Latest news with #MichaelCasselGroup
AU Financial Review
a day ago
- Business
- AU Financial Review
The STC put $500,000 into Dorian Gray. It paid off
The international success of Sydney Theatre Company's The Picture Of Dorian Gray helped it to the highest revenue in its 45-year history in 2024, despite a boycott from some donors slashing philanthropic proceeds by one-third. The Walsh Bay-based company's overall revenue of $45.7 million included a 37 per cent surge in operational revenue to $37.7 million in 2024, which includes a royalty payment from Sydney's Michael Cassel Group for the rights to the Oscar Wilde adaptation.
The Age
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Cynthia Erivo to play Dracula and 22 supporting roles in West End debut of STC show
Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo will return to the stage for the first time in nearly a decade, taking on the roles of Dracula, Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker and 20 other Bram Stoker characters in Dracula on the West End. Originally directed and adapted by Kip Williams for the Sydney Theatre Company (where it premiered in 2024 and starred Zahra Newman), Dracula is co-produced by the Michael Cassel Group and will make its international debut in February 2026. Williams and Cassel are the Australian creators of the West End and Broadway hit The Picture of Dorian Gray, starring Sarah Snook, which won two Olivier Awards last year and this month received six Tony award nominations. The pair will be looking to recreate the success of that show, in which Snook plays all 26 roles, with Erivo. 'If you look at the landscape of the West End, you need a star-driven vehicle, which is what led us to Sarah for Dorian and Cynthia for Dracula,' says Cassel. 'I went and saw Dracula in Sydney, and at the end of it I knew it had commercial appeal, and the only name in my head was Cynthia Erivo.' A Tony, Emmy and Grammy award winner, Erivo was last on stage in 2016's The Colour Purple (for which she won a Tony award). But it was her role as Elphaba in 2024's Wicked, alongside Ariana Grande, that catapulted her to a new level of stardom with an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. 'We approached Cynthia before Wicked came out, and she was the only person we approached,' says Cassel. 'So we were watching Wicked become this huge deal with a mix of excitement and fear.' Following the announcement, Erivo said: 'Returning to the stage feels like a homecoming, one that I've been craving for a long time. From the moment I was asked, I could not get the role out of my mind. 'Kip's vision is thrilling, terrifying and deeply resonant. This show will ask everything of me — and I'm ready to give it.'
Sydney Morning Herald
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Cynthia Erivo to play Dracula and 22 supporting roles in West End debut of STC show
Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo will return to the stage for the first time in nearly a decade, taking on the roles of Dracula, Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker and 20 other Bram Stoker characters in Dracula on the West End. Originally directed and adapted by Kip Williams for the Sydney Theatre Company (where it premiered in 2024 and starred Zahra Newman), Dracula is co-produced by the Michael Cassel Group and will make its international debut in February 2026. Williams and Cassel are the Australian creators of the West End and Broadway hit The Picture of Dorian Gray, starring Sarah Snook, which won two Olivier Awards last year and this month received six Tony award nominations. The pair will be looking to recreate the success of that show, in which Snook plays all 26 roles, with Erivo. 'If you look at the landscape of the West End, you need a star-driven vehicle, which is what led us to Sarah for Dorian and Cynthia for Dracula,' says Cassel. 'I went and saw Dracula in Sydney, and at the end of it I knew it had commercial appeal, and the only name in my head was Cynthia Erivo.' A Tony, Emmy and Grammy award winner, Erivo was last on stage in 2016's The Colour Purple (for which she won a Tony award). But it was her role as Elphaba in 2024's Wicked, alongside Ariana Grande, that catapulted her to a new level of stardom with an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. 'We approached Cynthia before Wicked came out, and she was the only person we approached,' says Cassel. 'So we were watching Wicked become this huge deal with a mix of excitement and fear.' Following the announcement, Erivo said: 'Returning to the stage feels like a homecoming, one that I've been craving for a long time. From the moment I was asked, I could not get the role out of my mind. 'Kip's vision is thrilling, terrifying and deeply resonant. This show will ask everything of me — and I'm ready to give it.'
The Guardian
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Cynthia Erivo to play Dracula and 22 supporting roles in West End transfer of Australian show
The Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo will sink her teeth into role of Dracula in a one-actor adaptation of Bram Stoker's gothic novel from the Australian creators of the Tony-nominated Broadway and West End hit The Picture of Dorian Gray. Dracula, adapted by director Kip Williams for Sydney Theatre Company (where it premiered in 2024) and co-produced by Australia's Michael Cassel Group, will make its international debut on London's West End in February 2026, with Erivo playing the bloodthirsty count as well as 22 supporting characters in a production that melds theatre with live and prerecorded video. The Guardian described it as 'a clever and playful production that borrows cinematic tropes and camera angles from early horror films, monster flicks and other cult classics'. Erivo, last on stage in 2016's The Color Purple (for which she won a Tony award), was approached about the role nine months ago during the global promotional tour for Wicked. Before signing on, she watched archival video of the STC production, which opened at Sydney's Roslyn Packer theatre in July 2024, starring Zahra Newman. She also spoke to Williams about his unique style of 'cine-theatre', in which actors interact with live and prerecorded video. In March, Erivo attended the Broadway premiere of The Picture of Dorian Gray, and is understood to have spoken with Sarah Snook about her Tony award-nominated performance, which involves navigating camera operators and screens on stage, as well as rapid-fire costume changes and role switching. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Michael Cassel, co-producing the West End run with Adam Kenwright, told Deadline: '[Cynthia] has really spent most of her time with Kip just talking through the inspiration and the dramaturgy of it all. For them to connect in that way has been important for them because this is a show that they go and create together.' The original Sydney production will not 'be a blueprint' for the West End version, Cassel told Deadline. 'I think what's so exciting, I think for her, and for us, while we know what the story is, they get to go and create this role in the rehearsal room in London together, and that was very appealing to Cynthia to put her own interpretation on the role and explore that with Kip.' Besides Dracula, Erivo's roles include the count's love interest Mina, his nemesis Van Helsing and his henchman Renfield. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion While the play is not a musical, Wicked fans will be pleased to hear there is one original song near the show's end, by composer Clemence Williams. Like Dorian Gray, the soundtrack also features an eclectic mix of classical, contemporary and club tracks. Reflecting on the casting coup, which comes hot on the heels of Dorian Gray's swag of six Tony award nominations, Cassel said: 'We're just so thrilled Cynthia has agreed to choose this as a project she really wants to be a part of. 'When you look at Sarah as well, these actors have these amazing experiences on film or television, but the draw to the theatre, and indeed to do something that is so challenging, I think it's testament to the caliber as actors that these individuals are. 'It's challenging what they're being asked to do. It's a world apart from what Cynthia's been doing recently, and she can go and find that character and be challenged night in, night out as all good actors are in front of a live audience and I think that's really thrilling.'
