09 September 2023
Newsdesk
After two smash-hit London seasons at Charing Cross Theatre and Southwark Playhouse Elephant, British musical ‘Ride’ is to get its Stateside premiere in a new production at the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, as part of its 2024 season.
‘Ride’, one of the most critically acclaimed new musicals of recent years, with book and lyrics by Freya Catrin Smith, music and lyrics by Jack Williams, tells the story of Annie Londonderry, the first woman to cycle around the world.
It’s 1894 and as the bicycle is sweeping change across America, Annie Londonderry has a wager to settle: can a woman cycle across the world? 4 continents in 15 months: easy! Except she’s only been on a bicycle twice. From moneymaking masquerades as a Harvard professor to hunting tigers with German royalty, Annie spins the media into a frenzy with tales of her thrilling escapades. But with time running out and press coverage spiralling, she soon discovers that no matter how many miles she rides, the secrets of her past are never far behind.
The production will once again be directed by Sarah Meadows.
Casting and full creative team are to be announced.
The show is presented in association with DEM Productions and Wagner Johnson Productions.
Producers Ramin Sabi and Emily Lunnon say “We couldn’t be more thrilled that Annie Londonderry’s quintessentially American story is getting a life in the US. The UK cast, creatives, crew, and audiences in London and Leicester have been integral to making RIDE the extraordinary show it is, with the momentum to go on and on.”
The Tony Award–winning The Old Globe is one of America’s leading professional nonprofit
regional theatres. Now in its 89th year, the Globe is San Diego’s flagship performing arts institution, and it serves a vibrant community with theatre as a public good. Numerous world premieres—such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical ‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder’, ‘Bright Star’, ‘The Full Monty’, ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’, and ‘Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!’—have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.
Book and lyrics by Freya Catrin Smith
Music and lyrics by Jack Williams
Directed by Sarah Meadows
The Old Globe, San Diego, California
March 30 – April 28, 2024 (opening Friday, April 5)
