It has just been announced that Chichester Festival Theatre's production of The Pajama Game, directed by Richard Eyre, will transfer to the West End next year. Joanna Riding will reprise her role as Babe Williams and is joined by Michael Xavier who plays the handsome superintendent, Sid Sorokin.
Meet the pair below!
- Joanna is a double Olivier Award winning actress. She won Best Actress in a Musical for playing Julie Jordan in Nicholas Hytner's Royal National Theatre revival of Carousel and Eliza Doolittle in Trevor Nunn's National Theatre revival of My Fair Lady.
- She has been nominated for two other Olivier Awards for playing Sarah Brown in Richard Eyre's acclaimed revival of Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre and Jane Smart in The Witches of Eastwick at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
- Joanna's further leading West End credits include: Blithe Spirit, Billy Elliot, Lend Me A Tenor and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.
- She is currently starring in the world premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical Stephen Ward which is directed and choreographed by The Pajama Game team, Richard Eyre and Stephen Mear.
- You may recognise Joanna from her recent appearance as Melissa in Sky comedy Stella alongside Ruth Jones.
- Next year she can be seen as Cinderella’s Mother in Disney's film adaptation of Into the Woods, directed by Rob Marshall and starring Meryl Streep.
Michael Xavier
- Michael most recently starred as Captain von Trapp in the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre’s production of The Sound of Music which enjoyed a sold-out run over the summer.
- He has gained Olivier Award nominations for starring as Oliver in Love Story (Duchess Theatre, transferred from Chichester Festival Theatre) and as Cinderella’s Prince/The Wolf in Sondheim’s fairytale Into The Woods (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre).
- His many other roles include: Freddy in My Fair Lady directed by Trevor Nunn, Raoul in The Phantom of The Opera, Sir Galahad in Spamalot, Sky in Mamma Mia, Chris in Miss Saigon and Curly in Oklahoma.
- Michael recently sang at the National Theatre’s 50th anniversary concert, which was broadcast live on BBC 2 and in cinemas worldwide.
- He is currently performing in the seasonal concerts, The Best of the West End at Christmas and can be heard on a charity EP which has just been released on iTunes entitled 'A Very West End Christmas'.
- Michael is one of the few West End stars to have been interviewed by West End Frame twice! Read West End Frame's interviews with Michael Xavier from April 2013 and October 2012.
The Pajama Game opens at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 13th May 2014 (previews from 1st May) for a limited season until 13th September 2014.
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