Noël goes on tour in the US and Canada
NOEL, the Wexford family musical written by bestselling children’s author Eoin Colfer and composed by Liam Bates of Kilmore has embarked on a north American tour which opened last week for three shows at the Ames Center in Burnsville, Minnesota and will travel to several cities in the US and Canada during the coming holiday season.
The show which premiered at the National Opera House in Wexford two years ago, is set in modern day London and tells a heartwarming tale of a little girl, Noel, who is preparing for her starring role in a school Christmas play when her mother suddenly disappears. She keeps her mother’s disappearance a secret and embharks alone on a quest to find her.
Along the way, she befriends a diverse group of homeless characters who have lost their way in life, including Nick, who believes the world has forgotten the true meaning of Christmas; Duchess, a lady with a mysterious past and Edgar, a disabled veteran who has lost his faith in humanity.
Noel’s bright innocence and unwavering belief in finding her mother, inspires Nick to find joy again as he falls in love with the Duchess and with life itself and the audience discovers that he is indeed Santa Claus.
The award-winning director Sam Scalamoni is in charge for the North American tour of Noel which has an American cast. He is responsible for the critically acclaimed Elf the Musical National Tours and also directed Disney’s Beauty and the Beast for the Ogunquit Playhouse.
He is joined by choreographer Charlie Sutton (Kinky Boots, American in Paris), musical director Gary Alder (Avenue Q), set designer Christine Peters (Elf, Miss Saigon), sound designer Joshua Reid (Billy Elliot), lighting designer Brian Nason (The Seafarer, It’s a Wonderful Life) and costume designer Wendi R. Zea.
The set design reflects the theme of the story where found things that have been cast aside such as an old park bench and a broken bicycle and are used and cherished by the homeless. They eventually become noticed for their value, illuminating them and turning them into something magical and hopeful.
The co-producer of the show is the Wexford-born singer Michael Londra whose US-based company VenuWorks Theatricals, which first produced Noel at the National Opera House in 2016, has partnered with VStar Entertainment for the North American tour.