New Sleepless in Seattle Musical to Debut in London; Michael Xavier Will Star

Sleepless in Seattle is getting a fresh musical treatment. On the heels of an earlier stage version which debuted six years ago, an original tuner based on the 1993 romantic comedy will appear in London next year with a new creative team on board. Titled Sleepless, a Musical Romance, the production will play three tryout performances on December 13 and 14 at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre. Two-time Olivier nominee Michael Xavier will co-star alongside Kimberley Walsh and Jobe Hart. Morgan Young will direct.

Featuring a book by Michael Burdette and a score by Robert Scott and Brendan Cull, Sleepless tells the story of Sam (Xavier), who moves to Seattle with his eight year-old son, Jonah (Hart), following the tragic death of his wife. When Jonah phones a radio show, Sam is forced to talk about his broken heart and sleepless nights live on air, and he suddenly finds himself one of the most sought after single men in America and a great news story for feisty journalist Annie (Walsh) on the opposite side of the country. Jonah soon begins to hatch a plan to bring the two together on the top deck of the Empire State Building.

Rounding out the cast will be Alex Fobbester as Rob, Gay Soper as Eleanor, Soo Drouet as Becky, Dylan Turner as Walter, Vicki Davids as Suzy and Michael Carolan as Gregg, with Charlie Bull, Charlotte Gale, Matt Holland, Joanna Rennie, Tyler Smith and Annette Yeo.

The production will feature musical supervision/direction by Stuart Morley and orchestrations by Larry Blank, with scenic design by Morgan Large, costume design by Sue Simmerling, lighting design by Tim Lutkin, video design by Ian William Galloway and sound design by Avgoustos Psillas and Terry Jardine for Autograph.

This new musical follows an earlier stage take on Sleepless in Seattle, which made its world premiere at California's Pasadena Playhouse in May 2013. That adaptation featured a book by Jeff Arch (one of the film's Oscar-nominated screenwriters), music by Ben Toth and lyrics by Sam Forman.

Look back at Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in the film's original trailer below.