''The Drifters Girl'' is a

jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known popular music songs, rather than original music. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while others confine themselves to songs perfo ...

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 The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/Soul music, soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, f ...

and their manager from 1967 until 2001,

Faye Treadwell Faye Treadwell (born Fayrene Lavern Johnson, 5 September 1926 - 22 May 2011) was the manager of The Drifters. Treadwell was one of the first African-American women managers. Early life Fayrene Johnson was born on 5 September 1926 in Okolona, Arka ...

. 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 The Theatre Royal is a historic theatre, a Grade I listed building situated on Grey Street in Newcastle upon Tyne. History The theatre was designed by local architects John and Benjamin Green as part of Richard Grainger's grand design for the ce ...

on 9 October, running until 23 October 2021 prior to a run in

London's West End The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...

at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play ...

from 4 November 2021 until 26 March 2022. The production is directed by

Jonathan Church Jonathan Church, CBE (born 1967), is a British stage director. Church was the artistic director of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre (2001–2005) and Chichester Festival Theatre (2006–2016). In August 2015, Sydney Theatre Company announced t ...

with a set designed by Anthony Ward, costumes by Faye Fullerton, choreographed by

Karen Bruce Karen Bruce (born 25 March 1963) is a choreographer and director who has worked in theatre and television. Bruce's work includes direction and choreography of ''The Last Tango'', ''Dance 'til Dawn'', ''Midnight Tango'' and ''Love Me Tender''. S ...

, lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Tom Marshall, and music direction by Chris Egan. The show is produced by Michael Harrison and

David Ian David Ian (born David Ian LaneFebruary 1961 is a British theatre producer and former actor. Biography Ian started out as an actor and appeared in a number of UK theatre productions, including the musicals ''The Pirates of Penzance'', '' Josep ...

Beverley Knight Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English recording artist and musical theatre actress. She released her first album, ''The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke and ...

stars as Faye Treadwell with

Adam J. Bernard Adam J. Bernard (born 18 November 1988) is a British actor and singer, known for his work on stage. In 2016 he originated the role of Jimmy Early in the West End theatre production of ''Dreamgirls''. In his review for The Daily Telegraph, critic ...

, Tarinn Callender, Matt Henry and Tosh Wanogho-Maud as The Drifters who also co-created the musical. The musical was originally announced in November 2019 to open in September 2020, however was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The production received two

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

nominations in 2022, for Best New Musical and Best Actress in a Musical. Knight also received a

WhatsOnStage Award The WhatsOnStage Awards (WOS Awards), formerly known as the Theatregoers' Choice Awards, are organised by the theatre website WhatsOnStage.com. The awards recognise performers and productions of British theatre with an emphasis on London's West ...

nomination for her performance. The World Premiere Cast Recording for the musical was recorded by Knight, Bernard, Callender, Henry and Wanogho-Maud at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

and was released on 6 May 2022. 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.

UK and Ireland tour (2023-24)

A UK and Ireland tour was announced to begin at the

Mayflower Theatre Mayflower Theatre (formerly the Gaumont Theatre and originally The Empire Theatre) is a Grade II listed theatre in the city centre of Southampton, England, with a capacity of 2,300. It features West End theatre shows when they tour the United Ki ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in September 2023, with dates until May 2024.

Musical numbers

The musical features songs made famous by

including; # "Hello Happiness"/" Kissin’ In The Back Row Of The Movies"/"There Goes My First Love" – The Drifters # "Money Money" – Clyde # "Follow Me" – Faye # "Whatcha Gonna Do" – Clyde, Johnny and Ben # " Fools Fall in Love" – Clyde # "Nobody But Me" – Faye # " Save The Last Dance For Me" – Ben # "

This Magic Moment "This Magic Moment" is a song composed by lyricist Doc Pomus and pianist Mort Shuman. It was first recorded by The Drifters, with Ben E. King singing lead. Original Drifters version It was recorded first by Ben E. King and the Drifters, at Bell ...

" – Ben # " Stand By Me" – Ben # "

Sweets for My Sweet "Sweets for My Sweet" is a song written by the songwriting team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, originally recorded by American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group the Drifters. The Drifters version The group's first single featuring Charlie Thoma ...

" – Ben # "I Don't Wanna Go On Without You"/" Stand By Me" – Faye # " Saturday Night At The Movies" – Johnny # " There Goes My Baby" – George # "

When My Little Girl Is Smiling "When My Little Girl Is Smiling" is a pop song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, and first recorded by The Drifters in 1961. At the time of recording the song on October 26, 1961, the Drifters comprised Charlie Thomas (tenor), Rudy Lewis ...

" – Clyde # " Under The Boardwalk" – Ben # "In the Land of Make Believe" – Clyde and Ben # "Harlem Child" – Faye # " Kissin’ In The Back Row Of The Movies" – Johnny # "There Goes My First Love" – Johnny # "Come On Over To My Place" – Johnny # " There Goes My Baby" (reprise) – Faye and George # "You're More Than a Number in My Little Red Book" – Faye and The Drifters

Cast and characters

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drifters Girl, The 2021 musicals Jukebox musicals West End musicals The Drifters Musicals inspired by real-life events British musicals