I treat the news that Half A Sixpence is being revived at Chichester with mixed feelings. The original by David Heneker and Beverley Cross is a minor favourite of mine, particularly songs such as Buy Me A Banjo, The One That Got Away and of course, Flash, Bang Wallop. So quite what Stiles, Drewe and Fellowes are going to do to it, I’ve no idea. The additional songs that Stiles and Drewe brought to Mary Poppins allowed the film musical adjust fairly smoothly to the stage but they are in themselves pretty unmemorable, save perhaps Practically Perfect.
The truth is that Half A Sixpence is already a decent musical, with a serviceable book and score. Fellowes ability to paraphrase The Great War in Downton Abbey to just three episodes will probably mean that the book will be effectively edited but why can't Stiles, Drewe and Fellowes adapt their own version of HG Well’s Kipps? Why piggy-back on the work of others? It’s getting initial billing as the ‘Flash Bang Wallop Musical’, so they are even marketing it based on an original song.
I wonder if this will become a new trend? Let’s hope not.
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