Lead cast announced for world premiere of The Pianist Musical

Daniel Krikler will star as Wladyslaw Szpilman in a new musical stage adaptation of Szpilman’s internationally acclaimed memoir, The Pianist. Best known worldwide through his memoir and the Academy Award-winning film it inspired, Wladyslaw Szpilman was not only a Holocaust survivor but one of Poland’s most celebrated composers and pianists.

The Pianist is a love letter to culture, to the artists and dreamers who carried it, and to the extraordinary power of creativity to outlast even the most turbulent chapters of history.

The production will feature new lyrics by an international group of writers and musicians, bringing fresh voice to Szpilman’s original compositions. The lyricists and songwriters include two-time Grammy nominee Carol Connors, acclaimed songwriter David Batteau, jazz singer Wendy Lands and collaborator Jim Gillard, Grammy-nominated Michael Ruff, Szpilman’s son Andreas Szpilman, and award-winning lyricist Marcy Heisler. Together, their work allows Szpilman’s music to sit at the heart of the production, not simply as accompaniment, but as another voice in the telling of his story.

The creative team is led by adaptor and director Thom Southerland, with new arrangements, musical supervision, and orchestrations by Simon Lee, choreography & movement direction by Karen Bruce, set and video design by Andrzej Goulding, lighting design by Robbie Butler, sound design by Gareth Tucker for Autograph Sound, costume design by Jonathan Lipman, musical direction by Malcolm Forbes-Peckham, assistant direction by Josh Whatsize, casting by Ginny Schiller CDG and casting assistance by Ben Armstrong. Executive producing and general management by DEM Productions.

The Pianist will run at Park Theatre, London, from 15 October to 28 November, before a limited run at Mayflower Studios in Southampton in September.