The upcoming production of new British musical ‘Identical’ has been postponed for one year.
Kenny Wax (producer of ‘SIX’, ‘Top Hat’ and ‘The Goes Wrong...’ shows) says: ‘We remain as excited as ever to present this wonderful new show and we are announcing a postponement for one year until the health of the nation has improved. ‘Identical’ is a story about the reuniting of twins separated shortly after birth and also the healing of a family which has been fractured. The narrative is a powerful message for the world right now. When its time comes and under the directorial genius of Sir Trevor Nunn, I have no doubt that it will be regarded as one of the great musicals of its generation.”
‘Identical’, a ‘twin-sational’ new musical based on the novel ‘The Parent Trap’ by Erich Kästner, which inspired Disney films featuring Hayley Mills in 1961 and Lindsay Lohan in 1998, was due to open at Nottingham Playhouse (31 July - 22 August) then transfer to Bath’s Theatre Royal for a three-week run in September.
‘Identical’ has Music and Lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, (the multi award-winning writers of the Olivier award-winning National Theatre hit ‘Honk!’, who also created additonal songs for the international smash-hit Cameron Mackintosh/Disney production of ‘Mary Poppins’). Stuart Paterson has written the new book for the stage production.
Ticket holders will be contacted by their point of purchase regarding refund options.
STILES AND DREWE are a multi award-winning musical theatre writing partnership. Their scores include the international smash-hit Cameron Mackintosh/Disney production of MARY POPPINS, the Olivier Award-
winning HONK!, and the recent West End productions of HALF A SIXPENCE and THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS. Their other shows are SOHO CINDERS, BETTY BLUE EYES, TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT, PETER PAN – A MUSICAL ADVENTURE, GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS, THE THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF, THE THREE LITTLE PIGS, JUST SO and TUTANKHAMEN. Current projects include BECOMING NANCY, which premieres this autumn at the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta ahead of Broadway. They recognise new musical theatre writing via the annual Stiles and Drewe Prize for Best New Song, now in its 13th year, and their Mentorship Award supported by Music Theatre International (Europe).
STUART PATERSON is a Scottish playwright with a significant and wide-ranging body of work. He has had particular success as a family theatre writer with titles including THE JUNGLE BOOK, CINDERELLA, PETER PAN and MERLIN THE MAGNIFICENT which were first produced at The Glasgow Citizens Theatre, The Edinburgh Lyceum Theatre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre and have since been staged throughout the UK and worldwide, most recently in the USA, Finland, Holland, Sweden and by Den Nationale Scene in Norway, and by Theater Der Jugend in Vienna. His versions of HANSEL & GRETEL and Michael Morpurgo’s KENSUKE’S KINGDOM were both nominated for the TMA Best Children’s Production of the Year Award.
SIR TREVOR NUNN was the Artistic Director of the RSC for eighteen years, directing much of the Shakespeare canon, and new works including NICHOLAS NICKELBY and LES MISERABLES, now the longest running musical in the world. He was later Director of the National Theatre, where award-winning productions included THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, SUMMERFOLK, OKLAHOMA!,and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. He has directed the world premieres of Tom Stoppard’s EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR, ARCADIA, THE COAST OF UTOPIA Trilogy AND ROCK AND ROLL; and of CATS, STARLIGHT EXPRESS, ASPECTS OF LOVE, SUNSET BOULEVARD and THE WOMAN IN WHITE – all by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Other West End theatre includes HAMLET, RICHARD II, INHERIT THE WIND and KISS ME KATE (Old Vic), A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, FLARE PATH, THE TEMPEST and most recently FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at the Playhouse Theatre. With his 2016 production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, he has now directed all thirty-seven of Shakespeare’s plays.
KENNY WAX is the Producer of the celebrated new British musical SIX - the historemix pop concert retelling of the story of the wives of Henry VIII, which, until the outbreak of the Coronavirus, was playing at the Arts Theatre in London, on a UK tour and previewing on Broadway. He also produces the Mischief shows THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG, THE COMEDY ABOUT A BANK ROBBERY and PETER PAN GOES WRONG. He is producing a year-long Mischief Season at the Vaudeville Theatre which opened with GROAN UPS and continued in December with MAGIC GOES WRONG, co-written with Penn & Teller. His previous award-winning productions include TOP HAT (Best New Musical Laurence Olivier Awards 2015) and ONCE ON THIS ISLAND (Best New Musical Laurence Olivier Awards 1995). Work for children includes stage adaptations of Jilly Murphy’s THE WORST WITCH and Jacqueline Wilson’s HETTY FEATHER. He is currently serving a three year term as the President of the Society of London Theatre.
