The View Upstairs musical announces star cast for London production

A star cast has been announced for the UK premiere of The View Upstairs.

After critically acclaimed productions across North America, including a run Off-Broadway in 2017, The View Upstairs will run at Soho Theatre from July 18 to August 24.

Andy Mientus, Declan Bennett, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, Cedric Neal and John Partridge will lead the cast as Patrick, Dale, Inez, Henri and Buddy respectively.

Also in the cast are Carly Mercedes Dyer as Henri, Gary Lee as Freddy, Joseph Prouse as Richard and Derek Hagen as Cops/Realtor.

Completing the cast, Tyrone Huntley will star as Wes.

The View Upstairs features music, lyrics and book by Max Vernon. The London production will be directed by Jonathan O’Boyle with choreography by Fabian Aloise.

[ticketbox id=”911″]

Max Vernon said of the London production: “As a devotee and lover of British theatre, art, music and culture (from Caryl Churchill and Joe Orton to Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood, Roxy Music, T. Rex and Siouxsie and The Banshees), it has been a lifelong dream of mine to bring an original musical to London.

“For that show to be The View UpStairs – which is high fashion, rock‘n’roll, queer, subversive, and speaks to an important forgotten history in the LGBTQ+ community – that is an enormous opportunity.

“I’m obsessed with the director and producing team’s vision for how to mount this work. We are ready to turn it the f*q out and create something iconic and unheard of at the Soho Theatre.”

A synopsis of the show reads:

The musical opens in present day when Wes, a young fashion designer buys an abandoned space, not realising this had been the UpStairs Lounge, a vibrant ’70s gay bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans, which, in 1973, was burned down in an arson attack, killing 32 people, and making it the worst attack on the LGBTQ+ community until the 2016 shooting at The Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

The View Upstars brings to life this forgotten community and takes the audience on an exhilarating journey of seduction and self-exploration, celebrating the lives of those forgotten, while featuring a soulful, rock and jazz score.

An original cast recording is available now via Broadway Records.