“Head Over Heels”, A New Musical About Old Adventures

Rounding out the principal cast will be Andrew Durand (Spring Awakening) and Tom Alan Robbins (The Ling King). The ensemble will include Sharon Catherine Brown (Dreamgirls), Yurel Echezarreta (Aladdin), Lisa Finegold (Rock of Ages), Ari Groover (Holler If Ya Hear Me), Gavin Lodge (Annie), Samantha Pollino (Hot Feet), Justin Prescott (Cirque Du Soleil Paramour), Tanner Ray Wilson (Cats), Ricardo Zayas (Hamilton), Brian Flores, Tanya Haglund, Arica Jackson and Gregory Liles.

Inspired by Sir Philip Sidney’s 16th-century pastoral romance Arcadia, the new musical is described as an Elizabethan love story turned on its head. There’s a duke, a mysterious prophecy and two daughters.  All of this is set to the beat of 1980s pop icons the Go-Go’s, including such hits as “We Got the Beat,” “Get Up and Go,” “Cool Jerk,” “Vacation,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Lust to Love,” “Head Over Heels” and Belinda Carlisle’s solo hits “Mad About You” and “Heaven Is a Place on Earth.”The Go-Go’s were the first and only all-female band who both wrote their ownsongs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts. The internationally acclaimed pop hitmakers helped cement the foundation of the early-’80s pop-rock sound. Their debut album, Beauty and the Beat, was a surprise hit: it topped the U.S. charts for six weeks in 1982 and eventually received a double platinum certification. “Our Lips Are Sealed” and a new version of “We Got the Beat” were extremely popular singles in North America in early 1982. During this period, the Go-Go’s became America’s sweethearts and started building a fanbase.

Additional casting for “Head Over Heels” will be announced at a later date.

James Magruder has written the show’s book (adapted from an original book by Avenue Q Tony winner Jeff Whitty), with Tony winner Michael Mayer (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) as the musical’s director and Spencer Liff (Falsettos) as choreographer. Gwyneth Paltrow is onboard as one of the show’s producers; Head Over Heels will mark the Oscar winner’s first Broadway outing.

We remember, Head Over Heels made its world premiere under the direction of Ed Sylvanus Iskandar at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in the summer of 2016.