Becoming Nancy - Birmingham Rep

[theatrenerd]

UK premiere of the Stiles and Drewe musical, directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. This October

[anthony40]

I am not familiar with this show however is it just me that when reading the tile, thinks of that song Being Nancy from Groundhog Day?

[theatrenerd]

Jan 23, 2024 11:00:51 GMT anthony40 said:

I am not familiar with this show however is it just me that when reading the tile, thinks of that song Being Nancy from Groundhog Day?

It only had a US run in Atlanta in 2019, but it’s about a boy who is cast as Nancy in his school play of Oliver! set in 1979 in London, based on a novel by Terry Ronald.

[oxfordsimon]

The novel is very sweet. Telling the story of a young lad cast to play Nancy in Oliver! in his school production.

It does have Jamie/Billy E vibes in terms of central themes and the 1979 setting gives a bit of a Winter of Discontent background.

It is had one tryout in the US to mixed reviews. So let's hope it has been revised a bit.

[damaskanddark]

I thought this was a new musical based on the backstage goings-on of the I'd Do Anything casting-Nancy ALW programme from back in the day.

[oxfordsimon]

There are a few snippets on YouTube.

[Mark]

So happy this is coming. Can’t wait to see what they’ve done with it since Atlanta where I saw it twice. The music is great, the story is great, think Soho Cinders meets Oliver meets Heartstopper.

I’d also highly recommend reading the novel by Terry Ronald too, it’s a really fun story.

[TallPaul]

I thought we had a thread on the Atlanta production, and indeed we do:

theatreboard.co.uk/thread/6336/nancy

[alece10]

If I had just listened to those songs without knowing who wrote them I would have immediately guessed Stiles and Drewe. Their style is so distinctive. Very British.

[HereForTheatre]

I'm quite excited for this, the score is very British indeed but from some clips I've seen I think looks and feels a bit too American. It's very much the American vision of a British set musical rather than feeling authentically British in the way that Billy Elliot is for example. Kinky Boots felt the same way to me. That said I loved Kinky Boots and imagine I'll like this as well, it's more just an observation. 

[theatreliker]

Let's hope it's better than Identical

[bobbievanhusen]

Why does this make me think of Beautiful People - The Musical (even though it's not actually a thing....)

[oxfordsimon]

Jan 24, 2024 23:03:26 GMT bobbievanhusen said:

Why does this make me think of Beautiful People - The Musical (even though it's not actually a thing....)

It probably should be

[theatrenerd]

Casting announced

Joseph Peacock as David Starr; Joseph Vella as Maxie Boswell; Paige Peddie as Frances Bailey; Genevieve Nicole as Aunt Val and Mathew Craig as Eddie Starr; Rebecca Trehearn as Kath Starr and Stephen Ashfield as Hamish McClarnon and Daisy Greenwood as Abigail Henson.

www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/news/meet-the-cast-of-becoming-nancy/

[Boob]

Jerry Mitchell is going to be busy this autumn!

[thedrowsychaperone]

Very excited for a new Stiles and Drewe score!

[theatreian]

Just booked for October.

[ruggerlad]

Booked for the £15 quid preview.
Tickets on the Rep website

[jgblunners]

They’ve released an EP with 6 songs from the show performed by the Birmingham cast: slinky.to/BecomingNancyOCR

I had a quick listen and found it to be a mixed bag. The orchestrations are uninspired; it sounds like they’re relying heavily on synths which is disappointing but not surprising. The lyrics are for the most part far too on-the-nose for my liking. To be honest I have the same criticism of a lot of new writing - what has happened to subtext in lyrics, where has it gone?!

On The Night Bus and Is This Something? are the highlights for me. About Six Inches From Your Heart is by far the worst offender, which is a shame because I’m a big Rebecca Trehearn fan and her voice sounds great even when delivering absolute drivel. In fact, the vocal performances are pretty good across all the songs.

I’m still excited to see the show, but I’m taming my expectations a bit after listening to the EP!

[SilverFox]

I have always enjoyed Stiles & Drewe musicals, but am dismayed they never seem to know quite how to pitch the show, and have been denied the success I think they merit. Is it aimed at children / adults / families - whatever the writing / marketing it seems to fail to hit the target, and ends up with the sort of "Temper Temper" criticisms which seem to harm the show - Mary Poppins was definitely weakened after it was dropped. Wind in the Willows was too adult for children, too twee for adults (and totally out of place in the Palladium barn). Soho Cinders not really a panto at all. Honk - charming but small scale. Betty Blue Eyes was the only one to hit the mark - but was not a commercial success. If I get a chance, I will certainly go, but the blurb is not encouraging.

[Mark]

Travelling up to Birmingham for the second preview tonight. Can’t wait to see what it’s like because I know they’ve done several workshops and there’s some new numbers.

[david]

Oct 3, 2024 14:46:54 GMT Mark said:

Travelling up to Birmingham for the second preview tonight. Can’t wait to see what it’s like because I know they’ve done several workshops and there’s some new numbers.

I'll be very interested in your initial thoughts Mark. I'm seeing it on Saturday afternoon so hopefully it will be worth the trip to Birmingham. 

[xanady]

Am there tonight
Interval at 70 mins
A very exuberant and polished show
Some very catchy tunes
Serious echoes of Jamie meets Kinky Boots
The premise is about a boy being cast in a school production of ‘Oliver’ in the part of Nancy
Deals with some serious themes mainly racism and homophobia
I think the Rep has a hit on it’s hands

[xanady]

Just finished at ten past ten
Dynamite!
A fab ‘coming out’ and coming of age musical
Great comedy and very emotional too
Already re-booked twice
Run ends on 2nd November



Spoiler-the show includes 4 iconic pop stars from the past in narrator/conscience roles and they are simply amazing!

Highly recommended

[theatreian]

I'm seeing it next Thursday so can't wait now.