Elvis (musical)

Elvis is a jukebox musical based upon the life of American singer Elvis Presley, conceived by and Ray Cooney (Producer and Co-Devisor) and Jack Good (Director and Co-devisor).[1][2] It tells the story of Elvis's life and career, from the beginning until his death. The original cast included Shakin' Stevens, who later became the top-selling UK singles artist of the 1980s and Tracey Ullman.[3]

"Elvis" - The Musical
Original London Cast Recording
MusicVarious Artists
LyricsVarious Artists
BookJack Good
Ray Cooney
BasisThe life and music of Elvis Presley
Productions1977 West End 1996 West End

Production history

1977 production

The original West End production opened on November 28, 1977, at the Astoria Theatre in London, which had been converted from a cinema especially for the show by Laurie Marsh.[4][5][2] Elvis was portrayed by three performers: Tim Whitnall as Young Elvis, Shakin' Stevens as Middle Elvis in his army and movie star years and PJ Proby as Mature Elvis in his Las Vegas years. Proby was later replaced by Bogdan Kominowski. Live musical accompaniment was provided by the rock and roll revival group, Fumble.[3] The production won the 1977 Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Musical and played for 614 performances, closing in April 1979.[6][7][8] (This can be confirmed by the fact that many of the cast went on to perform in the 1979, revival of Grease which previewed at the Bristol Hippodrome in May 1979).[9] The show did a nine-month UK and Europe tour from December 1979, with full cast replacements except for Stevens and Kominowski, who briefly reprised their roles but were replaced during the tour by Bo Wills as Middle Elvis and Vince Eager as Mature Elvis.[10][11] Touring commenced at the Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth and concluded at the King's Theatre, Edinburgh. International stops included Gothenburg, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Oslo, Amsterdam and Den Bosch.

Production team

Cast
  • PJ Proby (listed as James Proby in programme) - Older Elvis (later replaced by Bogdan Kominowski)
  • Bogdan Kominowski - Older Elvis
  • Shakin' Stevens - Middle Elvis
  • Tim Whitnall - Young Elvis
  • Helen Baker - Singer and Dancer
  • Tanith Banbury - Singer and Dancer
  • Anna Macleod - Singer and Dancer
  • Yael O'Dwyer - Singer and Dancer
  • Tracey Ullman - Dance Captain and Singer / Dancer
  • Richard Ashley - Singer and Dancer
  • Paul Felber - Singer and Dancer
  • Stephen Leigh - Singer and Dancer
  • Richard Piper - Singer and Dancer
  • Shaun Simon - Singer and Dancer

Musicians

1996 production

In 1996, Bill Kenwright Ltd mounted a modified production at the Prince Of Wales Theatre, directed by Keith Strachan and Carole Todd.[13] PJ Proby returned as Las Vegas Elvis, Tim Whitnall as mid-period Elvis, and Alexander Bar[14] joined them as young Elvis. Various song changes were made to the initial 1977 production. After transferring to the Piccadilly Theatre in 1997,[15] the show toured the UK until 2000.[16]

Musical numbers[17]

References
  1. Larkin, Colin (2011). The encyclopedia of popular music. London: Omnibus Press, in association with Muze. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8. OCLC 804879997.
  2. "Elvis 77". Keith Strachan. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  3. "FUMBLE in Elvis – The Musical". www.fumbleontheweb.com. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  4. "The Astoria Theatre, 157, Charing Cross Road, London, WC2". www.arthurlloyd.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  5. "Astoria | Theatres Trust". database.theatrestrust.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  6. "Evening Standard theatre awards: 1955-1979". Evening Standard. 2003-10-30. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  7. "London Musicals 1977" (PDF). Over The Footlights.
  8. Wintour, Charles (1980). Celebration: twenty-five years of British theatre. London: W.H. Allen. OCLC 558149839.
  9. "Grease (London Revival, 1979)". www.ovrtur.com. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  10. Birmingham Hippodrome archives, Programme, Elvis The Musical tour, 16–28 June 1980.
  11. Birmingham Hippodrome archives, chronology of performances, 16–28 June 1980, Elvis The Musical tour.
  12. Keith Strachan Musical director of 1977 production and co-director of 1996 production.
  13. "London Musicals 1996" (PDF). Over The Footlights. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-08-05. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
  14. Alexander Bar
  15. "London Musicals 1997" (PDF). Over The Footlights.
  16. Birmingham Hippodrome archives, chronology of performances, 21–26 April 1997, Elvis The Musical tour.
  17. "MusicalHeaven.com". Archived from the original on 2010-07-29. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
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