Confirmed: Tony Sheldon returns from NYC for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

He has starred on Broadway, his portrait adorns the walls of iconic Sardi’s Restaurant in Times Square, he was nominated for a Tony Award and now he’s returning home – for a limited season!

Multi award winning performer Tony Sheldon will be heading home this year to lead the cast of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Sydney’s Theatre Royal.

Set to premiere on October 24, this production will mark Sheldon’s first Australian musical theatre appearance since his he wowed audiences as Bernadette in the original Australian production of Priscilla The Musical – a role which took him to the West End, Toronto and Broadway and earned him (among many others) a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical.

Sheldon has been cast as the dirty, rotten, suave con-man Lawrence Jameson who believes in tricking corrupt, rich people out of their money to finance his lavish lifestyle. He will be joined onstage each night by Amy Lehpamer (Rock of Ages, Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert) as the naive and wealthy American heiress Christine Colgate, theatre veteran John Wood as Lawrence’s “bodyguard” Andre Thibault and Matt Hetherington who will returning to his Green Room Award winning role (The Production Company 2010) of American hustler Freddy Benson.

Musical theatre favourites Anne Wood (Mamma Mia!, The Sound of Music) and Katrina Retallick (The Addams Family, A Little Night Music) are also joining the company as Muriel Eubanks and Jolene Oakes.

Directed by Roger Hodgman, musically directed by Guy Simpson, choreographed by Dana Jolly and produced by James Anthony Productions, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is set to play a limited season at the Theatre Royal.

Producers Stephen Doorey and George Youakim from James Anthony Productions are thrilled with the calibre of the cast for their debut production, which was officially launched this evening at the Theatre Royal.

“We loved the musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels the first time we heard the music and we knew that we had to produce this musical in Sydney”, they said.

“To have assembled this sensational principal cast is the icing on the cake. We know that Sydney is going to fall in love with our mischievous scoundrels.”

The plot of the musical is based on the highly successful and much loved 1988 film starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine. With music and lyrics by David Yazbek and book by Jeffrey Lane, the show centres around the Sheldon and Hetherington’s characters, Lawrence Jameson and Freddy Benson.

Auditions for ensemble roles in the show will take at the end of the month. Tickets on sale from Monday July 29.

Visit www.dirtyrottenscoundrels.com.au for more information!