David Hunter will star as ‘F. Scott’ in the world premiere of Beautiful Little Fool, opening at Southwark Playhouse Borough in January 2026.
Hunter’s previous credits include Waitress, Once, Kinky Boots, and The Time Traveller’s Wife. He joins Lauren Ward as ‘Scottie’ and Hannah Corneau as ‘Zelda’.
With music and lyrics by Hannah Corneau and a book by Mona Mansour, Beautiful Little Fool is directed by Michael Greif. The musical explores the lives of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald through the eyes of their daughter, Scottie.
The production runs from Thursday 15 January to Saturday 28 February 2026, with a national press night on Thursday 22 January.
The cast also includes David Austin-Barnes as ensemble/cover ‘F. Scott’, Amy Parker as ensemble/cover ‘Scottie’ and ‘Zelda’, and Jasmine Hackett as swing.
David Hunter replaces Declan Bennett, who has withdrawn due to another professional commitment.
Excitement continues to build following the release of the full Beautiful Little Fool concept album, featuring Jessie Mueller, Ryan Vasquez, and Hannah Corneau.
The album includes singles such as So Alive, sung by Jessie Mueller, and One Night in July, and is available on major streaming platforms including Spotify and Amazon.
Recorded in New York, the album features orchestrations and musical direction by Adam Rothenberg, who also provides orchestrations for the London production.
The creative team includes musical direction by Jerome van den Berghe, set design by Shankho Chaudhuri, costume design by Laura Hopkins, lighting design by Ben Stanton, and sound design by Domnic Bilkey.
Beautiful Little Fool was originally commissioned by New Works Provincetown and is produced by Mark Cortale, Jonathan Murray, Harvey Reese, and Willette & Manny Klausner.
Director Michael Greif said, “We’re thrilled to welcome David Hunter to the company of Beautiful Little Fool. David brings such heart, warmth and musical intelligence to everything he does, and he’s a wonderful fit for the role of F. Scott. As the concept album continues to find new listeners around the world, we can’t wait to bring this extraordinary story to life on stage in January.”
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
