LONDON, UK. September 14th, 2026 – West End star Kerry Ellis is amongst the star studded cast who are hoping to reinvent the audiobook with Following Jimmy Valentine, an ambitious new musical thriller.
The audiobook combines cinematic storytelling, original music and powerhouse performances in an entirely audio-first experience.
Queen of the West End musicals, Kerry Ellis has described her involvement in the production as a “dream come true.” Her impressive West End and Broadway credits include acclaimed productions such as My Fair Lady, We Will Rock You, Les Misérables and Wicked.
The 47-year-old, from Suffolk, said: “I remember as a child growing up, I had audiobooks on cassette and I had the Snow Queen which I would listen to over and over again. It wasn’t a musical, but it was, it was an audiobook and I fell in love with it. It was the magic of being transported by this audio story.
“You could place all the characters and I loved every second of it. So when something full circle comes around and you get to be a part of something like that, years later, it’s, it’s a bit like a dream come true.”
Alongside Kerry, the production features Hadley Fraser, David Hunter, Celinde Schoenmaker, George Blagden and acclaimed jazz vocalist Jacqui Dankworth. The production brings together some of the UK’s leading musical theatre talent in a format that sits somewhere between an audiobook, radio drama and full-scale musical.
Created by New York composer, writer and performer Jeff Flaster, Following Jimmy Valentine has been described as “the book that sings” — with dialogue, songs, music and sound design woven together to create an immersive cinematic experience without a screen.
The production is based on O. Henry’s classic story A Retrieved Reformation and follows notorious jewel thief Jimmy Valentine, played by Hadley Fraser, as he attempts to leave his criminal past behind.
His new life is threatened when determined detective Jen Price, played by Kerry Ellis, begins closing in, while his relationship with Annabel Adams, played by Celinde Schoenmaker, gives him a reason to finally consider changing his ways.
The result is a story of crime, romance, redemption and second chances, accompanied by an original score drawing on jazz, classical music and classic rock.
Rather than adapting the story for the stage or screen, Flaster has deliberately designed Following Jimmy Valentine for the way audiences increasingly consume entertainment — through headphones, phones and streaming platforms.
But there is another remarkable element to the production it was recorded completely remotely.
The production raises an intriguing question for the entertainment industry: could the next generation of musicals be created specifically for our ears rather than our eyes?
Creator and writer Jeff Flaster described the project as a passion-driven reinvention of musical storytelling. He said: “I wanted to create something where the boundary between speech and song disappears completely—where the listener doesn’t just hear the story, but experiences it as a living, breathing musical world.”
Flaster, a New York–born composer and former MIT chorale performer, drew inspiration from classic literature and his long-standing admiration for narrative-driven musicals.
The project aims to expand what an audiobook can be:
Flaster added: “This isn’t just a narrated musical—it’s a fully staged performance without a stage, “Every sound is intentional, every moment is composed.”
ENDS