The Grinning Man (musical)
| The Grinning Man | |
|---|---|
 Artwork for the West End production | |
| Music | Tim Phillips Marc Teitler |
| Lyrics | Carl Grose Tom Morris Tim Phillips Marc Teitler |
| Book | Carl Grose |
| Basis | The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo |
| Premiere | 20 October 2016: Bristol Old Vic |
| Productions | 2016 Bristol 2017 West End |
The Grinning Man is a tragicomic musical based on Victor Hugo's 1869 novel The Man Who Laughs with a book by Carl Grose, music by Tim Phillips, Marc Teitler and lyrics by Carl Grose, Tom Morris, Tim Phillips and Marc Teitler.
Production history
Bristol (2016)
The musical made its world premiere at the Bristol Old Vic, beginning previews from 13 October, with a press night on 20 October, for a limited run until 13 November 2016. The production was directed by Tom Morris, set designed by Jon Bausor, costume designed by Jean Chan, movement direction by Jane Gibson, lighting design by Richard Howell, sound design by Simon Baker, with puppetry direction and design by Gyre & Gimble (Finn Caldwell and Toby Olié).[1]
London (2017-18)
Following the success of the Bristol run, the musical transferred to the Trafalgar Studios (Studio 1) in London's West End beginning previews from 5 December, with a press night on 18 December 2017.[2][3] The production ended its extended run on 5 May 2018.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced the Bristol Old Vic would stream an archive recording of the production (featuring the original Bristol cast) on YouTube from 26 June to 3 July 2020.[4]
The playtext was published by Samuel French, Inc. on 5 May 2021.
Cast and characters
| Character | Bristol (2016)[5] | West End (2017) | Melbourne (2024) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grinpayne | Louis Maskell | Maxwell Simon | |
| Young Grinpayne | N/A | N/A | Matthew Hearne |
| Barkilphedro | Julian Bleach | Jennifer Vuletic | |
| Ursus | Sean Kingsley | Dom Hennequin | |
| Duchess Josiana | Gloria Onitiri | Amanda Wilkin | N/A |
| Princess Josiana/Violinist | N/A | N/A | Melanie Bird |
| Dea | Audrey Brisson | Sanne Den Besten | Luisa Scrofani |
| Young Dea | N/A | N/A | Lilly Cascun |
| Osric the Freak-Wrangler of Stokes Croft / Lord Hazlitt Trelaw | Ewan Black | Matthew Hearne | |
| Mojo Head / Archbishop Kupsak | Stuart Angell | James Alexander-Taylor | N/A |
| Mojo/Cellist | N/A | N/A | Cameron Bajraktarevic-Hayward |
| Lord David Dirry-Moir | Stuart Neal | Mark Anderson | Anthony Craig |
| Queen Angelica | Patrycja Kujawska | Julie Atherton | Stephanie Astrid John |
| King Clarence | Sean Kingsley | Jim Kitson / David Bardsley | N/A |
| Lady Trelaw / Quake | Gloria Obianyo | Sophia Mackay | N/A |
| Lord Trelaw / Guitarist | N/A | N/A | Luke Leong-Tay |
| Mojo Body / Frozen Woman | Alice Barclay | Loren O'Dair | N/A |
| Mother/Violinist | N/A | N/A | Shelly Dunlop |
| Ensemble | N/A | Christina Bloom | N/A |
| Ensemble | N/A | Jonathan Cobb | N/A |
| Ensemble | N/A | Leo Elso | N/A |
| Ensemble | N/A | Claire-Marie Hall | N/A |
Song list
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A cast recording was released on 13 July 2018, featuring the Original London Cast, which contained 19 songs from the show, including a bonus track 'Only a Clown', recorded by Julian Bleach.
Reception
The Grinning Man received mostly positive reviews, with The Guardian calling it "a fabulously theatrical conceit" and giving it four out of five stars,[6] and The Stage calling it "unusual yet enticing".[7] However, the Evening Standard gave it two out of five stars, citing the "dismayingly unclear" narrative and "largely unmemorable" music and singing.[8]
References
- ^ "The Grinning Man". Gyre & Gimble. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ Armitstead, Claire (31 December 2017). "The Grinning Man review – the greatest freakshow in town". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
- ^ Naylor, Gary. "BWW Review: THE GRINNING MAN, Trafalgar Studios". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
- ^ Ltd, Supercool (17 June 2020). "The Grinning Man". Bristol Old Vic. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ "Bristol Old Vic | West End stars lead the cast for new British musical premiering this autumn at Bristol Old Vic". www.bristololdvic.org.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- ^ Armitstead, Claire (31 December 2017). "The Grinning Man review – the greatest freakshow in town". the Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
- ^ Shenton, Mark (26 January 2018). "Is The Grinning Man part of a new golden age for West End musicals?". The Stage. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
- ^ Mountford, Fiona (19 December 2017). "Trafalgar Studio's new play The Grinning Man will give you the creeps". Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 October 2018.