An Officer and a Gentleman (musical)

*An Officer and a Gentleman,*
An Officer and a Gentleman,
The Musical
	UK artwork
Book	Douglas Day Stewart; Sharleen Cooper Cohen
Basis	1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman
Premiere	May 18, 2012: Lyric Theatre in Sydney, Australia
Productions	2012 Sydney; 2016 Silkeborg; 2018 UK tour; 2021 US tour; 2024 UK tour

An Officer and a Gentleman, The Musical is a stage musical adaptation of the 1982 film of the same name, written by Douglas Day Stewart.

History

The world premiere production of An Officer and a Gentleman, The Musical was co-produced by John Frost and Sharleen Cooper Cohen. The book was written by Douglas Day Stewart and Sharleen Cooper Cohen, and the score was by Ken Hirsch and Robin Lerner. Directed by Simon Phillips, the musical starred Ben Mingay as Zack Mayo and Amanda Harrison as Paula Pokrifki.^[1] The production had its world premiere on May 18, 2012 at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney, Australia. The musical closed only six weeks later, on July 1.^[2]

A new version of the musical made its premiere at Curve in Leicester, UK, in April 2018 before touring the UK.^[3] It was directed by Nikolai Foster and used songs from the film's soundtrack such as "Up Where We Belong", "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "Toy Soldiers", "Alone", "Don't Cry Out Loud" and "Material Girl", as opposed to the original score by Hirsch and Lerner used in the previous incarnation.^[4]

In 2019, a North American tour of An Officer and a Gentleman was announced, with a book adapted by Dick Scanlan, based on the version by Douglas Day Stewart and Sharleen Cooper Cohen.^[5] Choreography for this version was by Patricia Wilcox.^[6]

In 2024, the Curve production of the musical returned to the UK, again directed by Nikolai Foster. Starring Luke Baker as Zack Mayo, it opened on February 23 at The Alexandra in Birmingham.^[7]

Plot

Reception

The Sydney production received mixed reviews.^[8] In response to a highly negative review in The Australian, calling the show a "bloodless facsimile" of the film, author Stewart published a rebuttal defending the production and attacking the critics for their "eclectic, overly intellectual point of view".^[9] When the show's closing was announced, producer John Frost told a reporter that an American tour was still a possibility, after revisions were made to the show.^[10]

The show was nominated for five Helpmann Awards including "Best Musical 2012". Bert LaBonte won for "Best Supporting Actor".

Cast and characters


Character	Original Australia Cast	Original UK Tour Cast	Original US Tour Cast
Zack Mayo	Ben Mingay	Jonny Fines	Wes Williams
Paula Pokrifki	Amanda Harrison	Emma Williams	Mia Massaro
Sid Worley	Alex Rathgeber	Ian McIntosh	Cameron Loyal
Lynette Pomeroy	Kate Kendall	Jessica Daley	Emily Louis Franklin
Sgt. Emil Foley	Bert LaBonté	Ray Shell	David Wayne Britton
Byron Mayo*	Bartholomew John	Darren Bennett	Shelly Verden
Esther Pokrifki	Tara Morice	Rachel Stanley	Roxy York
Ramon Guiterrez	Josh Piterman
Taniya Seegar*	Zahra Newman		Amaya White
Charlie Redding	Josef Brown
Amy Cantrowitz	Sheridan Harbridge
Young Zack Mayo	Michael Kilbane Oliver Wright Otis Pavlovic George Cartwright
Officer Candidates			Zare Anguay (Leung) William Carver (Perryman) Christopher Hanford (Greer) Kyler Hershman (McNamara) Nathaniel D. Lee (Watts) Blake Sauceda (Zuniga) Kevin Stevens (Cohen)

* The character Taniya Seegar was changed to Casey Seegar in the US Touring production.

* The character Byron Mayo was changed to Zack's Dad in the US Touring production.

Recordings

A promotional disc of five songs was released including "Up Where We Belong", performed by Ben Mingay, Amanda Harrison, Kate Kendall and Alex Rathgeber, and "If You Believe In Love", sung by Amanda Harrison.^[11]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result
2012	Helpmann Awards^[12]	Best Musical	Sharleen Cooper Cohen, John Frost	Nominated
		Best Direction of a Musical	Simon Phillips	Nominated
		Best Choreography in a Musical	Andrew Hallsworth	Nominated
		Best Female Actor in a Musical	Amanda Harrison	Nominated
		Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical	Bert LaBonte	Won
	Theatre People Pro Choice ^[13]	Best Actress	Amanda Harrison	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Bert LaBonte	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Alex Rathgeber	Nominated
		Best Director	Simon Phillips	Nominated
		New Musical	Sharleen Cooper Cohen, John Frost	Nominated

References

^ "An Officer and A Gentleman Musical Cast Announced". Stage Whispers. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
^ Adam Fulton, "Show won't go on: musical fails to deliver on world premiere fanfare", The Australian, June 12, 2016.
^ "UK Tour: An Officer And A Gentleman". Theatre Tokens. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
^ "Exclusive: New musical adaptation of An Officer and a Gentleman to open in Leicester". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
^ Evans, Greg (2019-07-18). "New 'An Officer And A Gentleman' Stage Musical Announces North American Tour". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
^ Asbill, Juliana. "Review: AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN Lifts Us Up at Thalia Mara Hall". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
^ Mayo, Douglas (2023-06-22). "An Officer And A Gentleman UK Tour | Tickets and Venues". British Theatre. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
^ "Review Roundup: An Officer and a Gentleman in Sydney", BroadwayWorld.com, May 20, 2012 (summary and links to other reviews).
^ David Ng, "'An Officer and a Gentleman' writer hits back at critic", Los Angeles Times, May 23, 2012.
^ "Bid to save sinking musical An Officer And A Gentleman". The Daily Telegraph. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
^ "An Officer and a Gentleman The Musical: Songs for Download". Stage Whispers. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
^ "Helpmann Award Nominees 2012". live Performance Australia. Archived from the original on 2012-11-02. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
^ Simon Parris (28 November 2012). "Theatre People Pro Choice 2012 Winners Announced!". Theatre People. Retrieved 28 January 2013.