Casting a spell: Radcliffe will be starring in a new musical
(Picture: Getty Images for WarnerMedia)Ever wondered if Harry Potter could sing?
Broadway audiences will soon be able to find out: Daniel Radcliffe will be starring in Stephen Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along later this year.
The show, which features music and lyrics from the late, great Stephen Sondheim, follows the turbulent relationship between composer Franklin Shepard and his two long-time friends, writer Mary and playwright Charley.
It is due to be performed at the New York Theatre Workshop, and will complete the company’s 2022-23 season, alongside plays including Chekhov’s Three Sisters, American (tele)visions by Tow Playwright-in-Residence Victor I. Cazares and How to Defend Yourself, by Liliana Padilla.
Though Radcliffe’s casting has been announced, additional details, including the rest of the cast, are still to come.
This is not his first time treading the boards: though he shot to fame by starring as boy wizard Harry Potter, he has subsequently appeared in Equus and The Cripple of Inishmaan in the West End, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on Broadway.
He is also fresh from starring in Paramount’s new film The Lost City alongside Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, where he plays the villain.
Merrily We Roll Along originally premiered in 1981, and is based on an earlier play of the same name from 1934.
However, the 1981 show was widely panned and closed after just sixteen performances, before being revived and rewritten in multiple occasions, including a celebrated run in London in 2000 that won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical and received the most five-star reviews in West End history.
The show will be directed by Maria Friedman, who also directed during its award-winning London run.
