West End favourite David Hunter will play F Scott Fitzgerald in the world premiere of new musical Beautiful Little Fool.
The show runs at Southwark Playhouse Borough from 15 January until 28 February 2026.
Hunter, whose credits include 13 Going on 30 The Musical, The Time Traveller’s Wife, Waitress and Kinky Boots, replaces Declan Bennett (Jesus Christ Superstar) who has set sail on the international tour of Sting’s musical The Last Ship.
Prior to this, David will co-host of Magic Radio West End Christmas at the London Palladium on 15 November.
David joins previously announced cast Lauren Ward (Matilda The Musical, Dear Evan Hansen, Stranger Things: The First Shadow) as Scottie and Hannah Corneau (Wicked, Renascence, Frozen) as Zelda.
The cast also includes David Austin-Barnes (Book of Mormon, US tour) as ensemble and cover F Scott, Amy Parker (13 Going on 30, Manchester Opera House) as ensemble and cover Scottie and Zelda, and Jasmine Hackett (Muriel’s Wedding, Leicester Curve) as swing.
The story centres on real-life couple, the famous American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, who wrote The Great Gatsby, and his wife Zelda. The musical is told through the eyes of their daughter Scottie, as she rediscovers the lives and writings of her brilliant and tempestuous parents.
Beautiful Little Fool has music and lyrics by Hannah Corneau and a book by Mona Mansour. The production is directed by Michael Greif.
Greif said: “We’re thrilled to welcome David Hunter to the company of Beautiful Little Fool. David brings such heart, warmth and musical intelligence to everything he does, and he’s a wonderful fit for the role of F Scott. As the concept album continues to find new listeners around the world, we can’t wait to bring this extraordinary story to life on stage in January.”
The wider creative team includes orchestrations by Adam Rothenberg, musical direction by Jerome van den Berghe, set design by Shankho Chaudhuri, costume design by Laura Hopkins, lighting design by Ben Stanton, and sound design by Domnic Bilkey.
Beautiful Little Fool was originally commissioned by New Works Provincetown, and is produced by Mark Cortale, Jonathan Murray and Harvey Reese.
Beautiful Little Fool is playing at Southwark Playhouse Borough from 15 January to 28 February 2026.
Book tickets to Beautiful Little Fool at Southwark Playhouse Borough in London
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