Vanessa Williams to Make West End Debut in Donmar Transfer of City of Angels

Vanessa Williams, beloved star of Broadway and Hollywood, will take to the stage of London's West End for the first time next year, as Carla/Alaura in a revival of the 1990 Tony-winning musical City of Angels. The transfer from a 2014 production at the Donmar Warehouse will begin performances on March 5, 2020 at the West End's Garrick Theatre. Joining Williams in the cast will be Rosalie Craig, Hadley Fraser and Rebecca Trehearn, reprising their Donmar turns as Gabby/Bobbi, Stine and Donna/Oolie, respectively.

Williams earned a Tony nomination for her turn as The Witch in the 2002 revival of Into the Woods. She has also been seen on Broadway in Kiss of the Spider Woman, Sondheim on Sondheim, Vanessa Williams: Silver & Gold, The Trip to Bountiful and After Midnight. She is a three-time Emmy nominee for her performance as Wilhelmina Slater on Ugly Betty.

Featuring music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by David Zippel and a book by Larry Gelbart, City of Angels alternates between the story of a mystery writer who hopes to break into the movies and the suave 1940s detective he created. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1989, winning six 1990 Tony Awards including Best Musical. The tuner then made its West End debut in 1993.

Rounding out the revival cast will be original Donmar Warehouse company members Marc Elliott as Panchos/Munoz, Nick Cavaliere as Sonny, Adam Fogarty as Big Six and Mark Penfold as Luther Kingsley; they'll be joined by Rob Houchen as Jimmy/Dr. Mandril and Joshua St. Clair as Peter Kingsley. Completing the cast will be Cindy Bellot, Sadie-Jean Shirley, Manuel Pacific and Ryan Reid.

Director Josie Rourke will reunite the creative team from the Donmar engagement, including choregrapher Stephen Mear and designer Robert Jones.