Nativity! The Musical

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Nativity!
The Musical
Nativity! The Musical Poster.jpg
Official artwork
Music Debbie Isitt
Nicky Ager
LyricsDebbie Isitt
Nicky Ager
Book Debbie Isitt
Basis Nativity!
2009 film by Debbie Isitt
Premiere20 October 2017 (2017-10-20): Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Productions2017 UK tour and London
2018 UK tour and London
2019 UK tour and London
2022 Birmingham revival

Nativity! The Musical is a stage musical written and directed by Debbie Isitt (co-composed by Nicky Ager), based on Isitt's 2009 film of the same name (part of the Nativity film series).

Contents

The musical follows a Coventry based primary school, St Bernadette's, where teacher Mr Maddens and his assistant, Mr Poppy mount a musical version of the nativity with the students, promising it will be adapted into a Hollywood movie. The musical features songs from the film including "Sparkle and Shine", "Nazareth", "One Night One Moment" and "She's The Brightest Star".

Production history

Birmingham, UK tour and London (2017)

The musical made its world premiere at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre from 20 October to 12 November 2017, before touring to Southend Cliffs Pavilion (15 to 19 November), Sheffield Lyceum Theatre (22 to 26 November), Manchester Palace Theatre (29 November to 3 December), Plymouth Theatre Royal (6 to 10 December), London's Eventim Apollo (13 to 17 December) and Leeds Grand Theatre (20 December to 6 January 2018)

The production was directed by Isitt, choreographed by Andrew Wright, with musical arrangements, supervision and orchestrations by George Dyer, designed by David Woodhead. [1] [2] The cast included Daniel Boys as Mr Maddens, Sarah Earnshaw as Jennifer Lore and Simon Lipkin as Mr Poppy. [3] [4] The X Factor judge Louis Walsh appeared as Hollywood Producer during the production's run at London's Eventim Apollo. [5]

UK tour and London (2018)

A second tour in the United Kingdom began at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry (the city where the story is set and the film was shot) from 23 to 28 October 2018. Further tour dates included Liverpool Empire (31 October to 4 November), King's Theatre Glasgow (7 to 11 November), Milton Keynes Theatre (14 to 18 November), Nottingham Theatre Royal (21 to 25 November), Edinburgh Festival Theatre (28 November to 2 December), Regent Theatre Stoke-on-Trent (5 to 8 December) Oxford New Theatre (12 to 15 December) and returning to London's Eventim Apollo (19 to 31 December).

Simon Lipkin reprised his role as Mr Poppy, alongside many other members of the original cast. Scott Garnham and Ashleigh Gray were announced to play Mr Maddens and Jennifer Lore. The role of the Hollywood Producer featured many celebrity star guest appearances at each location on the tour including Jake Wood appeared in Oxford, Adam Thomas in Stoke and Liverpool, Charlie Brooks in Nottingham, Jane McCarry in Glasgow and Danny Dyer in London. [6] Jo Brand also appeared as The Critic in Edinburgh and London also Dani Dyer appeared during the London dates with her father Danny Dyer as Polly Parker, the daughter of the Hollywood Producer who is an aspiring Hollywood actress.

UK tour and London (2019)

The musical toured the United Kingdom once again, beginning at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from 29 October to 2 November 2019 before touring to Aylesbury Waterside Theatre (6 to 9 November), Cantebury Marlowe Theatre (13 to 17 November), Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff (19 to 23 November), Plymouth Theatre Royal (26 to 30 November) and Southampton Mayflower Theatre (3 to 7 December) before returning for a third season to London's Eventim Apollo (11 to 29 December). [7]

Scott Paige played Mr Poppy for the tour opposite Scott Garnham and Ashleigh Gray who returned as Mr Maddens and Jennifer Lore, alongside Danni Dyer as Polly Parker who appeared for the tour. Simon Lipkin reprised his role as Mr Poppy for the London run (and stepped in to cover the role during the Southampton run for Paige due to illness) while Paige played Mr Rye. The London run also featured Rylan Clark-Neal as The Critic, Sharon Osbourne as Crystal Collins and Danny Dyer returning as the Hollywood Producer.

