| Nativity! | |
| Subtitle: | The Musical |
| Music: | Debbie Isitt Nicky Ager |
| Lyrics: | Debbie Isitt Nicky Ager |
| Basis: | Nativity! 2009 film by Debbie Isitt |
| Productions: | 2017 UK tour and London 2018 UK tour and London 2019 UK tour and London 2022 Birmingham revival |
| Premiere Location: | Birmingham Repertory Theatre |
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).
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".
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]
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.
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.
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]
| Character | UK tour and London | Birmingham | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2022 | |
| 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 Shakespeare | Andy Brady | Charles Brunton | Matthew Rowland | |
| Mrs Bevan | Jemma Churchill | Penelope Woodman | Jemma Churchill | |
| The Critic | Jamie Chapman | Jamie Chapman Jo Brand | Jamie Chapman Rylan Clark-Neal | Jamie Chapman |
| Hollywood Producer | Andy BarkeLouis 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 / Ensemble | Gary Davis | Jonathan Bourne | Ralph Bogard | |
| Miss/Mr Rye / Ensemble | Katia Sartini | Oscar Conlon-Morrey | Kade Ferriaolo Scott Paige | Tom Hext |
| TJ's Mum | Jalisa Andrews | Helena Pipe | Eliza Waters | |
| Ensemble | Jennifer Louise Jones | Helena Pipe | Helena Pipe Billy Roberts Dawn Buckland | |
| On Stage Swing | Derek Aidoo | Kade Ferraiolo | Connor Ewing Kade Ferraiolo | Callum Train Sydney Isitt-Ager Louie Wood |
| Jalisa Andrews | Ashleigh Graham | Amy Oxley | ||
In order to accommodate a variety of star casting, various versions of Nativity! The Musical exist;
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.
The production received positive reviews from local press in Birmingham, receiving five stars from Plays To See,[9] Behind The Arras,[10] Birmingham Mail[11] and What's On Birmingham[12]