AFTER coming through ten rounds of auditions, culminating in a final four sing-off at The Cavern in Liverpool, Kara Lily Hayworth landed the lead role of Cilla Black in Cilla, The Musical. In doing so, she beat thousands of hopefuls.
Written by BAFTA award-winning Jeff Pope, the show had its world premiere at the Liverpool Empire last September and is now on tour, playing the Grand Opera House, York, from January 23 to 27.
Cilla, The Musical tells the extraordinary, heart-warming story of the ordinary girl from Liverpool whose teenage dreams of stardom lead her to becoming one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers after a young John Lennon introduces one Priscilla White to music mogul Brian Epstein, changing her life forever. Number one hits, Blind Date and Surprise, Surprise all follow.
Directed by Liverpudlian impresario Bill Kenwright and Bob Tomson, the show features Andrew Lancel as manager Brian Epstein; Carl Au as Cilla's husband, Bobby; Amy Bridges as Rose Willis; Gemma Brodrick-Bower as Pauline and Paul Broughton as John White.
Bill Caple plays Ringo Starr; Tom Christian, Kenny Willis; Tom Dunlea, Hutch; Pauline Fleming, Big Cilla; Joshua Gannon, Paul McCartney; Billie Hardy,Pat, and Michael Hawkins, John Lennon.
The cast of Cilla, The Musical, on stage at the Liverpool Empire last September. Picture: Matt Martin
The musical reunites Dunlea, Hawkins and Brodrick-Bower, who all appeared in Pope’s original ITV mini-series Cilla, on which his musical is based.
The show also reunites Lancel with the role of Epstein, after he played him on stage in Epstein – The Man Who Made The Beatles. Lancel is best known to television audiences as super-villain Frank Foster in Coronation Street and as DI Neil Manson in the long-running ITV series The Bill.
In Cilla, the Merseybeat sound will be performed live on stage by the cast, which is completed by Alan Howell, Jay Osbourne, Alex Harford, Will Kinnon, Jenny Murphy, Tom Sowinski and Christopher Weeks.
The score is a "soundtrack to the Sixties", featuring Cilla’s hits Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, Alfie and Something Tells Me (Something's Gonna Happen Tonight), alongside The Beatles' Twist And Shout, The Mamas and The Papas’ California Dreamin' and many more.
The show is produced by Kenwright and Laurie Mansfield with executive producer Robert Willis, Cilla's son.
Tickets for the 7.30pm evening shows and 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees are on sale at atgtickets.com/york and on 0844 871 3024.
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