Initial casting has been revealed for the summer production of Death Note: The Musical, which will play London’s Barbican Theatre July 30-September 12 with an official opening August 11. The summer engagement follows 2023 concert performances at the London Palladium and the Lyric Theatre.
Leading the company of the musical, based on the bestselling manga created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata, will be Xander Pang (MacBeth, Beyond Paradise) as Light and Colin Ryan (Hamlet, My Brilliant Friend, The Lightning Child) as “L.” Additional casting will be announced at a later date.
The Barbican production, directed by Stephen Whitson, will feature a revised script and newly written songs alongside the original score by Frank Wildhorn, with lyrics by Jack Murphy and a book by Ivan Menchell. Additional lyrics are by Morgan Reilly.
Death Note: The Musical concerns
Light Yagami, a high school student in Tokyo who comes across a
discarded notebook owned by Ryuk, a mythological god of death.
Discovering he can kill anyone by just writing their names in the
supernatural notebook, Light takes justice into his own hands by filling
the notebook with names of the nation’s most wanted criminals.
In a statement Pang said, “I cannot explain how excited I am to be playing Light in this totally unique musical and look forward to showing London audiences the wonder of Death Note. To bring this show to the iconic Barbican Theatre is an unbelievable honor, and I can’t wait to share this stage and story with such an amazing team, and with everyone who comes to see it!”
Ryan added, “Death Note is truly iconic, so I’m incredibly excited and proud to be stepping into the mind of L. I can’t wait to help bring this production to life at the Barbican this summer.”
Director Whitson’s production will also have designs by Jon Bausor, choreography by Olivier nominee Fabian Aloise, and orchestrations and arrangements by Jason Howland.
Death Note: the Musical is produced in London by HoriPro and Trafalgar Theatre Productions, co-produced by Pinnacle Productions, in association with the Barbican.
Visit DeathNoteTheMusical.com.