Calendar Girls Musical - Tour 2023/4

All roles played by Jenny Seagrove

Love this show so much. Even the stripped down first tour was good.

Was the pun intentional?

Also playing at the Mill in Sonning from 11 April to 1 June 2024.

Although, I presume it's a different (professional) production:
millatsonning.com/shows/calendar-girls/

This looks like the play rather than musical, however.

The email I received from Hull Theatres promises "a re-imagined book and new music." There's *that* word again. It's even infected the East Riding!

What's the collective noun for a group of Mrs Johnstones?
A Kenwright of Mrs Js?

Marti Webb as Sophie Louise Dann? I'm alright ta

Anyone been yet? I'm off there tonight!

Gosh...that sounds terrible...the West End production was such a beautiful show...this sounds like a travesty...

How on earth did the show work without Laurence (the photographer)? 

Sad to say it, but this all sounds typical Kenwright.

Absolutely loved the original run at The Lowry and then the pretty much identical West End version.

The first main tour I found very basic, set wise etc, but the warmth and message of the piece still came through. 

This sounds awful.

As a more general point does make me sad how there are so many musicals that end up doing tours that just get cheaper and cheaper with every incarnation. 

I'm surprised about that. It's the only song I found memorable from the West End production.

Really wish I read the reviews before I booked for Salford in the presale this morning - at least I got 2-4-1 so not splashing out too much for a cut down show.

I nipped to Windsor to see this yesterday. Such a pleasant place to walk around, especially in the summer, although I'm always shocked how early the shops close for a tourist destination.

My feeling is it's best to think of this as an entirely new musical (with a new name) which just happens to share some songs, characters and ideas from a previous musical.

As such, I found it quite enjoyable, and I have to say how nice it is that Bill Kenwright has found work for so many of the leads who have added to his Blood Brothers fortunes. It's also impressive how the production has been reworked so this could slot straight into The Other Palace if a vacancy there becomes available.

As others have said, this is performed by a cast of seven women and two men (there are also four understudies who appear in the background for a minute or two). For those people who dislike children on stage, you'll be pleased to know that those elements have been removed, although children are mentioned verbally in passing. The leads are all serviceable. Levels of singing proficiency and comedic acting ability vary. Everything is performed in an outer shell representing the village hall, with the main props being folding chairs, bowls of fruit, sticky buns and the like. Occasionally, external scenes are played at the front of the stage, for example with a motorway sign descending (and the chairs reused) to suggest that the women are in a car.

I do think that the final photoshoot scene was done well.

Now, I only saw the previous production once, so I don't remember all of the details, but this is clearly very scaled back. It may be essential to give this a future life, but nothing really got the audience to react with anything more than polite applause. I quite enjoyed the evening, but I also saw the show with a heavily discounted ticket (with a clear view in the rear Stalls). I don't feel the need to see this again on tour, but I suspect this will sell well based on name value and that many will enjoy it, particularly if they didn't see the previous version of the musical.