10 to 4 Productions has announced the world premiere of Indecent Proposal; a new musical which will run at Southwark Playhouse from Friday 29th May – Saturday 27th June.
Atlantic City. 1988: Jonny and Rebecca are very much in love and very much in debt. He’s a struggling singer-songwriter (who spends most of his time playing backup for Annie, a singer at the Oasis Casino Hotel Resort) she works part-time at the casino and for a local charity. They struggle to make ends meet but they’re happy and that’s enough. Or is it? When wealthy stranger Larry Harris arrives in town and offers Rebecca a million dollars to spend a night with him, will the lure of money outweigh the promise of fidelity? Will Rebecca accept Larry’s indecent proposal? Will her marriage survive if she doesn’t? Will Jonny stick around if she does?
Based on the Jack Engelhard novel which sparked a world-wide debate when it was made into the hit 1993 film, Indecent Proposal is a chamber musical with a dynamic and fast-paced narrative and a moving and exciting score. While staying true to book’s setting of Atlantic City in the 1980s, it reimagines the work through the lens of the current social and political climate, allowing audiences to consider what they would do in a similar situation, whilst they watch this couple grapple with the fallout from a stranger’s proposition.
The role of Jonny will be played by Norman Bowman and the role of Annie – Jonny’s good friend and fellow casino singer – will be played by Jacqui Dankworth MBE. The roles of Rebecca and Larry are yet to be announced.
Directed by Charlotte Westenra with book and lyrics by Michael Conley, music by Dylan Schlosberg and produced by Neil Marcus for 10 to 4 Productions; this musical brings a story to stage that, over 30 years after the book was published, is still painfully relevant.
Speaking of the piece and its exploration of power, fidelity, gender politics and a woman’s sexual autonomy, director Charlotte Westenra says, ‘I am so excited to share this beautiful, important story that is of its time but also painfully relevant today. Like in the show, people with influence still use it to take more than we’re sometimes willing to give. The fact that it happens all the time doesn’t make it right, even if you agree to give it. We can’t wait for audiences to come and contribute to the conversation and ask themselves what they would do if they were to receive an indecent proposal’.
