Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has created a new version of Cinderella with Killing Eve scriptwriter Emerald Fennell. The production is to open in London this summer in the Gillian Lynne theatre, currently home to Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock.
Fennell, who was nominated for an Emmy for Killing Eve, is credited with the original story and book for the musical. Lloyd Webber has written a new score and he describes David Zippel’s lyrics as “hugely witty”.
The composer said: “I have long wanted to write my own version of Cinderella but could never find a take on the classic story that really grabbed me. Emerald Fennell has written something truly exciting and original, and the moment I read her outline I knew I’d found my latest collaborator.”
Fennell, who is starring as Camilla Parker Bowles in Netflix’s The Crown, makes her directorial feature film debut this spring with A Promising Young Woman, starring Carey Mulligan. She has described the thriller, which she wrote, as a tale of “ice-cold revenge”.
Performances of Cinderella begin in September 2020 at a refurbished Gillian Lynne theatre, formerly the New London theatre, renamed two years ago in honour of the Cats choreographer. School of Rock, which opened in 2016, will complete its London run at the theatre in March, having played more than 1,400 performances, and undertake a UK tour next year. Lloyd Webber said: “I’m very glad that so many kids have seen the show and been inspired to take up music. There are local-language productions now planned around the world, and I’m particularly keen to see the Chinese kids’ band rock out in due course.”
Comments (…)
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion