Greatest Days
Greatest Days is a jukebox musical with music and lyrics by Take That and a book by Tim Firth. It received its world premiere under its original title The Band at the Manchester Opera House, in September 2017, before embarking on a UK and Ireland tour and opened at the Theatre Royal Haymarket at London's West End in December 2018. The band was cast through the 2017 BBC reality television show Let It Shine.[2]
| Greatest Days | |
|---|---|
| The Official Take That Musical | |
| Music | Take That |
| Lyrics | Take That |
| Book | Tim Firth |
| Basis | The music of Take That |
| Premiere | 26 September 2017[1]: Manchester Opera House |
| Productions | 2017 UK tour 2018 West End 2019 Germany 2023 UK tour |
The musical tells the story of four women who were best friends as teenagers and all big fans of The Band. 25 years later after losing contact the four of them reunite to fulfill their dream of seeing the band perform.[3]
Greatest Days is the second jukebox musical based on the songs of Take That, after the 2008 musical Never Forget.
Productions
UK and Ireland tour and West End (2017 - 2019)
The musical premiered as The Band at the Manchester Opera House on 26 September 2017 (previewing from 8 September) before touring the rest of the UK and Ireland until March 2019.[4][5]
The musical made its West End premiere at the Theatre Royal Haymarket for a limited run from 1 December 2018 to 12 January 2019, including a charity gala opening night on 4 December 2018.
Germany (2019)
The musical made its German premiere at the Theater des Westens in Berlin for a limited run from 11 April 2019 to September 2019, followed by a run in Munich from 11 October 2019 to 3 November 2019.
P&O Cruises Arvia (2023 - 2026)
In August 2022 it was announced that a special adaptation of Greatest Days would be performed exclusively onboard new P&O Cruises Ship Arvia. The show had its premiere on Monday 9th of January 2023. It was directed by James Robert Moore, with choreography by Ian West, musical direction by Roxanna Shirley, arrangements by Steve Parry, set design by Steve Howell, costume by Carry On Costumes, sound design by Leigh Davies, video and lighting design by Ben Bull and associate direction by Grace Currie.
P&O Cruises Iona (2023 - 2026)
On Thursday the 8th of June 2023, Greatest Days premiered on Arvia’s sister ship Iona. The show has the same creative team as Arvia.
UK and Ireland tour (2023 - 2024)
In September 2022, it was announced that the musical would tour the UK and Ireland in 2023, renamed as Greatest Days. The tour premiered at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley from 5 May 2023 and will tour until 2024, coinciding with the release of the movie adaptation and the 30th anniversary of Take That's first ever no. 1 UK single Pray.[6]
Original casts and characters
| Character | UK and Ireland Tour
2017–19 |
Germany
2019 |
2nd UK and Ireland Tour
2023–24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Band | AJ Bentley | Alex Charles | Kalifa Burton |
| Nick Carsberg | Sario Solomon | Jamie Corner | |
| Curtis T Johns | Prince Damien | Archie Durrant | |
| Yazdan Qafouri | Helge Mark Lodder | Regan Gascoigne | |
| Sario Solomon | Taddeo Pellegrini | Alexanda O'Reilly | |
| Rachel | Rachel Lumberg | Silke Geertz | Kym Marsh |
| Heather | Emily Joyce | Laura Leyh | Rachel Marwood |
| Claire | Alison Fitzjohn | Yvonne Köstler | Jamie-Rose Monk |
| Zoe | Jayne McKenna | Heike Kloss | Holly Ashton |
| Young Rachel | Faye Christall | Maria Arnold | Emilie Cunliffe |
| Young Heather | Katy Clayton | Jara Buczynski | Kitty Harris |
| Young Claire | Sarah Kate Howarth | Kristin Heil | Mari McGinlay |
| Young Zoe | Lauren Jacobs | Laura Saleh | Hannah Brown |
| Debbie | Rachelle Diedericks | Ruth Lauer | Mary Moore |
| Jeff | Martin Miller | Tilman Madaus | Christopher D. Hunt |
| Dave | Andy Williams | Daniel Rossmeisl | Alan Stocks |
Film adaptation
A film adaptation titled Greatest Days featuring a screenplay by Firth and directed by Coky Giedroyc with choreography by Drew McOnie is due for release in summer 2023.[7]
References
- "Dates for new Take That musical The Band officially announced". whatsonstage.com. Whats On Stage. 3 April 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- "Five To Five are crowned the winners of Let It Shine as they beat Nightfall and Drive". mirror.co.uk. Daily Mirror.
- "The Band - Grand Opera House". Grand Opera House. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- King, Bob. "The Band | The new musical by Tim Firth with the music of Take That | Touring the UK in 2017/18". www.thebandmusical.com. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
- "The Band Musical Tickets". www.londonboxoffice.co.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
- Admin (21 September 2022). "Greatest Days - The Official Take That Musical to tour in 2023". LondonTheatre1. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
- Giedroyc, Coky, Greatest Days (Musical), Elysian Film Group, SPG3 Entertainment, Zurich Avenue, retrieved 22 September 2022