Jodie Steele, Stewart Clarke and Alfie Friedman head the first company named for Wild About You, the new musical by Chilina Kennedy that receives its first full staging at the Charing Cross Theatre in the new year.
Jodie Steele will play Olivia in Wild About You, the first fully staged production of the musical, at the Charing Cross Theatre. Announced on 1 October, the initial company also has Stewart Clarke as Michael and Alfie Friedman as Billy, the young man at the centre of the story.
Steele, whose credits include Heathers The Musical at The Other Palace, the Theatre Royal Haymarket and New World Stages in New York, has also been seen in Bonnie & Clyde at the Garrick Theatre and on the UK tour of Six The Musical. Clarke brings a list that takes in Les Misérables at the Sondheim Theatre, Stranger Things at the Phoenix Theatre and Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre. Friedman's credits include Dorian: The Musical at Southwark Playhouse Borough and The Witches of Eastwick at the Sondheim Theatre.
Danielle Steers plays Jess and Bea Ward plays Scoot, Billy's best friend. Steers has appeared in Hot Mess at The Other Palace, Southwark Playhouse and the Edinburgh Fringe, Just For One Day at The Old Vic, and Six at the Lyric and Vaudeville theatres; Ward's credits include the UK and Ireland tour of Miss Saigon and Bonnie and Clyde at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and the Arts Theatre. Cassandra McCowan, who was in Stiletto at the Charing Cross Theatre and School of Rock at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, joins the female ensemble. More casting is still to be announced.
The story begins at Billy's high school graduation party, when he comes across a trunk of letters addressed to him by his late mother. He had grown up believing she walked out on him as a child, and the discovery sends him and Scoot off in search of the truth about a woman he never knew, and about what she might reveal of his own place in the world.
Chilina Kennedy, whose credits include Jesus Christ Superstar and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, has written the music and lyrics, and the book is by Dani Stoller (Easy Women Smoking Loose Cigarettes) with Kennedy. The score moves between contemporary folk, pop, rock, country-pop and soul, and the company points to Joni Mitchell and Sara Bareilles as its touchstones.
Kristin Hanggi, whose credits include Rock of Ages and Romy and Michele: The Musical, directs. Daniel Edmonds (The Great Gatsby, Shucked) is music supervisor, orchestrator and arranger, Brian Spector (The Hills of California) is producer and Caitlin McNeilage (Leading Lady Club at 54 Below and the Edinburgh Fringe) is associate producer. Further creative team members will follow.
The production is presented by Keaka Productions LLC and Steven M. Levy for Charing Cross Theatre Productions Limited, together with Eric McCormack (Will & Grace, The Cottage), Michael Scott (The Hills of California) and Second Set LLC (Liberation). Keaka, a Tony Award-winning producer of The Inheritance and Leopoldstadt, was a lead producer of The Hills of California on Broadway. The musical has already been heard in sold-out concerts and on a world premiere recording.
Spector said: "Following our unforgettable sold-out concerts, we are beyond thrilled to bring the fully staged world premiere of WILD ABOUT YOU to London. This incredible company of actors brings such raw emotional depth, soaring vocals, and contemporary heart to Chilina Kennedy's gorgeous score. We cannot wait for West End audiences to experience this deeply moving journey of love, discovery and connection."
Wild About You is booking now at the Charing Cross Theatre, running from Monday 18 January to Saturday 10 April 2027, with press night on Tuesday 26 January 2027.
