'We had some guts and some luck
But we were just makin’ a buck
Movies were movies were movies when I ran the show!’

 

Not long ago, and without saying a word, a group of pioneering film-makers changed the world. Helped by heroes in capes, and girls tied to the tracks, they made stars out of street kids, and riches from rags.  But for writer, director, producer and owner of Keystone Motion Picture Studios Mack Sennett, forging a film is the easy part - compared to working, and falling in love, with a stunning one-off like Mabel.

 

This dazzling musical comedy is both a poignant love story and a riveting tribute to the grit and glamour of the era of silent movies.  Based on the true romance between Hollywood legends Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand, Mack & Mabel received eight Tony Award nominations when it opened on Broadway in 1974.

 

Music and lyrics are by Jerry Herman (La Cage aux Folles) and the book by Michael Stewart (Barnum, 42nd Street), the multi award-winning team behind the classic Broadway musical Hello, Dolly! This thrilling tale of trailblazers and stars is widely admired for its outstanding score including hits I Won’t Send Roses andTime Heals Everything.

 

Olivier Award-winner Michael Ball returns to Chichester to play Mack Sennett, following his celebrated performance in Sweeney Todd (2011). His other recent credits include the BBC drama That Day We Sang and Hairspray in the West End and on tour.

 

Rebecca LaChance makes her Chichester debut as Mabel. Her recent credits include Betty and understudy Carole in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on Broadway and Johnny Baseball directed by Gordon Greenberg.

 

Artistic Director Jonathan Church’s most recent musical hits for Chichester include the award-winning Singin’ in the Rain (2011).


 

Cast

 

st:

Michael Ball (Mack Sennett) - Having a massive West End career including Sweeney Todd, Hairspray, Les Misérables, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Phantom of the Opera, and Co-producer of Festival 2010’s Love Story in the West End.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rebecca LaChance (Mabel) - Theatre credits include Betty/understudied and played Carole in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Broadway), Broadway by the Year and Broadway Rising Stars (Town Hall Fringe Festival NYC), If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (Theatreworks USA), Jane in Central Avenue Breakdown (World Premiere. New York Musical Theatre Festival and Daegu International Music Festival South Korea) and Johnny Baseball (Williamstown Theatre Festival).


Trained at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts studying at the Playwrights Horizons Theatre School, Experimental Theatre Wing and International Theatre Workshop, graduating with Honours winning the JS Seidman Award for Drama.


Rebecca is also a singer-songwriter and hopes to record an EP of her original music next year.

 

Anna-Jane Casey (Lottie) - Having performed as a child in theatre, television and radio, Casey made her West End debut in the role of Rumpleteazer in Cats at the New London Theatre. Her extensive credits also include leading roles in Company, Piaf and the title role of Sweet Charity for Sheffield Crucible, the award-winning Sunday in the Park With George (Menier Chocolate Factory), Mack and Mabel for the Watermill Theatre (2005 TMA Award for Best Performance in a Musical), Chicago (Cambridge Theatre) and the West End productions of Children of Eden, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Starlight Express and West Side Story. Before joining the cast of Forbidden Broadway, she played Mrs Wilkinson in Billy Elliot (Victoria Palace) and The Lady of the Lake in Spamalot (Playhouse).

 

TTickets

I have tickets for the show in rows F, G and H of the Upper Circle:

 

Where: Chichester Festival Theatre, Oaklands Park, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 6AP

Click here for theatre info

 

 

When: Saturday 1st September, 2:30pm 

 

Price: £37.50 (there are no weekend discounts for this popular show ).

 

Please note we have selected the Upper Circle as it provides a good view of the stage at a reasonable price.  There are 70 steps to the Upper Circle in this theatre.

 

If you'd like to see the show, please let me know as soon as possible. Click here to e-mail me or text me on the usual number.

I'll need full payment needed by Sunday 27th May to secure your ticket.


Please note:

The cast may change at short notice due to illness or unforeseen circumstances.