| What's New Pussycat? | |
|---|---|
 Original production poster | |
| Music | Various |
| Lyrics | Various |
| Book | Joe DiPietro |
| Basis | The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding |
| Premiere | 8 October 2021: Birmingham Repertory Theatre |
| Productions | 2021 Birmingham |
What's New Pussycat? is a jukebox musical with the songs of Welsh singer Sir Tom Jones and a book by Joe DiPietro. It is based on Henry Fielding's 1749 novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling with the setting updated to the 1960s London.
In July 2017 it was reported that the musical was in development with Scott Ellis as director with a reading of the musical taking place with Richard Fleeshman as Tom Jones with Hannah Waddingham, Haydn Gwynne, Jason Pennycooke and Amy Lennox in the cast. It was also revealed that Flody Suarez and Ambassador Theatre Group were producing and aiming for a try-out premiere in Wales, before opening in London's West End and eventually Broadway. [1] [2] [3] The musical was eventually due to have its world premiere at the Leeds Playhouse in autumn 2020, however due to the COVID-19 pandemic the run in Leeds was cancelled. [4] [5] [6]
The world premiere production began previews at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre on 8 October (with an official opening night on 19 October) running until 14 November 2021 and is directed by Luke Sheppard with choreography by Arlene Phillips and video design by Akhila Krishnan. [7] [8]
Full casting and creative team was announced on 6 August 2021. [9] On 18 September 2021, members of the company performed songs from the musical at West End LIVE 2021 in Trafalgar Square, London. [10]
The musical features the songs of Sir Tom Jones, written by various songwriters.
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| Character | Birmingham |
|---|---|
| 2021 | |
| Tom Jones | Dominic Andersen |
| Mary Western | Bronté Barbé |
| Mr Partridge | Ashley Campbell |
| Lord Allworthy | Julius D'Silva |
| The Girl in the Polka Dot Dress | Rebekah Hinds |
| William Blifil | Harry Kershaw |
| Lady Bellaston | Kelly Price |
| Mrs Western | Melanie Walters |
| Big Mickey | Lemuel Knights |
| Ensemble | Tom Francis Naomi Katiyo David Mairs-McKenzie Lisa Mathieson Fallon Mondlane Jena Pandya Nathan Rigg Owen Saward Carrie Willis |
| Swing | Alison Driver |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Regional Theatre Production | Nominated | |
| Best Video Design | Akhila Krishnan | Nominated | ||
The musical was positively reviewed by Arifa Akbar of The Guardian , who gave it four out of five stars and called it a "madcap mashup of a musical". [11] Despite criticising the way the 1960s styling overshadowed Fielding's original novel, leaving some of the more intricate plotting to be glossed over, she ultimately praised the entertaining and amusing nature of the play. "The show never quite loses its bubblegum air but distils the scheming spirit of the novel and, just like Tom, reveals its own anarchic spirit to become sheer, high-voltage fun."
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