespie).
Jacqui Dubois (she/her)
Jacqui trained at the London Studio Centre. And recently appeared in The Wizard Of Oz at The London Palladium and Leicester , Crazy For You at Chichester and on the National Tour of Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
Other Theatre includes The Permanent Way at The Vaults ,Me and My Girl at Chichester, Beginners at The Unicorn Theatre London, Oda Mae in Ghost The Musical on a National Tour, People Places and Things at The National Theatre and Wyndhams Emile and The Detectives at The National Theatre, The Kate Bush Concerts at The Apollo
Fela for the National Theatre, Sadlers Wells, and a world Tour including Broadway .Looking For Obama The Bristol Old Vic. The Harder they Come at The Barbican and The Playhouse in The West End, and on tour to America and Canada. Robin Hood in Cardiff. Fame at both the Shaftesbury and Cambridge Theatre; Aunt Em in The Wizard Of Oz (Leicester Haymarket); Nettie Fowler in Carousel (Chichester) Shenzi & Rafiki in The Lion King (Lyceum).The original London casts of The Full Monty, All You Need is Love, Rent, Sophisticated Ladies and Children of Eden. Showboat (Austria); Peacemaker, the Cabaret of Dr Caligari, Little Shop of Horrors (London Bubble Theatre); Dick Whittington (Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham); The Boys from Syracuse (Crucible, Sheffield); Little Shop of Horrors (Haymarket, Leicester); Blues In The Night (Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch); Sweet Lorraine (Firestation, Oxford); Crazy Dance (Frankfurt); Peer Gynt (Barbican); Carmen Jones (European Tour), JFK (Olympia, Dublin); Rent (Olympia, Dublin); Anasi Steals The Wind (Talawa).
Television & Film includes: Hedda Gabler playing Bertha. Pigsty, Blue Peter and Wogan (BBC); Prime Time; Spanish TV Awards; RTE Short Cuts (Dublin); Bye Bye Inkhead.
Workshops / Recordings: Gone with the Wind for Trevor Nunn
Radio: BBC Concert night.
Session singer for Nomad; La Toya Jackson; Urban Shakedown; Jam and Spoon; Dance To Trance; Bass X; Digital Orgasm; T.S.O.S.F. (Solar Funk); Puff Daddy (Wembley Arena).
Jo Foster (they/them)
Theatre includes: Oliver in Why Am I So Single? at (Lillian Baylis Theatre), May in &Juliet at (The Shaftesbury Theatre), Legally Blonde at (Regents Park Open Air Theatre), Hex at (National Theatre) and RENT at (Hope Mill Theatre)
Kaidyn Niall Hinds (he/him)
Kaidyn graduated from The MTA in September 2022, and was most recently seen in the Olivier award-winning “Hey Duggee: The Live Theatre Show”.
Other theatre credits include: Marty in Marty & The Party (DÉDA Derby / Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds / New Wolsey, Ipswich/ HOME, Manchester), Woof in “Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical” (Bridewell Theatre), Swallow in “The Happy Prince” (Imagine Watford Festival), Clouds in “Jack and The Beanstalk” (Tower Theatre), Charlie in “How To Disappear Completely And Never Be Found” (Bernie Grant Arts Centre, streamed), Harry in “The Jury” (Upstairs At The Gatehouse), Chorus of Others in “Fatherland” (Lyric Theatre Hammersmith), and Otto in “Spring Awakening: The Musical” (Greenside @ Royal Terrace).
Other work includes: the Inspector in “J” (short film), and Tom Rage in “Make Me Infamous” (audio musical).
Beth Hinton-Lever (she/her)
Training: Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts after she studied Classical Archaeology and Classical Civilisations at University College London.
Her work in theatre includes: Hadestown, The Doncastrian Chalk Circle, As You Like It, Dick Whittington ( National Theatre); Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe); West Side Story, A Chorus Line (Leicester Curve); Living Newspaper Edition 3, Maryland (The Royal Court); Millennials (MTFest/Turbine); Treasure Island (Derby Theatre); Reasons to be Cheerful (UK Tour); Spring Awakening (Hope Mill); Dancehall, Sleeping Beauty (CAST).
TV includes: Augustus (AppleTV); All The Light We Cannot See (Netflix); The Suspect (ITV); Silent Witness (BBC).
Film includes: Wicked (Universal Pictures); Men in Black: International (Sony).
Audio includes: An Aeneid (Amazon Audible); The Blind School: Pioneering People and Places (History of Place/Museum of Liverpool).
Melissa Jacques (she/her)
Born and bred in Sheffield, Melissa trained at The Constance Grant Dance Centre, Sheffield and then at the London School of Musical Theatre.
Theatre includes , Carols Mom in 42 Balloons, Vaudeville Theatre, Margaret in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Apollo Theatre and Ahmansaon Theatre, Los Angeles.
Other West End credits include, Trish in Kinky Boots (Adelphi Theatre) Wicked, Midwife, Madame Morrible Cover (Victoria Palace); Original cast member of Mamma Mia (London), alternate ‘Donna’ and understudying all of ‘The Dynamos’. Other credits include, Pirate Queen, Pirates of Treasure Island and Queen of Hearts in Alice Wonderland at Stag, Sevenoaks, My Fair Lady (Esplanade Theatre, Singapore); Chess (Spektrum Arena, Oslo); Company, Into the Woods (Derby Playhouse); The Full Monty (UK tour); Spend, Spend, Spend (West Yorkshire Playhouse & UK tour); A Slice of Saturday Night, Oliver, Beauty and the Beast (Theatre Royal, Lincoln); Little Shop of Horrors (Millfield Theatre); Me and My Girl, Crazy for You (Aberystwyth);
Workshops include: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, We Will Rock You, Desperately Seeking Susan, Blag, Paris Thunder. Melissa was also one-sixth of the close vocal harmony group The Unconventionals who released their album Flower to the People.
