Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Showstoppers and soggy bottoms to hit West stage
ABRAND new musical comedy inspired by the hit TV series The Great British Bake Off will open in the summer.
The new stage show, titled Great British Bake Off: The Musical, will premiere at Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on July 22.
The musical will follow the format of the beloved baking programme and see eight amateur bakers compete to impress two judges and battle their way to be crowned champion star baker.
Each of the bakers will tell their own stories throughout the show, as well as face trials, tribulations and baking fails along the way.
Great British Bake Off: The Musical will also feature an original score written by the award-winning writing duo Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary, as well as West End stars and musicians.
The musical will be produced by Mark Goucher, whose other touring productions include Hairspray and Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.
Goucher said: “The TV phenomenon Great British Bake Off gets to the heart of the nation, and for a long time I felt that it could work wonderfully well on the stage.
“We started working on the production a couple of years ago and with this talented creative team and in association with the TV show’s creator, I hope we have created a musical comedy that will win over our audiences here at the Everyman Theatre.”
The stage show has also been endorsed and created alongside the TV series’ executive producer Richard
McKerrow and its production company Love Productions.
McKerrow added: “This brandnew Bake-Off Musical has been a creative labour of love that has taken several years of painstaking development.
“But thanks to Mark and his fantastic team of musical producers and writers, who remained passionately committed to the cause, we really hope that this musical version embraces the soulful warmth and humorous spirit of the television show. And that it proves to be a real treat for all the family and anybody who comes.
“We often say, ‘love the bakers, love the baking!’ Now it’s time to love the singers, and love the songs!”
The Great British Bake Off TV series is fronted by judges Paul Hollywood and Cotswolds-based Dame Prue Leith, with Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding as the presenters in the famous tent.