Birmingham revival (2022)

The musical was announced to return to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre for the Christmas 2020 season. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the run was postponed to the Christmas 2021 season, before being postponed again to Christmas 2022, when it ran from 19 November 2022 to 7 January 2023 starring Ben Lancaster as Mr. Poppy and Billy Roberts as Mr. Maddens alongside Daisy Steere as Jennifer. This production also saw the return of Jemma Churchill as Mrs. Bevan who, after appearing in the original and 2018 productions, made a return as she took a year off from the show in 2019. [8]

Amateur Productions

Since the original 2017 production, the rights to perform Nativity! in both professional and amateur settings have been available through Music Theatre International in arrangement with publishers Josef Weinberger Ltd. The show has become a regular fixture over the festive period for amateur performance groups throughout the United Kingdom. [9]

Cast and characters

CharacterUK tour and LondonBirmingham
2017201820192022
Mr Poppy Simon Lipkin Scott Paige
Simon Lipkin
Ben Lancaster
Paul Maddens Daniel Boys Scott Garnham Billy Roberts
Jennifer Lore Sarah Earnshaw Ashleigh Gray Daisy Steere
Gordon ShakespeareAndy BradyCharles BruntonMatthew Rowland
Mrs Bevan Jemma Churchill Penelope Woodman Jemma Churchill
The CriticJamie ChapmanJamie Chapman
Jo Brand
Jamie Chapman
Rylan Clark-Neal
Jamie Chapman
Hollywood ProducerAndy Barke

Louis Walsh

Andy Barke
Jake Wood
Adam Thomas
Charlie Brooks
Jane McCarry
Danny Dyer
Dani Dyer
Dawn Buckland
Danny Dyer
Cameron Johnson
Polly Parker Dani Dyer
Crystal Collins Sharon Osbourne
The Lord Mayor / EnsembleGary DavisJonathan BourneRalph Bogard
Miss/Mr Rye / EnsembleKatia SartiniOscar Conlon-MorreyKade Ferriaolo
Scott Paige
Tom Hext
TJ's MumJalisa AndrewsHelena PipeEliza Waters
EnsembleJennifer Louise JonesHelena PipeHelena Pipe
Billy Roberts
Dawn Buckland
On Stage SwingDerek AidooKade FerraioloConnor Ewing
Kade Ferraiolo
Callum Train
Sydney Isitt-Ager
Louie Wood
Jalisa AndrewsAshleigh GrahamAmy Oxley

In order to accommodate a variety of star casting, various versions of Nativity! The Musical exist;

Musical numbers

Cast recording

The original cast recording was released on 29 January 2018 and features 29 tracks. It is available from Amazon, iTunes, Spotify and Apple Music, and was available to purchase from the merchandise stands during the subsequent tours.

Critical reception

The production received positive reviews from local press in Birmingham, receiving five stars from Plays To See, [10] Behind The Arras, [11] Birmingham Mail [12] and What's On Birmingham [13]

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References

  1. BWW News Desk. "NATIVITY! THE MUSICAL 2017 to Head Out on UK Tour Next Autumn". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  2. "Stage musical of Nativity! to open next year". The Stage. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  3. "Casting announced for Nativity! The Musical". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  4. "Nativity! The Musical – Daniel Boys, Sarah Earnshaw and Simon Lipkin cast". musicaltheatrereview.com. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  5. "Louis Walsh to make stage debut in Nativity! The Musical – BBC Newsbeat". BBC Newsbeat. 10 December 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  6. "Simon Lipkin returns to Nativity the Musical for Christmas 2018" . Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  7. BWW News Desk. "NATIVITY! THE MUSICAL Announces 2019 UK Tour". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  8. ""Nativity! The Musical" announces casting for 2022 run". 19 October 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  9. "Nativity! The Musical". MTI Europe. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  10. "Nativity! The Musical | Plays To See". Plays To See. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  11. "Nativity The Musical". www.behindthearras.com. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  12. Laws, Roz (26 October 2017). "Nativity! The Musical is packed with joy at Birmingham Rep". birminghammail. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  13. "Nativity! The Musical". www.whatsonlive.co.uk. Retrieved 30 October 2017.