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Desperate housewives

Kate Stirrup
8/10/2008

A MUSICAL tale of desperate housewives and the devil is heading for Manchester next week.

The Witches of Eastwick is a story of a trio of unhappy women, living in a small New England town, whose lives are livened up by the arrival of their dream man – Darryl Van Horne – who they magic up.

Sexy and charismatic, the mysterious Darryl seduces each of the women in turn – with the aim of having children before he dies – teaching them how to further their powers and creating a scandal in the town.

The original 1984 novel by John Updike was turned into a Hollywood blockbuster 1987 film starring Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer.

And in June 2000 producer Cameron Mackintosh unveiled his musical version of the tale, starring actor Ian McShane in the title role of Daryll.

The show was generally well received but closed 14 months later, suffering from the tourism slump that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York.

The show was successfully revived in Washington last year, and now a new UK touring production is on the road, stopping in Manchester for a week.

Fresh off his solo jazz tour, Wet Wet Wet frontman Marti Pellow returns to musical theatre with the role of Darryl.

Manchester audiences will remember his successful run at the Palace Theatre in 2003, as smooth-taking lawyer Billy Flynn in the show Chicago.

Marti, 43, said: "I’ve only ever done one musical before, which was Chicago, and I’ve spent the last five years looking for something equally special.

"Then I came across The Witches of Eastwick and I went to see a production in Washington and I was very excited by it.

"To play Darryl is a real challenge and he was wholly engaged my imagination.

"He suddenly appears in this 1950s suburban town of white picket fences and he completely disturbs it."

The titular witches are played by three extremely experienced musical theatre performers.

Ria Jones says of Alexandra Spofford, her character in Witches: "She’s got baggage in Eastwick and she feels that she’s become stuck in a rut.

"She was a chubby child and she hates her body, convinced that she’s overweight.

"In a way she’s a bit of a Mother Earth figure and of the three witches, she’s the ringleader, she’s the boldest. And when she meets Darryl, he completely changes her outlook."

Rebecca Thornhill is reviving the role of Sukie Rouge, after a previous stint playing the character in the West End.

Of Darryl she says: "He opens the door to all three of them, he enables Sukie to have much more self-confidence.

"He teachers them that they have the power to change within themselves, if they choose to use it."

Poppy Tierney plays the brainy – and appropriately named – Jane Smart in the show. She says did plenty of research on the character, including reading John Updike’s original novel.

She said: "I always like to go back to the source of whatever it is I’m doing. The various versions can make very different pieces of course, but it’s still good to get to know how it all began."

Poppy is looking forward to the Manchester shows, saying: "I love the big cities. I love Manchester for Harvey Nichols and for the nice shopping in general. But I also try and fit in a bit of sight-seeing as well."

The Witches of Eastwick is at the Opera House, Manchester, from Monday, October 13 to Saturday, October 18. For tickets call the box office on 0944 847 2295 or visit www.palacetheatreandoperahouse.org.uk .