COMMUNITY THEATRE COMPANY RETURNS TO THEATR CLWYD FOR "SWEET" MUSICAL.

Casting has been announced for the staging of a much-loved classic musical which is set to take to the stage at Theatr Clwyd later this year.

Local community theatre company Tip Top Productions has announced its cast for its upcoming production of 'Sweet Charity' which will run at The Mix, Theatr Clwyd's theatre in a big top, from Wednesday 12^th - Saturday 15^th June at 7.30pm. There will also be a matinee performance at 2.30pm on Saturday 15^th June. 

Most recently, Tip Top staged "The Sound of Music" at Storyhouse in Chester and also a festive Christmas concert at Chester's St Mary's Creative Space. In addition to staging "Sweet Charity at Theatr Clwyd, the company will be returning to Storyhouse later this year with two further productions, John Godber's 'Bouncers' and musical compilation show 'Tip Top at The Musicals'.

'Sweet Charity' tells the story of Charity Hope Valentine, a down-on-her-luck dance hall hostess who longs to find love. She works at the seedy Fandango Ballroom with her sassy friends and hopes to someday find Mr. Right. Could he be the international movie star, Vittorio Vidal, with whom Charity spends one romantic evening? Or the claustrophobic accountant, Oscar, with whom she gets stuck in an elevator? Or, does the real answer to her happiness lay somewhere inside her? With a score by Cy Coleman, book by Neil Simon, and original choreography by Bob Fosse, Charity's adventurous journey towards love is marked by some of the best loved songs (If My Friends Could See Me Now, There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This, I'm a Brass Band), and some of the most iconic dance numbers (Big Spender, Rich Man's Frug, Rhythm of Life) in Broadway history. 

Leading the cast as 'Charity,' is Rebecca Snowden. Growing up in a family of musicians, dancers and actors, Rebecca was indoctrinated into the world of Musical Theatre from a very young age. She started dancing at the age of 2 under the tuition of her Grandmother at the Shirley School of Dancing, and 20 years later she has, herself, qualified to teach in Modern, Tap and Musical Theatre! Last summer, Rebecca performed in her first Tip Top show, The Sound of Music and enjoyed it so much she came back for Tip Top’s Christmas Concert and now, Sweet Charity. Outside of Tip Top, Rebecca has performed in many shows with Theatr Clwyd, including their record breaking production 'Mold Riots'. 

Joining Rebecca on stage as 'Oscar' who falls in love with Charity, is local musical theatre performer Rob Lyon. Rob trained at The Hammond School, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London and more recently, Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Previous performances with Tip Top include: Avenue Q, Love Story, Grease, My Fair Lady, The Full Monty, Oklahoma, The Witches, Coupling, This Is My Musical, The Show Must Go On, and Calendar Girls (amongst others.) Away from Tip Top, Rob runs PQA Wirral, a part-time performing arts school for 4-18 yrs, as well as teaching acting privately. Rob originally played the role of Oscar back in 2006 as part of his training.

Playing the role of 'Helene', Charity's friend and a hostess of The Fandango Ballroom, Bethany Culshaw first appeared on stage with Tip Top in A Chorus Line (2003) playing Sheila, and more recently sang in The Show Must Go On (2021) and Tip Top's Christmas concerts (2023). She’s been involved in community theatre across Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales for over 20 years in musicals and plays, developing a particular love for Shakespeare. Bethany’s experience includes choreographing musicals such as Guys and Dolls and Kiss Me Kate and playing roles such as Polly Baker in Crazy For You, Rt. Hon. Gwendolyn Fairfax in The Importance Of Being Earnest and Hero in Much Ado About Nothing.

Cast in the role of 'Nickie', also a hostess at The Fandango Ballroom, Kate Barclay trained at Arts Ed and Leeds College of Music. Originally from North Lincolnshire, Katie moved to the Chester area nearly 2 years ago with her cat, Javert. She quickly became involved with Tip Top. Her first appearance was as Elsa Shraeder in The Sound of Music at Storyhouse in Chester last year, quickly followed by Tip Top's Christmas Concert. In her spare time, Katie enjoys visiting castles and National Trust properties and hiking in the Cheshire and Welsh countryside with her partner.

Playing the role of 'Herman', the angry-at-everything manager of The Fandango Ballroom will be Matthew Richards. Matthew has been performing at Wrexham’s Grove Park Theatre since 2011 with recent roles including Pop Larkin in “The Darling Buds of May” and Gomez in “The Addams Family Musical”. He’s also written the theatre’s last two Christmas pantomimes. His work with Tip Top Productions includes “Fawlty Towers” and “Return to Forbidden Planet”. Matthew works as a journalist for BBC Wales.

Completing the principal cast is Laura Morris as 'Rosie', the newest member of staff at the ballroom. Laura is no stranger to the world of theatre having appeared in productions including Copacabana - (Lola), Jesus Christ Superstar - (Mary), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - (Olive Ostrovsky), 42nd Street - (Peggy Sawyer) Me and My Girl - (Sally), The Sound of Music - (Elsa), Hold Tight it’s Sixties Nights - (Ruby). Whilst performing, Laura has also taken on the role as Dance Captain and Assistant Director.  Laura is the Co-Director and Choreographer of On The Mark Youth Theatre based in Chester.

Speaking about the production, Steve Davies, the show's Director said:

"We are excited to be returning to Theatr Clwyd to stage this fantastic musical in The Mix for five performances. We have been fortunate to assemble a fantastic cast and we can't wait to see the show take to the stage in June."

Full details of "Sweet Charity" and all Tip Top's upcoming shows can be found at: 

www.tiptopproductions.co.uk 

...where tickets can be booked online.