British Soap Star Bill Ward to Play Sam Phillips in London’s Million Dollar Quartet

British stage and screen star Bill Ward will take on the role of record producer Sam Phillips in the upcoming West End production of Million Dollar Quartet. The musical will begin performances at the Noel Coward Theatre on February 8, 2011, with an official opening on February 28, directed by Eric Shaeffer. Additional casting has yet to be announced.

Ward was most recently seen on the West End in Monty Python’s Spamalot. Other stage credites include Look Back In Anger, The Lady From the Sea and The Tempest. His many television credits include a role on the British soap opera Coronation Street from 2003-2007, as well as Robin Hood and Doctors on BBC1.

Inspired by the famed December 4, 1956, recording session that brought together rock icons Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley, Million Dollar Quartet recreates the legendary session and the story of the men who made it happen. With a book by Colin Escott and Floyd Muntrux, the production features a roster of classic rock and country hits, including “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Fever,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “I Walk the Line,” “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.”

The Broadway production of Million Dollar Quartet opened at the Nederlander Theatre on April 11, 2010, starring Eddie Clendening as Elvis Presley, Lance Guest as Johnny Cash, Tony winner Levi Kreis as Jerry Lee Lewis and Rob Lyons as Carl Perkins. The role of Sam Phillips was originated on Broadway by Hunter Foster.