''Nativity! The Musical'' is a

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

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 Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

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 Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

. The musical features songs from the film including "Sparkle and Shine", "Nazareth", "One Night One Moment" and "She's The Brightest Star".

Production history

Birmingham, UK tour and London (2017)

The musical made its world premiere at the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based 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 The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly and still commonly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Pa ...

(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. The cast included

Daniel Boys Daniel Boys (born 26 March 1979) is an English actor. He starred in the West End productions of the musicals ''Rent'' and ''Grease'' before being a 2007 contestant on the BBC talent series '' Any Dream Will Do''. Boys went on to star in many ...

as Mr Maddens,

Sarah Earnshaw Sarah Earnshaw (born 26 December 1983) is a British actress known for her work in musical theatre. Early life Born in Leeds in 1983, Earnshaw moved to London in 2000 to train at Mountview Academy of Arts in London, graduating in 2003 with a f ...

as Jennifer Lore and

Simon Lipkin Simon Joshua Lipkin (born 9 January 1986) is an English actor, best known for his work in musical theatre. He has originated roles in several major West End musicals such as '' Avenue Q'' and ''Rock of Ages''. His television work includes ''T ...

as Mr Poppy. ''

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 ...

'' judge

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 ...

appeared as Hollywood Producer during the production's run at London's Eventim Apollo.

UK tour and London (2018)

A second tour in the United Kingdom began at the Belgrade Theatre in

(the city where the story is set and the film was shot) from 23 to 28 October 2018. Further tour dates included

Liverpool Empire The Liverpool Empire Theatre is a theatre on the corner of Lime Street in Liverpool, England. The playhouse, which opened in 1925, is the second one to be built on the site. It has the largest two-tier auditorium in the United Kingdom and can ...

(31 October to 4 November), King's Theatre Glasgow (7 to 11 November),

Milton Keynes Theatre Milton Keynes Theatre is a large theatre in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. It opened on 4 October 1999, 25 years after the campaign for a new theatre first started. Designed by architects Blonski-Heard with Kut Nadiadi and Robert Doe, the thea ...

(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).

reprised his role as Mr Poppy, alongside many other members of the original cast.

Scott Garnham Scott Garnham (born 22 February 1985) is an British people, English actor. Notable credits include ''Billy Elliot The Musical'', ''Les Misérables (musical), Les Misérables'', ''Made in Dagenham (musical), Made in Dagenham'' directed by Ruper ...

and

Ashleigh Gray Ashleigh Gray is a Scottish people, Scottish actress and musical theatre performer best known for playing Elphaba in the London and UK & Ireland touring productions of ''Wicked (musical), Wicked''. Early life Gray was born in Fife, Scotland ...

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 Jake Dylan Wood (born 12 July 1972) is a British actor and podcaster from Westminster, known for his role as Max Branning in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He has also made guest appearances in series including ''Only Fools and Horses'' a ...

appeared in Oxford,

Adam Thomas Adam Gordon Thomas (born 11 August 1988) is an English actor, known for his roles as Donte Charles in the BBC One school-based drama series ''Waterloo Road (TV series), Waterloo Road'' (2006–2009, 2023–present) and Adam Barton (Emmerdale), ...

in Stoke and Liverpool, Charlie Brooks in Nottingham, Jane McCarry in Glasgow and

Danny Dyer Danial John Dyer (born 24 July 1977) is an English actor and presenter. Dyer's breakthrough role was as Moff in ''Human Traffic'' (1999), with other notable roles Billy the Limpet in ''Mean Machine (film), Mean Machine'' (2001) and as Tommy J ...

in London.

Jo Brand Josephine Grace Brand (born 23 July 1957) is an English actress, comedian, presenter and writer. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on '' Satur ...

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.

UK tour and London (2019)

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 Aylesbury Waterside Theatre is a theatre in Aylesbury, England, presenting a range of West End and touring musicals and plays, along with performances of opera and ballet and a Christmas pantomime. History In 2003, Aylesbury Vale District Cou ...

