The U.K. premiere of Max Vernon’s hit musical The View UpStairs is set to open at the Soho Theatre July 23 after beginning performances July 18. The production, starring Broadway’s Andy Mientus (Spring Awakening), is scheduled to play through August 24.
Mientus, who plays Patrick, stars alongside Declan Bennett (EastEnders) as Dale, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt (The Wild Party) as Inez, The Voice finalist Cedric Neal as Henri, and John Partridge (Cats) as Buddy. Rounding out the cast are Carly Mercedes Dyer (Hadestown, Dreamgirls) as Henri, Gary Lee (Flashdance, Ghost) as Freddy, Joseph Prouse (Hadestown, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) as Richard, Tyrone Huntley (Book of Mormon) as Wes, Derek Hagen (The Twilight Zone, 20th Century Boy) as Cops/Realtor.
The musical, penned by Vernon, takes audiences back to the UpStairs Lounge, a ‘70s gay bar in New Orleans, bringing to life some of the characters that would frequent the French Quarter space before an arson attack took the lives of 32 people. It was the worse attack against the LGBTQ+ community until the 2016 shooting at The Pulse nightclub in Orlando.Flip through photos of the production below:
The show's London run, directed by Jonathan O’Boyle and choreographed by Fabian Aloise, follows a 2017 Off-Broadway premiere, a series of regional stagings, and a bow in Australia. Set and costume design are by Lee Newby, lighting design is by Nic Farman, sound design is by Adam Fisher, with casting by Will Burton CDG.
The View UpStairs is produced in the U.K. by Jack Maple and Brian Zeilinger for Take Two Theatricals and Ken Fakler, with Creative House Productions and Associate Producers Ben Lockwood and Sue Marks.
