Derry man Jack McCann is making waves in the West End

The impact of the legend’s music went on to somewhat shape Jack’s future and now, at the age of 29, he will soon take to the stage in the iconic West End in a stunning tribute.

‘Dorothy and Friends: Jack Sings (Mostly) Judy’, a new cabaret inspired by Jack’s ‘greatest musical influence,’ will showcase at ‘Crazy Coqs’ in Soho in September and represents just how far the talented young man has come.

After first moving to London to study law at Oxford, Jack came to the realisation that his heart and future lay in music, theatre and creativity.

His decision to forge a new path was the right one and he is now a multi-award nominated performer, who has just finished a stint as Associate Director on an acclaimed production of ‘The Witches of Eastwick’.

The concert, at the Sondheim Theatre, boasted an impressive cast that included John Partridge, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Danielle Steers and Natasha J Barnes. It was directed by Olivier award-winning actress Maria Friedman, who did so via Zoom as she was recovering from Covid 19.

Because of this, Jack’s role was more intense, but it was a challenge he relished.

The concert was a phenomenal success and Jack told the ‘Journal’ how the reception was ‘more than we could have anticipated or expected’.

“It has been a long time since I saw an audience spring to their feet in the way they did. I think it exceeded people’s expectations.

“It was a huge amount of work and there were a few obstacles along the way, as Covid 19 meant two of the leads had to step down last minute, but we did it and it was amazing.”

Following the concert’s success, Jack has many new and exciting projects in the pipeline, including working on the installation of a ‘Bat Out of Hell’ Meatloaf musical in Los Angeles later this year. There are also plans to work again alongside Maria Friedman, who has asked him to join her on the production of ‘Merrily We Roll Along,’ starring Daniel Radcliffe on Broadway in New York in October.

In another exciting development, Jack and his partner, the acclaimed producer Jack Maple - who became one of the West End’s youngest producers at the age of 20 - have also set up Maple McCann Productions.

“We work together on a lot of stuff as it is (Jack Maple was the producer of ‘The Witches of Eastwick’ ). I’ll look after the creative side of things and he’ll look after the business side. I’m really looking forward to it all.”

Jack has also recently reconnected with a relative, the director, actor and performer, Cal McCrystal.

The future is looking bright for Jack, who - with experience in music, theatre, opera, production and directing, among others, outlined how, after the pandemic, he wanted to focus on creativity.

He reflected on how, as a child and teen who loved creativity and performing and musical theatre, he wasn’t ever sure it was something he could make a career from. Now that he has done so, he is excited to pay tribute to the artist who ignited it all.

“The cabaret is in an amazing venue, where all the West End stars do their cabaret. The show is largely about Judy Garland and her life and also about my life as well - how her sound found me, in Derry - generations apart and confidence apart - and how I’ve always been very influenced by that old school musical theatre and sound. I will have some friends in the industry joining me and my dad, Paul McCann, is doing some of the musical arrangement, which is lovely. My mum (Bridgeen) is coming over and it’s almost sold out, which is brilliant.”

Jack measures his success on finding what was right for him.

“Success is all different for different people. I think, it’s finding work that you’re really interested in and which is creatively fulfilling. That’s really important. I’ve loved everything I’ve done so far and the work I have lined up for the rest of the year is really exciting.”