The History of the Musical

At the time of the novel’s publication, Magorian’s Theatre Agent, Bill Horne, declared, “This will make a wonderful musical and you must write the book”

A meeting with an actor/lyric writer and a composer took place and Magorian wrote the first draft. Both men were involved in West End Musicals and heavily committed. While Magorian waited for them to write, she was waking up in the night with lyrics pouring out of her head and feeling guilty that she was writing them when she was only supposed to be writing the book. And still she waited.

The singer Fiona Kimm, decided to take matters in hand and arranged a meeting between her and the composer, Gary Carpenter. Magorian pushed her lyrics across the table. Gary read them and said “You can write lyrics.” And the collaboration began.

Fast forward to Spring 1992 and the Quest Fest for New Musicals at the Buxton Opera House. This was an extraordinary event and the brainchild of Chris Grady.

Rather than invest a huge sum of money to back one winner’s production, money was spread between five winners and concert versions of the runners-up.

Goodnight Mister Tom was one of the winners. (Director: Syd Ralph. MD: Alan Bence.)

Six months later Goodnight Mister Tom premiered at the Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich, under the direction of Gerry Tebbutt and Dick Tuckey. (Choreographer: Gerry Tebbutt, MD: James Simpson).

In 1995 Roger Haines directed it at the Manchester Library Theatre. (Choreographer: Bill Deamer. MD: Paul Knight).

By now interest in the book was making itself felt elsewhere. Carlton Television decided to make a television Drama of the piece, and cast John Thaw to play Mister Tom. When the TV Drama of Goodnight Mister Tom was shown in 1998 it took Carlton by surprise. In spite of the late showing, 14 million viewers tuned in and the phone lines were jammed with callers after the screening. In the following year it scooped 5 awards including a BAFTA. Sadly, shortly after the film was made, John Thaw was diagnosed with cancer and died in 2002.

It was around this time that amateur companies became aware that there was a musical version of the book and between 2002 and 2003, four very different companies put on productions.

In April 2003, in Solihull, 75% of tickets were sold out in advanced bookings before the tickets were even printed. The demand was so high for tickets that it could have run its week twice. In Coventry, so many young people queued up for auditions that the Director decided he would have a bigger cast. The show was such a sell out that even on their notoriously worst night (the second performance) it was still doing 85% business. It was then that Magorian and Carpenter suddenly realised, from the response of the casts and the audiences that the Musical had a new life and that as each company put their own unique stamp on it, the piece not only worked but continued to touch new audiences.

The Music

“The Music for Tom‚ was always intended to reference rather than imitate the music of the early 1940’s. This enabled me to use a rich and varied musico/dramatic palette that might avoid sentimental (whilst actively embracing ‘sentiment’) and at the same time permitting the usage of a slightly more spiced harmonic language than one might normally associate with ‘Ambrose and his Orchestra’! Mikki’s characters experience a wide variety of extreme emotions and I felt it crucial to be able to ‘go with them’.
There is one conceit; the character of Zach come from a highly theatrical family, and as we learn, seems to be destined for a career in the theatre himself. I took the liberty of assigning a number of familiar music theatre ‘styles’ to him, both past (his influence) and – as his is all in front of him – future.”

Gary Carpenter