It originally premiered at Chichester's Minerva Theatre in June 2010, and is now being brought to the West End by Michael Ball (making his producing debut), Adam Spiegel and Stephen Waley-Cohen.
According to press materials, "Oliver Barrett IV went to Harvard and Jenny Cavilleri to Radcliffe. He was rich, she was poor. He was sporty, she played music. But they fell in love. This is their story." At Chichester, the roles of Oliver and Jenny were respectively played by Michael Xavier and Emma Williams; West End casting is still to be announced.
The show features music by Howard Goodall, book by Stephen Clark and lyrics by Clark and Goodall. It is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, with designs by Peter McKintosh and musical direction by Stephen Ridley.
Goodall, an Emmy, Brit and BAFTA award-winning composer, has written choral music, stage musicals and film and TV scores. He was appointed as England's first-ever National Ambassador for Singing, is the Classical Brit Composer of the Year and Classic FM's Composer-in-Residence and a broadcaster and an energetic campaigner for music education. His extensive scores include "Q.I.," "The Vicar of Dibley," "The Gathering Storm," "The Borrowers," "The Catherine Tate Show," "Mr Bean," "Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie," "Mr. Bean's Holiday" and "Blackadder." Previously his musical theatre compositions include The Hired Man, Girlfriends, Days of Hope, Catwalk, The Kissing Dance and The Dreaming.
Clark's work includes Mahabharata for Sadler’s Wells, The Far Pavilions at the Shaftesbury Theatre, Martin Guerre at the Prince Edward Theatre, La Traviata for English National Opera and Zorro at the Garrick Theatre and Folies Bergère, Paris. Kavanaugh is artistic director of Birmingham Repertory Theatre, where her many credits include Hapgood, Peter Pan – A Musical Adventure and Uncle Vanya as well as David Hare's Racing Demon, Murmuring Judges and The Absence Of War. Her other credits include The Music Man starring Brian Conley and A Small Family Business for Chichester Festival Theatre and The Merry Wives of Windsor and Alice in Wonderland for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
To book tickets, contact the box office on 0844 412 4659, or visit www.nimaxtheatres.com.