TV: Doctors
Film: Washer Woman in Disenchanted. Munchkin in the forthcoming Wicked movies directed by John Chu.
Jamie-Lee Lee Grant (she/her)
Jamie-Lee is a British born performer who resides in the city of Birmingham. From the age of five, singing has been a way of expression from growing up in a household surrounded by music. As someone who loves to sing and dance she furthered her skills by attending the University of Wolverhampton studying musical theatre. Jamie-Lee has performed at various events across the Midlands including Jamaica in Square (2018), which attracted over 3000 people and the Birmingham international Festival (2023). Jamie-Lee's aim is to create, share and connect with people from all walks of life through music evoking different emotions and feelings.
Nicholas McLean (he/him)
Training: Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.
Theatre includes: ‘Lola’ in Kinky Boots (Gaiety Theatre), ’Charlie Davenport’ in Annie Get Your Gun (London Palladium), ‘Boq’ in Wicked (Apollo Victoria Theatre), ‘Man 1’ in First Date (Lambert Jackson/ Broadway HD), ‘Gary Coleman’ in Avenue Q (UK & Ireland tour), ’Benny’ in Pied Piper (Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot), ‘Henri’ in South Pacific (St James Concert and Assembly Hall, Guernsey), ‘The Doctor’ in The Book of Mormon (Prince of Wales Theatre), ‘TJ’ in Sister Act (Gordon Craig Theatre)
Television includes: ‘Baxter’ in The Tale of Mr Tumble (CBeebies)
Workshops include: ‘Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’ in Starry (Ameena Hamid
Productions) ‘Eric’ in Nanny McPhee (GWB Entertainment), ’Mason’ in Proud
(Turbine Theatre) and ‘Georgio’ in The Astonishing Times of Timothy Cratchit (Southwark Playhouse)
Other work includes: ‘Sammy’ in Hatched! The Audio Musical; ‘Jamie’ in Subway (MPTheatricals); ’Buttons’ in Cinderella (KidZania worldwide) and ‘Pepper’ in Mamma Mia! The Immersive Experience (du Arena, Abu Dhabi)
Sarah Meeks (she/her - BSL interpreter)
Sarah is from a Deaf family and grew up interpreting songs for her parents, she also is a musician and studied Theatre. She has worked for two decades in the Deaf community and now specialises in Performance Interpreting where she has worked for the BBC, BAFTA, Sky and even his majesty the King at Buckingham Palace.
Lucas Piquero (he/him)
Lucas is a bilingual actor based in London and Madrid. He trained at ArtsEd as an actor, singer and dancer and has a great passion for theatre, film and TV. He is especially interested in projects that explore the duality of the two cultures he grew up in. Lucas played Pepe in West Side Story at the Ljubljana Festival in Slovenia and has just finished playing Pablo in Sister Act at the English Theatre in Frankfurt.
Aaron Shales (he/him/she/her)
Credits: & Juliet (Shaftesbury Theatre)
Training: SLP College, Leeds
Aaron is very proud and grateful to be a part of this celebratory concert, and can’t wait to express the queer joy onstage once again. We all, especially the queer community at this time, need to come together with love and support.
Robin Simões da Silva (he/they)
As a composer and lyricist, Robin's debut musical, Brother, written alongside book writer, Annabel Mutale Reed, premiered online in a workshop production at Southwark Playhouse in 2021 (DEM Productions). He has also composed the score for new play, Charmane (Tobacco Factory Theatres 2019, UK Tour 2020). In 2015, three of Robin’s original songs were recorded and released worldwide by Sony ATV/EMI Production Music as licensed Sync Music.Robin is also an actor-musician and singer. Shortly after having performed in the National Youth Music Theatre’s (NYMT) Imaginary (The Other Palace) in 2018 as an actor-musician, he gained his first professional acting credit in Spring Awakening (Hope Mill Theatre 2019, directed by Luke Sheppard). He has also performed as an actor-musician in his own show, Works of Art, and performed his compositions for Charmane on-stage in the Bristol and UK Tour runs. He can also be heard singing and playing guitar on NYMT’s Imaginary cast recording.
Jaz Terry (she/her)
Jaz trained at the London School of Musical Theatre.
Theatre credits: Lifeboats (Kings Head Theatre), & Juliet (Shaftesbury Theatre), Kinky Boots (NCL), Bring It On (Southwark Playhouse)
Television: Walk The Line (ITV), X Factor (ITV)
Concert: The Color Purple (Cadogan Hall)
Elliott Wooster (they/them)
Credits include: Stranger Sings (Southwark Playhouse/UK Tour), Guy: A New Musical (UK Tour), EI8HT, Chasing Icarus (The Other Palace), The Unconventionals (Vault Fest) Tainted (The Vaults). They also appear on the concept albums for Saving Mozart, Dyseheart, and Fallen.
TV Credits include: Rebel Cheer Squad : A Get Even Story (BBC iPlayer/NETFLIX), Survive (VoD), WarHunt (VoD).
D’arcelle Wright-Harvey (she/her)
D'arcelle has been singing and performing since the age of 6. Her love for music started with her family playing instruments in the kitchen everyday. She trained in Musical Theatre at the University of Wolverhampton. This is D'arcelle's professional debut.