The Drifters Girl
MusicVarious
LyricsVarious
BookEd Curtis
Tina Treadwell (idea)
BasisStory and music of The Drifters
Premiere9 October 2021: Theatre Royal, Newcastle
Productions2021 Newcastle-upon-Tyne
2021 West End

The Drifters Girl is a jukebox musical with a book by Ed Curtis based on an idea by Tina Treadwell. It is based on the story of the American vocal group The Drifters and their manager from 1967 until 2001, Faye Treadwell. The musical features The Drifters' music.

Production history

World premiere: Newcastle tryout & West End (2021-22)

The musical made its world premiere at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle on 9 October, running until 23 October 2021 prior to a run in London's West End at the Garrick Theatre from 4 November 2021 until 26 March 2022. The production is directed by Jonathan Church with a set designed by Anthony Ward, costumes by Faye Fullerton, choreographed by Karen Bruce, lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Tom Marshall, and music direction by Chris Egan.[1] The show is produced by Michael Harrison and David Ian. Beverley Knight stars as Faye Treadwell with Adam J. Bernard, Tarinn Callender, Matt Henry and Tosh Wanogho-Maud as The Drifters who also co-created the musical.[2] The musical was originally announced in November 2019 to open in September 2020, however was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

The production received two Laurence Olivier Award nominations in 2022, for Best New Musical and Best Actress in a Musical.[4] Knight also received a WhatsOnStage Award nomination for her performance.[5]

The World Premiere Cast Recording for the musical was recorded by Knight, Bernard, Callender, Henry and Wanogho-Maud at Abbey Road Studios and was released on 6 May 2022.[6]

Knight played her final two shows as Faye Treadwell on 2 July 2022 and was succeeded by Broadway actress Felicia Boswell in her West End debut.[7]

UK and Ireland tour (2023-24)

A UK and Ireland tour was announced to begin at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton in September 2023, with dates until May 2024.

Musical numbers

The musical features songs made famous by The Drifters including;

  1. "Hello Happiness"/"Kissin’ In The Back Row Of The Movies"/"There Goes My First Love" – The Drifters
  2. "Money Money" – Clyde
  3. "Follow Me" – Faye
  4. "Whatcha Gonna Do" – Clyde, Johnny and Ben
  5. "Fools Fall in Love" – Clyde
  6. "Nobody But Me" – Faye
  7. "Save The Last Dance For Me" – Ben
  8. "This Magic Moment" – Ben
  9. "Stand By Me" – Ben
  10. "Sweets for My Sweet" – Ben
  11. "I Don't Wanna Go On Without You"/"Stand By Me" – Faye
  12. "Saturday Night At The Movies" – Johnny
  13. "There Goes My Baby" – George
  14. "When My Little Girl Is Smiling" – Clyde
  15. "Under The Boardwalk" – Ben
  16. "In the Land of Make Believe" – Clyde and Ben
  17. "Harlem Child" – Faye
  18. "Kissin’ In The Back Row Of The Movies" – Johnny
  19. "There Goes My First Love" – Johnny
  20. "Come On Over To My Place" – Johnny
  21. "There Goes My Baby" (reprise) – Faye and George
  22. "You're More Than a Number in My Little Red Book" – Faye and The Drifters

Cast and characters

Character Newcastle & West End UK and Ireland tour
2021 2023
Faye Treadwell Beverley Knight Carly Mercedes Dyer
George Treadwell & others Adam J. Bernard Miles Anthony Daley
Johnny Moore, Gerhart Thrasher & others Tarinn Callender Daniel Haswell
Clyde McPhatter, Lover Patterson & others Matt Henry Tarik Frimpong
Ben E. King, Rudy Lewis & others Tosh Wanogho-Maud Ashford Campbell

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2022 Laurence Olivier Award Best New Musical Nominated
Best Actress in a Musical Beverley Knight Nominated
WhatsOnStage Award Best Performer in a Female Identifying Role in a Musical Nominated

References

  1. ↑ Cristi, A. A. "Cast and Creative Team Announced for THE DRIFTERS GIRL Starring Beverley Knight". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  2. ↑ "The Drifters Girl musical announces full casting". British Theatre. 25 July 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  3. ↑ "Brand new musical The Drifters Girl comes to the Garrick Theatre". Nimax Theatres. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  4. ↑ Yossman, K. J. (8 March 2022). "Eddie Redmayne, Jessie Buckley and Emma Corrin Nominated for Olivier Awards 2022". Variety.com. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  5. ↑ "22nd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards: the winners in full | WhatsOnStage". Whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  6. ↑ "We've got some exciting news to share with you my Luvs... ❤️ The boys and I have been down at the legendary Abbey Road studios and recorded a cast album of 'The Drifters Girl'!!! It's out 6th May". Twitter.com. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  7. ↑ "Broadway's Felicia Boswell to Make Her West End Debut, Taking over from Beverley Knight in Hit Musical 'The Drifters Girl'". 27 May 2022.
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