“I think it’s fantastic to play this role,” says William.
It has just been announced that William Spaaij will play the role of Luigi Lucheni in the musical Elisabeth. Producers Albert Verlinde, Jaco Kaasschieter and Matthijs Bongertman are pleased to announce this news. In addition to William Spaaij, it is also known that Pia Douwes will play in this well-known musical.
Pia Douwes plays the role of Elisabeth
The musical Elisabeth premiered for the first time in Vienna 32 years ago. None other than our own Pia Douwes was assigned the leading role at the time. She fulfilled this role wonderfully, and recently the news was announced that Pia Douwes will once again take on the role of the Austrian Empress Elisabeth. “What an honor to be asked again for the role I was once able to create in Vienna,” Pia responded to the big news.
Luigi Lucheni
When it was announced that Pia would again take on the leading role, the production kept the rest a secret for a while. Today that has changed, as it has been announced that none other than William Spaaij will play the role of Luigi Lucheni, Sisi’s murderer.
Albert Verlinde says: “We looked for an experienced and versatile actor for the role of Luigi Lucheni. Luigi is a challenging character to play and we are confident that William Spaaij can create an impressive Luigi Lucheni.”
The Italian Luchine was an anarchist who planned to assassinate the Count of Chambord. The count canceled his trip to Geneva, which is why Luchine decided to kill Empress Elisabeth in 1898. As the Empress, incognito, walked along Lake Geneva with her lady-in-waiting, Luchine ran towards her. He stabbed deep into her chest with a sharpened file, causing Elisabeth to die. Luchini was arrested and given a life sentence for the murder of Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary. In 1910 he was found hanged in his cell.
William Spaaij
William said he thought it would be ‘fantastic’ to play the role. He said: “I am often cast as friendly characters. Also great to play. Only, this role is so far removed from me that it is wonderful for an actor to get stuck into it. And to play together with Pia Douwes is a dream come true. She certainly put the musical genre on the map in the Netherlands.”
Not all the names of the cast are known yet, as production is keeping this a secret for now. In any case, we can already see that William Spaaij will now take on the role of Luigi Lucheni!
Image: NL Image
