The musical Groundhog Day will return to the London stage in 2023 with much of its original creative team intact, and again starring Tony nominee and Olivier Award winner Andy Karl.
Groundhog Day will play London’s Old Vic Theatre May 20 – August 12 2023, returning to the venue where it made its world premiere in 2016. The darkly comic musical then transferred to Broadway the following year. The show received seven Tony nominations, including Best Actor in a Musical for Karl, but ultimately closed after 176 performances.
Tim Minchin (Matilda) wrote the music and lyrics for Groundhog Day. The book is by Danny Rubin, who co-wrote the original 1993 film starring Bill Murray. Matthew Warchus, artistic director of the Old Vic, directed the show in its previous incarnation and returns to helm it again.
This production will feature choreography by Lizzi Gee, replacing original choreographer Peter Darling. Additional casting is yet to be announced.
Phil Connors is a pretty awful guy. But when the cynical Pittsburgh TV weatherman is sent to cover the eccentric annual Groundhog Day event in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, he finds himself caught in a time loop that sends him on a hilarious path to enlightenment and redemption.
Groundhog Day’s creative team includes music supervisor and orchestrator Christopher Nightingale, music director Alan Berry, scenic and costume designer Rob Howell, lighting designer Hugh Vanstone, sound designer Simon Baker, illusion designer Paul Kieve, and video designer Andrzej Goulding with additional movement by Finn Caldwell. Casting is by Will Burton for GBC, with voice by Charlie Hughes D’Aeth and dialect by Penny Dyer.
“Creating this musical was hugely challenging and enormously fun,” said Minchin in a statement. “We wrestled this iconic existential comedy drama into a completely new work; something that not only found critical acclaim, but also seemed to affect its audiences in a way I’ve not witnessed. It was dense with laughs, crowded with big ideas, wildly ambitious and profoundly emotional. Seeing it come back to The Old Vic, perhaps my favorite theatre on the planet, is a huge thrill.”
