Pet Shop Boys Musical Closer to Heaven Plans First London Revival | Playbill

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News Pet Shop Boys Musical Closer to Heaven Plans First London Revival Closer to Heaven, the 2001 musical that featured an original club score by the Pet Shop Boys and a book by playwright Jonathan Harvey, is to receive its first London revival. It will begin performances April 22, prior to an official opening April 28, for a run through May 23.



Presented by Kylie Vilcins by arrangement with Paul Taylor-Mills Ltd, it will be directed by Gene David Kirk, former artistic director of Jermyn Street Theatre (2007-2012), whose recent credits include Me & My Friend (Drayton Arms Theatre), The Two-Character Play by Tennessee Williams (Off-Broadway's New World Stages) and Orwell: A Celebration (Trafalgar Studios). He is currently Artistic Director of the Drayton Arms Theatre.

Set against the backdrop of Soho's pulsing clubland, Closer to Heaven tells the story of Dave, just off the boat from Ireland and determined to make something of himself. He is offered a bar job at a glitzy London nightclub, where he quickly becomes part of an unconventional family including Billie Trix, a fading rock star of the 1960s and mother figure to the club's habitués, Vic, the club’s owner and a middle-aged gay father, and his daughter Shell, who Dave sparks an immediate connection with. But will Dave truly discover himself in London, or will he fall into a labyrinth of excess, false agendas and the darker side of club life?



The musical originally premiered at the Arts Theatre in 2001. The Pet Shop Boys earned 12 Top Ten studio albums and 40 Top Twenty singles including four number one records, including "West End Girls," "It’s a Sin," "Always on My Mind" and "Heart." In 2011 The Most Incredible Thing, a ballet choreographed by Javier De Frutos to their music, premiered at Sadler’s Wells.

Harvey's 20 play include Beautiful Thing (returning to the West End in June), Corrie!, Canary, Hushabye Mountain, Babies, Boom Bang A Bang and Rupert Street Lonely Hearts Club. For TV, he has written "Gimme Gimme Gimme" and regularly writes for "Coronation Street," amongst others.

The production will be choreographed by Philip Joel, with musical direction by Patrick Stockbridge and design by David Shields. 

To book tickets, contact the box office on 020 7261 9876 or visit www.ticketsource.co.uk/uniontheatre

 
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