Former JLS star Aston Merrygold, who recently appeared on TV in The Masked Singer, has joined the touring cast of Footloose the Musical.
Merrygold will play Willard in the show, which will stop at the New Wimbledon Theatre between August 15-20.
He said: “Willard is a superb role and I’m really looking forward to the challenge of stepping into such a lovable, comedy part and performing on these amazing stages. Footloose is just the best night out and I guarantee if you come along you’ll leave with a spring in your step and a smile on your face. I’m so looking forward to working with this team and I can’t wait to see you all there.”
The rest of the cast includes Darren Day as Reverend Moore with Lucy Munden (Ariel), Oonagh Cox (Rusty), Anna Westlake (Lulu) Alex Fobbester (Bickle) Ben Barrow (Wes) Ben Mabberley (Jeter) Geri Allen (Ethel) Holly Ashton (Vi), Jess Barker (Wendy-Jo) Joshua Hawkins (Ren) Samantha Richards (Urleen) Tom Mussell (Chuck) and Daniel Miles and Lucy Ireland as off-stage swings.
In Footloose, city boy Ren thinks life is bad enough when he’s forced to move to a rural backwater in America. But his world comes to a standstill when he arrives at Bomont to find dancing and rock music are banned. Taking matters into his own hands, soon Ren has all hell breaking loose and the whole town on its feet.
Based on the 1980s film, Footloose The Musical blends cutting edge modern choreography with classic 80s hits including Holding Out for a Hero, Almost Paradise, Let’s Hear It For The Boy and the iconic title track Footloose.
Footloose The Musical is presented by Selladoor Productions, Runaway Entertainment and Jason Haigh Ellery with casting by Debbie O’Brien, direction by Racky Plews, with choreography from Matt Cole, musical supervision by Mark Crossland, design by Sara Perks with lighting design from Chris Davey and sound design from Chris Whybrow.
Tickets are on sale now.