The West End Men usually comprise Matt Rawle, Stephen Rahman-Hughes and Lee Mead, but Karimloo will replace Rawle, who will be in appearing in the return of Cabaret at the West End's Savoy Theatre. The tour dates at which Karimloo will appear are Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall Nov. 14, Gateshead's The Sage Nov. 20 and Leicester's De Montfort Hall Nov. 23.
The show is directed by Mitch Sebastian, last represented in London by his production of Pippin at the Menier Chocolate Factory and best known for the several incarnations of The Rat Pack Live from Las Vegas that has done several West End runs and appeared across America. The musical director is David White, and the show is produced by Milton Morrissey Ltd. & Jason Haigh-Ellery.
Karimloo made his West End debut in Les Miserables, playing Feuilly and understudying the roles of Marius and Enjolras. He would later reprise the latter role in the 25th anniversary concert staging at London's O2 Arena. More recently, he returned to the show to play Valjean in the West End. In 2003 he took over as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera, before taking over the title role and going on to originate the role in the sequel Love Never Dies. In October 2011 he reprised the role of Phantom in the 25th anniversary concert performance of The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall, opposite his Love Never Dies star Sierra Boggess.
Mead was already a successful West End performer in shows like The Phantom of the Opera when he won "Any Dream Will Do," the BBC's search for a lead for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Adelphi Theatre. Subsequent West End roles have included Fiyero in Wicked and Emmett in Legally Blonde, together with solo concert tours and album releases.
Rahman-Hughes trained initially as a dancer at Rambert, before discovering his voice and landing a leading role in West Side Story. He went on to play the lead in the Andrew Lloyd Webber-produced musical Bombay Dreams, amongst many other roles, which led to him being selected as a founder member of Sony BMG's group Teatro. For further details on the tour and booking details, visit www.thewestendmen.com.
