‘Midnight at the Palace’ Musical Brings Stars and Laughter
The cast has been announced for the world premiere of rebellious new musical Midnight at the Palace. Inspired by The Cockettes, the iconic and flamboyant drag ensemble from San Francisco in the 1970s, a star-studded musical theatre cast will bring a night of radical joy and glitter-encrusted anarchy to the stage. Packed full of on-your-feet numbers and raucous hilarity, Midnight at the Palace dismantles the lines between art and showbiz, politics and performance.
The cast comprises of Andrew Horton (Jupiter’s Legacy, Netflix; The Way Old Friends Do, Birmingham Rep; Brilliant Minds, NBC) as radical flowers-in-guns founder Hibiscus, Baylie Carson (Mean Girls: The Musical, The Savoy; Six The Musical, Vaudeville Theatre) as founding member Sweet Pam, Gregory Haney (Hamilton, Victoria Palace Theatre; Wicked, The Gershwin Theatre; Bring It On, St. James Theatre) as disco diva Sylvester, and Al Cammish (West Side Story, Birmingham Hippodrome; Lizard Boy, Gilded Balloon; Doctors, BBC) as troupe director Scrumbly. Also joining the glitter-fuelled hit will be Al Knott (Starlight Express, Troubadour Wembley Park) as Harlow, Jordan Walker (Peter Pan, Grand Opera House Belfast; Under the Black Rock, Arcola Theatre; Diva: Live From Hell, Turbine Theatre) as Link, Aaron Douglas (The Lion Inside, International Tour; Stick Man Live, Leicester Square Theatre; The Spider, Bush Theatre) as Irving, and Becky Sanneh (House of Cleopatra, Assembly Edinburgh; UPSTART! Shakespeare’s Rebel Daughter Judith, Gilded Balloon; Right Royal Rumpus, UK Tour) as Dusty Dawn.
Cast member Gregory Haney comments, I couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of this glitter bomb of a show. We’re diving headfirst into the wild, fearless world of THE original counterculture trailblazers The Cockettes!!!
For me this isn’t just a musical. It’s a rhinestone-studded celebration of radical joy, rebellion, and chosen family. What makes this show hit different is its heart. The cast and creative team pour real soul into the chaos. Rae Binstock’s script captures the raw, unfiltered spirit of a group that redefined gender, art, and identity. Paul McGill directs like a live wire!! His vision oozes with unpredictability and purpose, letting the story breathe and the characters burn bright. AND original score by Brandon James Gwinn which has some dangerously catchy songs impossible to forget.
The Cockettes didn’t ask for permission. They didn’t follow rules. They built a world where anyone bold enough to be seen could belong. Now we’re taking that riotous, glitter-soaked spirit to the Gilded Balloon, and it won’t be the same after!! Dress code: Glitter and grins. You bring the sparkle, I’ll bring the sass!!!
The Cockettes’ iconic style will be brought to life by set and costume designers Allen and Adcock (Vogue España; As You Like It, Shakespeare’s Globe; Sound of the Underground, The Royal Court Theatre), alongside Lighting Designer Adam King (Flowers for Mrs Harris, Riverside Studios; Unfortunate, UK Tour; Gone Too Far, Stratford East). Music and lyrics are by Brandon James Gwinn (Two Birds & One Stone, Trixie Mattel; It Takeis Two, George Takei; Small Town Story – NAMT Grant, finalist, Village Theatre, American Theatre Group), with book by Rae Binstock (Fosse/Verdon, 2019; The Good Fight, 2017). The Edinburgh production will be helmed by acclaimed director and choreographer Paul McGill (Fame, 2009; Man on Wire, 2008; Smash, NBC).
Paying homage to the multi-decade journey of this legendary psychedelic group, Brandon James Gwinn’s original score brings to life the electricity and excitement of The Cockettes in the 1970s for a modern-day audience. Midnight at the Palace offers a lens into this genre-pushing world in an eccentric and dazzling celebration of the queens who came before.
Main Image: Courtesy of Midnight at The Palace
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