Broadway Glamour Comes to Sunderland as TOP HAT Announces Star-Studded Tour Cast
Sunderland Empire
Tuesday 18 – Saturday 22 November 2025
A Star Turn from Broadway
Leading the company as the debonair Jerry Travers is Phillip Attmore, making his highly anticipated UK debut in the role. Attmore is no stranger to acclaim – he's a winner of the prestigious Fred and Adele Astaire Award for Best Male Dancer for Shuffle Along and the Playbill Breakout Performance Award for On the 20th Century. One of Broadway's most exciting performers, his credits include Hello, Dolly!, Cheek to Cheek: Irving Berlin in Hollywood, and television's The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. His arrival on UK shores in a role that demands the kind of effortless charm and dancing prowess that made Fred Astaire a legend is nothing short of thrilling.
An Acclaimed Leading Lady
Joining Attmore is Amara Okereke as Dale Tremont, the beautiful model who captures Jerry's heart. Okereke won the 2018 Stage Debut Award for her portrayal of Cosette in Les Misérables at the Queen's Theatre and has since established herself as one of British theatre's most exciting talents. Her recent credits include Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady at London Coliseum, Oklahoma! at Chichester Festival Theatre, A Streetcar Named Desire at Sheffield Crucible, and Spring Awakening at the Almeida Theatre. She's also set to appear in the upcoming film The Choral, directed by Sir Nicholas Hytner.
Returning Favourites and New Additions
Sally Ann Triplett, who represented the UK twice in the Eurovision song contest, continues in the role of Madge Hardwick, bringing her considerable experience to the formidable society matron. Triplett has enjoyed a distinguished career including Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Gran in The Witches, and a WhatsOnStage Award-winning turn as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes at the National Theatre. She also appeared in the original Broadway production Carrie as Sue Snell
James Hume takes on the role of Horace Hardwick, Jerry's hapless producer. A winner of the Toni Fell Competition and Hilda Deane Award for Outstanding Achievement, Hume's impressive credits include Kiss Me Kate at the Barbican, A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic, and The Phantom of the Opera in both the West End and on UK/Ireland tour.
Reprising their roles from the Chichester Festival Theatre production are James Clyde as Bates and Alex Gibson-Giorgio as Alberto Beddini. Clyde brings extensive Royal Shakespeare Company experience, having appeared in King Lear, Cymbeline, and numerous other productions, as well as playing Mr. Wormwood in Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge Theatre. Gibson-Giorgio's credits span Sinatra The Musical, Zorro The Musical, Rags, and the Mamma Mia! Australia Tour, plus screen appearances in Netflix's One Day and Apple TV+'s Time Bandits.
A Timeless Romance
Based on the classic 1935 film starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Top Hat tells the sparkling story of Broadway star Jerry Travers who arrives in London to open a new show. When his tap dancing in a hotel suite disturbs the beauty sleep of model Dale Tremont in the room below, it's instant attraction – at least for Jerry. Instantly smitten, he vows to abandon his bachelor life to win her heart.
But the path of true love is never smooth, particularly when Dale mistakes Jerry for his married producer Horace, who's desperately trying to avoid the wrath of his formidable wife Madge. Add Dale's fiery Italian admirer Alberto, who's planning a trip to Venice to showcase his couture gowns, and you have all the ingredients for a deliciously complicated romantic comedy that fizzes with wit, misunderstandings, and spectacular song and dance numbers.
The Musical Equivalent of Vintage Champagne
The stage adaptation's original West End production won the 2013 Olivier Award for Best New Musical and the Evening Standard Award for Best Night Out, with critics hailing it as "the musical equivalent of the finest vintage champagne – effervescent, elegant and exhilarating."
Irving Berlin's irresistible score includes some of Hollywood's greatest songs: the immortal Cheek to Cheek, Let's Face the Music and Dance, Top Hat, White Tie and Tails, and Puttin' on the Ritz. These timeless classics are complemented by stunning choreography, lavish sets, and gorgeous costumes that capture the art deco elegance of the 1930s.
A Visionary Creative Team
This brand-new production is staged by acclaimed American director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall, a nine-time Tony nominee and three-time winner who made history as the first woman to have directed a play, directed a musical, and choreographed a musical on Broadway. She won Tony Awards for her choreography on Wonderful Town, The Pajama Game, and Anything Goes. Her most recent revival of Anything Goes – which played at London's Barbican and toured the UK – received nine Olivier Award nominations in 2022, with Marshall winning Best Choreographer.
The creative team includes Set Designer Peter McKintosh, Costume Designers Yvonne Milnes and Peter McKintosh, Musical Supervisor Gareth Valentine, Musical Director Stephen Ridley, Orchestrator & Arranger Chris Walker, Lighting Designer Tim Mitchell, and Sound Designer Paul Groothuis.
An Ensemble to Remember
The talented touring ensemble is completed by Lindsay Atherton, Rhiannon Bacchus, Jeremy Batt, Freddie Clements, Pedro Donoso, Bethan Downing, Autumn Draper, Tilly Ducker, Maddie Harper, Stuart Hickey, Laura Hills, Connor Hughes, George Lyons, David McIntosh, Jordan Oliver, Emily Ann Potter, Joe Press, Molly Rees Howe, Kirsty Sparks, and Toyan Thomas-Browne.
Why You Shouldn't Miss It
Top Hat represents everything that makes musical theatre magical: romance, comedy, spectacular dancing, unforgettable songs, and sheer theatrical glamour. With a Broadway star making his UK debut, an Olivier Award-winning director and choreographer, and a score packed with Irving Berlin's greatest hits, this production promises to be a heady romantic cocktail that's utterly irresistible.
Whether you're a fan of classic Hollywood musicals, Golden Age American songbook standards, or simply want an evening of pure theatrical escapism, Top Hat delivers glitz, glamour, and good old-fashioned entertainment. It's the perfect antidote to a chilly November evening – a chance to step back into an era of elegance, wit, and sophisticated romance where every problem can be solved with a perfectly executed tap routine and a swooning ballad.
Tickets:
More Information: tophat-musical.com
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