Smash '00s romcom ‘50 First Dates' is being turned into a major new London musical
The blurb for this major new musical describes the 2004 Adam Sandler flick it's adapted from as 'one of the most popular romcoms of all time', which is conceivably pushing it, but certainly there are plenty of millennials who will look back fondly on the Hawaii-set comedy about a womanising marine veterinarian who falls for an art teacher who shows no memory of him the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that, etcetera.
It's coming to The Other Palace in Victoria, which is very much off-West End rather than West End, but that looks like something of a treat for us: the musical comes with a powerhouse US creative team at its helm, most notably director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw, whose UK hits include Mean Girls and a little show called The Book of Mormon, strongly suggesting this run is a de facto Broadway tryout. The songs and book are by David Rossmer and Steve Rosen, whose work hasn't been seen over here, but they have strong comedy pedigree – the show is shaping up to be more com than rom.
Exactly how close to the spirit of the original film it'll be remains to be see: 2004 was a long time ago, and there are aspects of the movie that have potentially dated, notably the running gag about Henry's ambiguously gendered assistant Alexa. Plus his crew includes a penguin and a walrus, although these all seem like fun challenges rather than insurmountable obstacles.
It's a Brit cast, with Josh St. Clair (who starred in the recent UK tour of Ghost) as Henry and in the role originally played by Drew Barrymore Mean Girls alumnus Georgina Castle will star as amnesiac art teacher Lucy. Tickets are on sale now.
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