Last Updated on 29 June 2021 by Showcall Editorial Team
Top Hat featuring the songs of Irving Berlin is to be revived at The Mill at Sonning this autumn as the theatre’s Christmas show
Full casting has been announced for The Mill at Sonning’s revival of musical Top Hat, featuring the songs of Irving Berlin.
Jack Butterworth, whose previous roles include Bobby Van Husen in The Boy Friend at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory, will play the lead role of Broadway sensation Jerry Travers who dances his way across Europe to win the heart of society girl Dale Tremont, played by Billie-Kay.
Also featured in the cast are Brendan Cull, Tiffany Graves, Paul Kemble and Delme Thomas alongside an ensemble of Joel Baylis, Charlie Booker, Courtney George, Jinny Gould, Alex Harrison, Connor Hughes, Meg Power and Charlotte Coggin.
The show, packed with classic style and romance, will run at the Oxfordshire theatre from 16 October 2021 to 8 January 2022, with opening night on 21 October.
The songs, by the great American songwriter Irving Berlin, include “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, “Cheek to Cheek”, “Isn’t This a Lovely Day” and “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails”.
The original Olivier Award-winning show premiered in the UK in 2011. Written by Matthew White and Howard Jacques, it is an adaptation of the classic 1935 film of the same name with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
It is directed by Jonathan O’Boyle, whose credits include Hair at Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre and the revival of The Last Five Years which is transferring from Southwark Playhouse to the West End in September.
The creative team also includes choreographer Ashley Nottingham, set designer Jason Denvir, sound designer Chris Whybrow, musical director Chris Poon and lighting designer Nic Farman. Musical arrangements are by Francis Goodhand.
The Mill at Sonning, named Most Welcoming Theatre for 2016, 2017 and 2018 in the UK Theatre Awards, offers a unique dinner-and-theatre experience, with tickets including a high-quality home-cooked two-course meal in its Thameside restaurant before every show.
The restaurant will offer a Christmas menu from the last week of November until Boxing Day when it will return to a non-festive menu.
