Revealed: Who's going to be in the Amusical TV show
Frank Skinner is to don a curly wig and little red dress to perform a song from Annie in the TV version of live hit Amusical.
Chortle can reveal that Tom Allen, Suzi Ruffell and London Hughes will also be taking part in the Comedy Central one-off, in which comedians sing tracks from Broadway and West End hits.
The Three Lions singer will croon You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile in the 22-minute special, which will air on August 26.
Thank you so much to everyone at @AmusicalShow last night :) I may be Keys 3 in a band with only two keyboards, and he may have written Football's Coming Home, but performing together, I imagine, is pretty much the highlight of Frank Skinner's career. #Amusical #ComedyCentral pic.twitter.com/UxASQgS6ek
— Tim Byrne (@timothydbyrne) September 5, 2018
Hughes will sing Macavity the Mystery Cat from Cats, while pals Allen and Ruffell, will duet on Love Is An Open Door from Frozen.
A full Amusical series was in active development with Comedy Central but Chortle understands that this is currently no longer the case – perhaps because of the format's similarity to ITV's All Star Musicals.
That show also featured Hughes, singing Roxie from Chicago, as well as Joel Dommett performing The Nicest Kids in Town from Hairspray and Only Fools and Horses's Tessa Peake Jones doing her version of Mamma Mia.
Speaking when the Amusical pilot was announced last summer, Comedy Central’s Louise Holmes said: ‘I fell in love with Amusical as a stage show at Edinburgh last year and am so thrilled that we’re able to bring it to the screen for the first time.
‘With two of comedy’s most dazzling leading ladies, Kiri and Jayde, at the helm, plus a stellar line up of guest comedians brave enough to be taken out of their comfort zones as they sing their hearts out, Amusical promises to be a gloriously entertaining treat of a show.’
Amusical began at Backyard Comedy Club in London March 2017. It has become a favourite at the Edinburgh Fringe, and makes its debut at the Latitude festival next month. The one-off TV special was recorded at the Hackney Empire.
- by Jay Richardson
Produced by: Burning Bright
Commissioned by: Louise Holmes
Developed by: Lucy Robinson for Comedy Central
Directed by: Julia Knowles
Executive producers: Clive Tulloh, Kate Edmunds and Séamus Murphy-Mitchell
Published: 26 Jun 2019