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''I Can't Sing! The X Factor Musical'' was a
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
comedy written by
Harry Hill Matthew Keith Hall (born 1 October 1964), known professionally as Harry Hill, is an English comedian, presenter and writer. He pursued a career in stand-up following years working as a medical doctor, developing an offbeat, energetic performanc ...
, and Steve Brown. Based on the TV series ''
The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'', the musical made its West End and world premiere in March 2014, at the
London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...
. Due to low ticket sales, it closed just 6 weeks and 3 days later on 10 May 2014, reportedly losing £4 million.


Background

In December 2012,
Harry Hill Matthew Keith Hall (born 1 October 1964), known professionally as Harry Hill, is an English comedian, presenter and writer. He pursued a career in stand-up following years working as a medical doctor, developing an offbeat, energetic performanc ...
announced that he was working on a musical based on the talent show ''
The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
''. The show was confirmed in 2013, and it was announced that the musical would open in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 2014, and would be called ''It's Time to Face the Musical!'' On 22 May, it was announced the show would now be called ''I Can't Sing!'', and that it would play the
London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...
, with tickets going on sale the following day. The show was written by
Harry Hill Matthew Keith Hall (born 1 October 1964), known professionally as Harry Hill, is an English comedian, presenter and writer. He pursued a career in stand-up following years working as a medical doctor, developing an offbeat, energetic performanc ...
and is directed by Sean Foley, with choreography by
Kate Prince Katherine Jane Prince (born 1974) is a British choreographer, and the founder and director of ZooNation.Kate Prince in ZooNation Dance Compan retrieved March 30, 2015 Early life Kate Prince was born in Southampton in 1974. Career In 2002, Pri ...
, set design by Es Devlin, costume design by Leah Archer, illusions by
Scott Penrose Scott Penrose (born 1969 in Essex) is an English magician and magic consultant and is the son of magician John Penrose. Penrose is a former President of The Magic Circle having been proposed for the post by Paul Daniels. He is Honorary Vice P ...
, lighting design by Jon Clark, orchestrations by Chris Egan, sound design by Gareth Owen and sound effects by Ben and Max Ringham. An original score of 19 songs was penned, by Hill with music by Steve Brown. At the press launch for the show on 2 September 2013,
Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...
said of the concept of an X Factor Musical: “I thought the idea of an X Factor musical, if it was too pompous, would be rubbish, and I did not want it to appear like a cash cow. I wanted it to be a celebration of the show but at the same time poke fun at what we do, because you can’t take it too seriously. Harry of all the people was the right person. His observation of the show in the past has been spot on.” People parodied in the show include
Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...
,
Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. She rose to fame as a member of Girls Aloud, a Pop music, pop girl group created through ITV (TV network), ITV's reality competition show ''Popstars: The R ...
,
Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan (singer), Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s an ...
, and
Dermot O'Leary Seán Dermot O'Leary (born 24 May 1973) is a British-Irish broadcaster. He presented the television talent show ''The X Factor'' on ITV from 2007 until its final series in 2018, with the exception of 2015. Since 2021, O'Leary has presented ITV' ...
.


Production history


West End (2014)

On 30 August 2013, it was announced that Nigel Harman would play the role of
Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...
, with
Alan Morrissey Alan Morrissey (born 9 October 1982) is a British actor. He grew up in Stockport at the Farmers Arms Pub, of which his parents were the licensees, before moving to Oldham. Morrissey trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. In 2002 and again in ...
playing the role of Max and
Cynthia Erivo Cynthia Chinasaokwu Onyedinmanasu Amarachukwu Owezuke Echimino Erivo ( ; born 8 January 1987) is a British actress and singer. Known for her work on both stage and screen, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Cynt ...
playing Chenice the main contestant in the story. The production's first public performance came at the
Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...
in November 2013, performing a medley of "Please Simon" and "I Can't Sing!", the show's title song. Nigel Harman performed "Fabulous" live at the
National Television Awards The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and begun in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted o ...
in January 2014. ''I Can't Sing!'' began rehearsals on 6 January, with previews commencing on 5 March 2014, at the
London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, before holding its official opening gala night on 26 March. The production had been scheduled to begin previews on 27 February, however the opening two previews were cancelled due to technical issues with the show's set. Following the initial cancellations, the production had to cancel a further preview performance, due to a key mechanism within the set not functioning correctly. Problems continued into previews, with early performances intervals lasting 50 mins, due to set changeovers between acts taking longer than expected and one preview getting cancelled at the interval due to electrical problems. A typical London performance ran two hours and 30 minutes, including one interval of 20 mins. The production closed on the 10 May, just six weeks and three days after its official opening night. Speaking about the closure, Cowell said “We took a punt and it didn't work out. If I could do things different, I would have gone to local theatres and built up a following. We went in too big a theatre - it's the biggest theatre in the West End."


Music

In September 2013, four tracks were released on SoundCloud and through the shows official website. The songs were "I Can't Sing", "If That's Not Entertainment", "Please Simon" and "I Wanna Be Like Bono", although the latter did not make it into the final show. The musical uses a nine-member orchestra consisting of keyboard, guitar, bass, drums, percussion, trumpets and reeds. On 1 April 2020 a YouTube user uploaded all the songs from the show onto the site. The released songs were recorded live during one of the performances through a soundboard. Harry Hill acknowledged the leak on his Instagram page, saying he was "very pleased" to hear the songs, while jokingly calling the uploader "naughty" and referring to the musical as a " megaflop".


Musical numbers

; Act I * "Overture" - Ensemble * "If That's Not Entertainment" - Young Simon, Ensemble * "It Could Be Me" - Max, Brenda, Vladimir, Alterboyz, Ensemble * "Life Is Lovely" - Chenice, Grandpa, Ensemble * "Please Simon" - Brenda, Vladimir, Alterboyz, Soul Star, Ensemble * "All Woman" - Brenda, Liam, Ensemble * "I Can't Sing!" - Chenice, Max, Barlow * "Better than That" - Hunchback * "The Hugging Song" - Liam * "Missing You Already" - Chenice, Max * "X Factor Fever" - Chenice, Max, Liam, Brenda, Ensemble ; Act II * "Here Come the Judges" - Brunhilde, Liam, Gerrard Smalls, Simon, Jordy, Louis, Ensemble * "Uncomplicated Love" - Simon, Gerrard Smalls, Max, Ensemble * "Uncomplicated Love (reprise)" - Barlow * "Falling in Love with Myself" - Jordy, Chenice, Ensemble * "Make a Wish... It Happens" - Alterboyz, Ensemble * "Fabulous" - Simon, Ensemble * "A Song I Wrote for You" - Max * "I Can't Sing! (reprise)" - Brenda, Ensemble * "X-Tasy" - Chenice, Ensemble * "Journey to a Dream" - Hunchback, Ensemble * "You Can Sing!" - All


Principal roles and cast members


References


External links

* {{The X Factor (UK) 2014 musicals Musicals based on television series West End musicals The X Factor (British TV series) British musicals