'Hercules' reveals lead casting in the West End

Hercules has music by Alan Menken and lyrics by David Zippel, and a new book by Robert Horn and Young Vic outgoing artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah.

Lead casting has been announced for new musical Hercules, which opens in the West End next summer. Performances will begin at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 6 June, 2025.

Luke Brady will play the title role in the musical next year. His stage credits include As You Like It (RSC), SuperYou (Lyric Theatre), Assassins (Chichester Theatre), The Prince of Egypt (Dominion Theatre), Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, and The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare’s Globe), while on screen he appears in Fresh Meat and Murder on the Orient Express.

Hercules has music by Alan Menken and lyrics by David Zippel, and a new book by Robert Horn and Young Vic outgoing artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah, while renowned Broadway director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw directs.

Based on the 1997 classic Disney animated film, the musical follows Hercules, a demigod with super-strength and the son of Zeus, who must become a hero in order to earn his place in Mount Olympus.

Alan Menken said, “Hercules was thrilling when I was first working on it in the mid-90s and has only grown more exciting and amazing with each passing adaptation. The new songs David Zippel and I have added for our upcoming production in London, have deepened the emotional impact and further developed the stylistic panache. The humor and overall message of the script by Robert Horn and Kwame Kwei-Armah have brought our story to wonderful new heights and supercharged the underlying message of this story. And, when it comes to bringing all of this to life on stage, there’s no one even close to Casey Nicholaw in creating theatrical magic. I can’t wait for audiences to experience our new Hercules!”

David Zippel added, “It’s an absolute joy to revisit Hercules which was a glorious collaboration with Alan back in the late 90s. Adapting the film for the stage is the chance to build on the wit and action of the animation, then expand and deepen the characters via new songs, creating something new and exciting for the West End.”

Robert Horn commented, “What an honour it is to work with this amazing team on this new stage incarnation of the beloved and highly anticipated title Hercules. Kwame and I could not be more excited to bring our very different and unified styles of comedy and storytelling to this magical, mythical tale. And with this iconic score! We hope you’ll laugh and feel all the feels watching it as much as we did working together on it. We laughed so hard, we both got abs. We’re thrilled to present to you this gloriously heartwarming and hysterical story of heroism, community, cool togas and fabulous divas!”

Kwame Kwei-Armah said, “Robert and I have had such a joyous time learning about each other and laughing together as we have shaped the story for the musical and that gets right into the DNA of what this show is: laughter, love and a quest for self-discovery that offers so much for audiences of all ages.”

Casey Nicholaw added, “In a search that took us across the globe, we have found our perfect hero in Luke, and I look forward to working with him over the coming months to develop the much-loved character of Hercules. We can’t wait for him to lift the roof at Theatre Royal Drury Lane.”

The rest of the creative team includes co-choreographer Tanisha Scott, set designer Dane Laffrey, costume designers Gregg Barnes and Sky Switser, lighting designer Jeff Croiter, sound designer Adam Fisher, video designer George Reeve, hair by Mia M. Neal, make-up by Kirk Cambridge-Del Pesche, special effects from Jeremy Chernick, and music supervisor and arranger Michael Kosarin, with orchestrations from Danny Troob and Joseph Joubert, and dance arrangements by David Chase.

Further casting is yet to be announced.

Check back for Hercules tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: Luke Brady. (Photo by Phil Hill/Disney)