Betty Blue Eyes

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Betty Blue Eyes
Betty Blue Eyes logo.jpg
Original West End production
Music George Stiles
Lyrics Anthony Drewe
Book Ron Cowen
Daniel Lipman
Basis A Private Function by
Alan Bennett and Malcolm Mowbray
Premiere 19 March 2011 (2011-03-19): Novello Theatre
Productions 2011 West End
2013 Wichita

Betty Blue Eyes is a 2011 stage musical comedy based on the 1984 film A Private Function,[1] and features music by George Stiles, with lyrics by Anthony Drewe. The book was written for the stage by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, adapted from Alan Bennett's original screenplay.

Background

Betty Blue Eyes is based on the 1984 film A Private Function, by Alan Bennett.[2] The show marked producer Cameron Mackintosh's first new musical in over 10 years[3] and when describing what drew him to the project (which he has described as "delicious"), Mackintosh said:

"The score was written by friends of mine, George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, whom I've known for 25 years and [who,] of course, did all the terrific new songs for Mary Poppins ... The book was written by two Americans [Cowen and Lipman], and it was their idea... I read it and I thought it was the most original piece I had read in a long, long time. I mean, I knew they were working on it, because the moment I heard it was a musical version of A Private Function — a film I loved, by Alan Bennett, which was very, very funny and off-the-wall — I was intrigued..."[4]

Production history

Betty Blue Eyes opened at the Novello Theatre in the West End, London, on 13 April 2011, following previews from 19 March.[5] The production was directed by Richard Eyre, with musical staging by Stephen Mear design by Tim Hatley and orchestrations by William David Brohn. The cast consisted of Sarah Lancashire as Joyce Chilvers, Reece Shearsmith as Gilbert Chilvers, David Bamber as Doctor Swaby, Jack Edwards as Mr Allardyce, Ann Emery as Mother Dear, Mark Meadows as Lockwood and Adrian Scarborough as Inspector Wormold. The voice of the show's animatronic pig Betty was provided by Australian actress Kylie Minogue.[6] Despite positive reviews[7] the musical closed in London on 24 September 2011, after a run of just six months.[8][9]

The first production outside the UK[10] and the shows American premiere took place at Music Theatre of Wichita in Wichita, Kansas from 24 to 28 July 2013.[11] Music Theatre of Wichita previously recorded the North American cast album for George Stiles and Anthony Drewe's musical Honk!. The production was directed by Wayne Bryan and featured Justin Robertson, Larry Raben, Tracy Lore, and Mary Stout.

In March 2014 a new production, directed by Daniel Buckroyd, opened at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester ahead of a UK Tour in a co-production between the Mercury Theatre Colchester, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Salisbury Playhouse and West Yorkshire Playhouse.[12]

Music

Musical Numbers

Cast album

Featuring 20 songs on the physical CD[13] with an additional two bonus tracks available as digital downloads only[14] from the London production of Betty Blue Eyes, the cast album was released by First Night Records[15] on 3 October 2011.[16] The recording was made at the Novello Theatre over five performances.[17]

Betty Blue Eyes (Original London Cast Recording)
Betty Blue Eyes (Cast Cd).jpg
Soundtrack album cast recording by Various
Released 3 October 2011 (2011-10-03)
Length 79:38
Label First Night Records
No. Title Length
1. "Overture - Austerity Britain"   1:58
2. "Fair Shares for All"   3:42
3. "A Place on the Parade"   3:46
4. "Magic Fingers"   4:37
5. "Painting By Heart"   5:07
6. "Nobody"   3:14
7. "Nobody Part 2"   2:42
8. "A Private Function"   2:59
9. "Betty Blue Eyes"   3:59
10. "Lionheart"   5:06
11. "Steal the Pig"   4:59
12. "Another Little Victory"   4:50
13. "It's an Ill Wind"   3:00
14. "Pig no Pig"   6:53
15. "The Kind of Man I am"   3:25
16. "Since The War (Bonus Track)"   3:03
17. "A Private Function (Reprise)"   1:40
18. "Finale Ultimo - Confessions"   8:18
19. "Magic Fingers (Reprise)"   2:18
20. "Betty Blue Eyes (Reprise)"   1:29
21. "Jitterbug"   1:36
22. "Magic Fingers (Bonus Track)"   5:37

Principal roles and cast members

Characters Original West End actor
Gilbert Chilvers Reece Shearsmith[18]
Joyce Chilvers Sarah Lancashire[18]
Dr James Swaby David Bamber[19]
Henry Allardyce Jack Edwards[19]
Mother Dear Ann Emery[19]
Francis Lockwood Mark Meadows[19]
Inspector Wormold Adrian Scarborough[19]
Betty (Voice) Kylie Minogue[20]

Awards and nominations

Original London production

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2012 Laurence Olivier Award Best New Musical[21] Nominated[22]
Best Actor in a Musical Reece Shearsmith[21] Nominated[22]
Best Actress in a Musical Sarah Lancashire[21] Nominated[22]
Whatsonstage.com Awards Best New Musical[23] Nominated[24]
Best Actor in a Musical Reece Shearsmith[23] Nominated[24]
Best Actress in a Musical Sarah Lancashire[23] Nominated[24]
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical Ann Emery[23] Nominated[24]
Best Lighting Designer Neil Austin[23] Nominated[24]

References

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External links

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