Commitments musical gets its cast

Ahead of its world premiere in London's West End on October 8, the eagerly-anticipated musical adaptation of Roddy Doyle's The Commitments has unveiled its official cast.

Previews will run (at half price, with tickets going from £5) from September 21, giving punters a first look at the fresh-faced cast before the official opening night. 22-year-old Dublin native Denis Grindel landed the lead role of Jimmy Rabbitte. Grindel originally studied law but followed his dreams of performing in the West End, beating out several thousand hopefuls who auditioned for the part.

Killian Donnelly will take on the role of arrogant but gifted leader singer Deco. It's an interesting change of pace for Donnelly, having previously starred in Phantom of the Opera and both the film and stage production of Les Miserables. The talented Ben Fox will play the spiritually inspired trumpet player extraordinaire, Joey ‘The Lips’ Fagan.

Mirroring The Commitments itself, the Jamie Lloyd-directed musical will introduce a new batch of young and exciting talent alongside established musical theatre performers. The Commitmentettes, Dublin’s answer to The Supremes, are to be played by three young Dublin girls, all making their West End debuts – Sarah O’Connor, Stephanie McKeon and Jessica Cervi.

Doyle has been suitably impressed by the cast.

“I've been sitting in rehearsals, watching these terrific young people becoming The Commitments," he says. "I'm hearing them sing; I'm watching them play their instruments – and it all makes me very happy and excited. What amuses me most is the fact that only one of them was born when I wrote the novel.”

Tickets are available from [link]www.thecommitmentslondon.com[/link]. Check out our interview with Roddy in which he waxes lyrical on The Commitments, Louis Walsh and his latest novel Guts here.