The Little Big Things
A New Musical
West End Promotional Poster
MusicNick Butcher
LyricsNick Butcher
Tom Ling
BookJoe White
BasisThe Little Big Things
by Henry Fraser
Premiere2 September 2023: @sohoplace, London
Productions2023 West End

The Little Big Things is a musical with music by Nick Butcher, lyrics by Nick Butcher and Tom Ling and a book by Joe White, based on the Sunday Times best selling memoir of the same name by Henry Fraser.

Production history

West End (2023)

The musical made its world premiere at @sohoplace in London's West End beginning previews on 2 September 2023. Originally scheduled to run until 25 November 2023, it was announced that the production would be extending to 2 March 2024.[1] The production is directed by Luke Sheppard.[2] Full casting was announced on 7 July 2023.[3]

Cast and characters

Character West End[4]
2023
Henry Fraser (Man) Ed Larkin
Henry Fraser (Boy) Jonny Amies
Fran Fraser Linzi Hateley
Andrew Fraser Alasdair Harvey
Tom Fraser Jamie Chatteron
Will Fraser Cleve September
Dom Fraser Jordan Benjamin
Agnes Amy Trigg
Dr. Graham Malinda Parris
Katie Gracie Mcgonigal
Surgeon Rebecca Bowden
Marco Tom Oliver

Musical numbers

Critical reception

The show had its official opening night on the 14th September 2023, with critics in attendance giving it positive reviews; Andrew Lloyd Webber tweeted, "I've just had the most exciting night in a theatre for years. @TLBTmusical is an all British musical and it's a total triumph...it will be an international smash."[5]

Alun Hood of WhatsOnStage.com gave it five stars, stating "it’s a truly great time in the theatre" and "The thunderous score is a major factor in this: Nick Butcher and Tom Ling’s tune-filled, exhilarating work occupies that sweet spot where pop, rock and folk compounds with theatrical bombast."[6] The Observer gave it high praise and called the music "punch-the-air triumph" and the show "Full of the joys of being alive".[7] Arifa Akbar of The Guardian stated "Nick Butcher’s music and lyrics (by Butcher and Tom Ling) are strong and catchy, incorporating pop, jazz and gospel alongside big musical ballads" but that the show felt too "bright eyed".[8] Dominic Cavendish wrote in his review of the year's theatre in The Telegraph newspaper, that "those worrying where the British musical will go after Andrew Lloyd Webber could take heart from The Little Big Things, an uplifting adaptation by the composer Nick Butcher and others."[9]

Marianka Swain, writing in The Daily Telegraph, gave it three stars, criticising the score as "unmemorable" and over-reliant on "belting notes or director Luke Sheppard's fireworks ... for impact".[10] Swain described Trigg's performance as "dynamite" and Parris as the show's "vocal highlight".[10]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2024 WhatsOnStage Awards[11] Best New Musical Pending
Best Performer in a Musical Ed Larkin Pending
Best Supporting Performer in a Musical Amy Trigg Pending
Best Casting Direction Jill Green Pending

References

  1. ↑ "The Little Big Things musical extends West End run". 2023-10-09. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  2. ↑ Thomas, Angela. "New British musical The Little Big Things to debut at London's @sohoplace | Musical Theatre Review". Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  3. ↑ "Full cast announced for The Little Big Things musical in the West End". 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  4. ↑ Darvill, Josh (2023-07-07). "The Little Big Things musical to make world premiere in West End". Stageberry. Retrieved 2023-09-04.
  5. ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
  6. ↑ "The Little Big Things at @Sohoplace – review".
  7. ↑ "Observer The Little Big Things at @Sohoplace – review".
  8. ↑ "The Little Big Things review – big-hearted musical is a true-story tearjerker".
  9. ↑ Dominic Cavendish; Tristram Fane Saunders (14 December 2023). "British theatre is a shadow of its former self – but our comedy scene is thriving". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  10. 1 2 Marianka Swain (15 September 2023). "The Little Big Things, review: a story this good deserves much better music". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  11. ↑ "Nominations in full: 24th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards". 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.