Tony nominee Ben Chaplin will star in the world premiere of Joe Penhall’s Mood Music, taking over for the previously announced Rhys Ifans in the Old Vic production. Ifans withdraws from the London staging due to “family reasons.”
Chaplin’s theatre credits include a Tony-nominated turn in Broadway’s Retreat to Moscow, The Glass Menagerie (earning an Olivier nod), and Consent and The Reporter at the National Theatre. He joins a cast that also includes Seána Kerslake, Pip Carter, Kurt Egyiawan, Jemma Redgrave, and Neil Stuke.
The play explores the legal battle between a young songwriter (Kerslake) and her producer (Chaplin) over the rights to one of her hit songs; performances will run through June 16 with opening night set for May 2. Roger Michell directs.
Ifans is expected to appear in a new adaptation of Exit the King at the National, with performances beginning in July.
