Kevin Kennedy, aka Curly Watts from Coronation Street, is to join the cast of We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre.
The Queen & Ben Elton rock musical We Will Rock You will see a new cast member join this autumn as TV’s Kevin Kennedy, better known as Curly Watts from ITV soap Coronation Street, will star as Pop from 6 September 2010.
Kennedy has previously toured in the role and his previous stage credits include Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Chicago and The Rocky Horror Show.
Other new cast in the show include former X-Factor star Brenda Edwards as Killer Queen. Edwards played the role in the recent UK tour and replaces Mazz Murray, who is on maternity leave. Also Ricardo Afonso is returning to the show in the lead role of Galileo, Sarah French plays Scaramouche and Rachel John (Sister Act, The Lion King) will star as Meat from 1 November.
Cast remaining with the show include Alex Bourne as Khashoggi and Ian Carlyle as Britney.
We Will Rock You opened at the Dominion Theatre in May 2002 and has played over 3000 performances, making it the longest-running show at the venue.
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WE WILL ROCK YOU CAST NOTES
Galileo – Ricardo Afonso
Ricardo returns to the role of Galileo having spent a year away in which he undertook a series of concert and show dates including A Night of a Thousand voices at the Royal Albert Hall, the Queen concerts with the English National Orchestra and as principal singer in Abba Tribute in Portugal. He has also contributed to many well-loved feature films and animations including singing numbers as Robin Hood in Shrek and main title songs for Beauty and the Beast and Duck Tales.
Scaramouche – Sarah French
Having covered the role of Scaramouche at the Dominion before gaining the role in the touring production, Sarah now fully takes on the role in the London production. Sarah has previously been seen in the Olivier Award winning production Sunday in the Park With George, and in the UK touring production of The Rocky Horror Show.
Other theatre work includes the Sondheim 75th Birthday Gala at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. She is also recognized for her TV work including the regular role of Alison Peters in EastEnders and Samantha and Julie in Little Britain.
Pop – Kevin Kennedy
One of TV’s best known and best loved character actors steps into the well-worn sandals of Pop, the hippy librarian who knows the secrets of the “texts” and leads Galileo on a journey of discovery to the Place of Living Rock where the Champions once played. Although most widely recognized for his 20-year long role of Curly Watts, Kevin has all the right credentials to play someone who knows about the history of rock music. Outside of acting, Kevin has himself enjoyed a successful career as a musician: he was bass player in the band Paris Valentinos which also featured Johnny Marr and Andy Rourke who later played in The Smiths, and later formed his own band, Band of Thieves. Then signed by Simon Cowell under his own name, he had a gold selling album, Present Kennedy and today he is an artist signed to Warner Records. Kevin played Pop throughout We Will Rock You’s 2009 UK tour. He has also appeared in the West End as Amos in Chicago the Musical and as both Caractacus Potts and the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Killer Queen – Brenda Edwards
Former X Factor finalist Brenda Edwards immediately went from her TV fame into
becoming a much sought after West End actress and TV regular. She was snapped up to play Mama Morton in Chicago the Musical and then created the role of Pearl Pastor in Carmen Jones at the Royal Festival Hall. She wowed audiences around the UK in the touring production of We Will Rock You playing over 300 performances as Killer Queen, a treat she now brings to West End audiences.
Khashoggi – Alex Bourne
Alex is one of We Will Rock You’s longest running cast members having first taken the role of Khashoggi in 2005. Alex’s earlier roles in music theatre have seen him take on some of rock and pop’s greatest performers: he has played Buddy Holly in
Buddy – the Buddy Holly Story, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen and Bobby Vee in Only the Lonely and Dean Martin in The Rat Pack. Other shows include Grease and The Rocky Horror Show.
Meat – Rachel John
One of the show’s most physically challenging roles, the freedom fighter Meat, falls on Rachel John to play. It is a role that Rachel covered for We Will Rock You’s UK tour playing the role for over 65 performances. Her handling of the role has taken her into the part full-time in the London cast. Previous roles Rachel has covered have included Deloris in Sister Act and Shenzi and Rafiki in The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre.
Britney (‘Brit’) – Ian Carlyle
Continuing in the role of Britney, the hot-headed rebel who gives his all for the love of his ‘baby’, Ian made his West End debut in The Lion King followed by a run in Trevor Nunn’s critically acclaimed production of Porgy and Bess. His other highly noted work includes the UK tour of Miss Saigon and a run of Carmen Jones at the royal Festival Hall.