(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). Scott Paige played Mr Poppy for the tour opposite

and

who returned as Mr Maddens and Jennifer Lore, alongside Danni Dyer as Polly Parker who appeared for the tour.

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 Sharon Rachel Osbourne (; born 9 October 1952) is an English-American television personality, music manager, and author. She is married to heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing on '' The Osbournes'' (2002–2 ...

as Crystal Collins and

returning as the Hollywood Producer.

Birmingham revival (2022)

The musical was announced to return to the

for the Christmas 2020 season. However, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, 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.

Amateur Productions

Since the original 2017 production, the rights to perform Nativity! in both professional and amateur settings have been available through Music Theatre International in arrangement with publishers Josef Weinberger Ltd. The show has become a regular fixture over the festive period for amateur performance groups throughout the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Cast and characters

In order to accommodate a variety of star casting, various versions of ''Nativity! The Musical'' exist; *Regular version, where the Hollywood Producer's role is minimal. *Second version, where the Hollywood Producer's role is expanded and includes a daughter, Polly Parker. *Third version, where the Hollywood Producer's role is filled by the character Polly Parker. *Fourth version, where the Hollywood Producer's role is expanded and includes a daughter, Polly Parker and the role of Crystal Collins is created, the CEO of the company the Producer works for.

Musical numbers

; Act I * "Overture" – Orchestra, Company and Mr Poppy * "M.A.D.A -

Here Comes Santa Claus "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" is a popular Christmas song originally performed by Gene Autry, with music composed by Autry, Oakley Haldeman and Harriet Melka. Autry's original recording (in which he pronounces Santa Clau ...

/ Going For The Big Time" – Mr Maddens, Jennifer, Mr Shakespeare and Company * "Review" – Critic * "Five Star Review/Better Than You" – Mr Shakespeare and Oakmoor Kids * "St Bernadette's" – St Bernadette Kids * "My Very First Day Of School" – Mr Poppy * "Wrapped In A Rainbow" – Mr Maddens and Jennifer * "Hollywood Are Coming" – Mr Poppy, Mrs Bevan, Lord Mayor, St Bernadette Kids and Company * "Our School Nativity" – Mr Poppy, Mr Maddens and St Bernadette Kids * "The Lord Mayor's Ball" – Mr Shakespeare, The Critic and Company * "Dear Father Christmas" – St Bernadette Kids * "Hollywood We're Coming/Sparkle and Shine" – St Bernadette Kids and Company ; Act II * "Ent'racte" – Orchestra * "Welcome To Hollywood" – Jennifer and Company * "Jennifer's Request" – Jennifer * "Dear Father Christmas (Reprise) / My Very Last Day at School" – St Bernadette Kids and Mr Poppy * "Herod The Rock Opera" – Mr Shakespeare and Oakmoor Kids * "Suddenly" – Mr Maddens and Jennifer * "Our School Nativity" (Reprise) – Mr Poppy, Mr Maddens and St Bernadette Kids * "Nazareth" – St Bernadette Kids * "One Look" – St Bernadette Kids * "Good News" – St Bernadette Kids * "Hollywood Never Came" – Mr Shakespeare (2022 production ''only'') * "Sparkle And Shine" – Full Company * "She's The Brightest Star" – St Bernadette Kids * "Suddenly" (Reprise) – Mr Maddens and Jennifer * "One Night, One Moment" – Full Company * "Sparkle And Shine" – Full Company * "Bows / Exit Music" – Orchestra

Cast recording

The original cast recording was released on 29 January 2018 and features 29 tracks. It is available from

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

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Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

and

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

, and was available to purchase from the merchandise stands during the subsequent tours.

Critical reception

The production received positive reviews from local press in Birmingham, receiving five stars from ''Plays To See'', ''Behind The Arras'', ''Birmingham Mail'' and ''What's On Birmingham''

References

External links

* {{Debbie Isitt 2017 musicals British musicals Christmas musicals Musicals based on films