Pending Government permission, Sleepless: A Musical Romance will begin performances at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre on August 25. Ahead of its run, a performance of one of the musical’s songs ‘Are You Looking Up’ has been unveiled.
The track is performed by Jay McGuiness and Kimberley Walsh, who will be reuniting on stage after their show-stopping turns in Big the Musical last year. Based on the screenplay for the hit film Sleepless in Seattle, the pair will be playing Sam and Annie respectively. Featuring original music by Robert Scott and lyrics by Brendan Cull, ‘Are You Looking Up’ gives us just a taste of what we can expect from this heartwarming show.
The musical tells the story of Sam, “who moves to Seattle with his ten year-old son, Jonah, following the tragic death of his wife. When Jonah phones a radio show, Sam is forced to talk about his broken heart and sleepless nights live on air, and he suddenly finds himself one of the most sought after single men in America and a great news story for feisty journalist Annie on the opposite side of the country.”
Sleepless: A Musical Romance was originally due to begin in March, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been rescheduled for a limited run from August 25 – September 27. A special NHS Gala, A Night for Sleepless Heroes, for NHS and Care workers will take place on August 27.
The show will be following specific health and social distancing guidelines, with the venue stating that: “Our first priority is and always has been the safety and comfort of our audiences, staff and visiting companies. We are working closely with health and safety experts and strictly following all government guidelines and we look forward to welcoming audiences to the world premiere of Sleepless whenever this is allowed.”
At present, tickets within different areas of the theatre are available for purchase, with specific seating being allocated 48 hours before each show in order to comply with social distancing measures. Attendees will be required to wear face coverings and will be subject to temperature checks at arrival. Other measures include contactless ordering, hand sanitising stations as well as one-directional entry/exit points. You can find out more information here.
Producer Michael Rose said: “Lockdown has effected and frightened a huge number of people in this country – particularly in our industry. Our story in Sleepless deals with mending something that is broken – it’s about putting a family back together after a loss – and we feel it’s time to do exactly that – it’s time to start the healing process – that’s part of what we do in theatre.”
Sleepless: A Musical Romance is directed by Morgan Young with set design by Morgan Large, costume design by Sue Simmerling, lighting by Ken Billington, and video design by Ian William Galloway. It also features sound design by Simon Biddulph, orchestrations and arrangements by Larry Blank, musical supervision by Stuart Morley, musical direction by Chris Walker, orchestra management by Sylvia Addison for Music Solutions, wig and hair design by Richard Mawbey and casting by Sarah Bird CDG and Michael Donovan CSA.