After auditioning hopefuls during several weeks of open auditions around the UK, producers of Cilla The Musical have found someone to step into Cilla’s legendary shoes in the first ever musical about her life.
Kara Lily Hayworth will play Cilla Black. Kara queued for four hours at London’s Dominion Theatre to have her chance to audition in the first rounds. She made it through to the final 30 before being chosen to do her final audition at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.
Robert Willis, Cilla’s son and Executive Producer of the show said, ‘We wanted somebody who wasn’t going to impersonate my mum but someone who could capture her spirit. Kara came in with her huge personality and amazing voice – when I saw the response of the audience at the Cavern, I knew we’d found her!”
Originally from Watford, Kara trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She recently performed in Secret Cinema’s Moulin Rouge and this will be her first leading role in a big new musical…and her first time on tour!
She said “When I was 11 I was shopping out with my mum and bumped into Cilla and asked her for an autograph. I told her I wanted to be an actress – she laughed and said ‘It’s a tough industry, but if you really work hard and go for it, you’ll be just fine.’ She was a huge inspiration to me as a child; I grew up watching her on Blind Date every Saturday night with my Nan. To be chosen to play her is such an honor and I’m so excited to take on the role. To open in her hometown of Liverpool is so special and a real privilege.”
Cilla the musical follows the story of Pricilla White, an ordinary teen girl from Liverpool and her rocky yet incredible rise to fame. The musical score will feature the ultimate sicties soundtrack including Cilla’s greatest hits Anyone Who Had A Heart, Alfie and Something Tells Me.
