Michael Ball to star in Chess at the London Coliseum
Actor Michael Ball is set to star in the upcoming revival of the musical Chess, which will opens for a limited 5-week run at the London Coliseum in April.
The cast will also include Alexandra Burke, Cassidy Janson, Tim Howar and Murray Head. Tickets for Chess are available now.
Ball will play Russian chess grandmaster Anatoly Sergievsky. Ball was last seen on the London stage in Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, which ran at the Adelphi Theatre. He was a member of the original Les Miserables cast, and has also appeared in The Phantom of the Opera (Raoul) and Aspects of Love (Alex Dillingham).
Alexandra Burke is best-known for winning the 2008 series of The X Factor. She took over from Beverley Knight in the West End production of The Bodyguard at the Dominion Theatre, and played Deloris in a UK touring production of Sister Act in 2016. She will play Svetlana Sergievsky.
Cassidy Janson (Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) will play Florence Vassy, Tim Howar (Rock of Ages) will play US grandmaster Frederick Trumper and Murray Head, who originated the role of Trumper in 1986, will play The Arbiter.
The musical, written by Tim Rice and ABBA songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, is about American grandmaster chess player Freddie Trumper. He travels to Merano, Italy for the Chess World Championships, only to find himself battling Russian competitor Anatoly Sergievsky not just for the competition, but for the love of Trumper's second, Florence.
This new production at the London Coliseum will be directed by Laurence Connor, whose recent theatre credits include School of Rock and Miss Saigon both on Broadway and in the West End. It will be choreographed by Stephen Mear.
Chess is at the London Coliseum from 26th April to 2nd June, with an official opening on 1st May.
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