Following 12 hugely successful foreign language productions, the critically acclaimed musical Rebecca is to get its English language premiere in a new production at London’s Charing Cross Theatre in an English translation by Christopher Hampton
A hugely successful German musical based on Daphne Du Maurier’s 1938 novel, Rebecca has captivated more than 2 million people worldwide in 12 countries and 10 languages.
Rebecca, by Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay, two of the most successful German-language musical theatre composers, had its world premiere at the Raimund Theater in Vienna in September 2006, where it went on to play to sold-out houses for more than three years, and where it is currently enjoying a successful revival.
Rebecca will run at Charing Cross Theatre from 4 September – 18 November 2023.
Press night is Monday 18 September 2023 at 7.30pm.
It will have an orchestra of 18 and will be directed by Alejandro Bonatto (director of the critically acclaimed production of Donizetti’s Rita and Francis Poulanc and Jean Cocteau’s The Human Voice at Charing Cross Theatre).
It has a new English translation by Christopher Hampton (two-time Tony Award winner for Best Score & Best Book for Sunset Boulevard and Oscar winner for Best Adapted Screenplay Dangerous Liaisons, The Father).
Rebecca, with 22 original songs, is a gripping thriller full of intrigue and surprises that sticks closely to the original novel. Wealthy Maxim DeWinter brings his naïve new wife home to his Cornish estate, Manderley, where the manipulative housekeeper, Mrs Danvers, resents the new wife’s intrusion. She persuades her that she is an unworthy replacement for the first Mrs. DeWinter, the glamorous and mysterious Rebecca, who perished in a drowning accident, with tragic results…
The world-famous novel was also turned into a celebrated Alfred Hitchcock film in 1940, starring Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson, George Sanders and Gladys Cooper. It was nominated for 11 Oscars, winning two awards; Best Picture and Best Cinematography. Rebecca was recently filmed again by Netflix starring Lily James, Armie Hammer, Kristin Scott Thomas and Keeley Hawes.
Charing Cross Theatre, The Arches, Villiers Street, London, WC2N 6NL. Booking: 08444 930650 – www.charingcrosstheatre.co.uk
Dates: 4 September to 18 November 2023
Times: Tuesday – Saturday at 7.30pm; Wednesday at 2.30pm; Saturday & Sunday at 3.00pm.
Tickets from £25.00
Upgrade your ticket to include a glass of bubbly and a programme for just £7.50
