Leicester Curve’s hit musical version of the 1980s classic movie An Officer and a Gentleman will return to UK theatres early next year.
Directed by Curve’s artistic director Nikolai Foster with choreography by Joanna Goodwin, the tour will launch at The Alexandra, Birmingham on 23 February 2024.
The tour which will also continue a return to Leicester in August 2024 will also visit Glasgow, Belfast, Llandudno, Bradford, Wimbledon, Cardiff, Brighton, Manchester, Stoke, Newcastle, Dartford, Oxford, York, Sheffield, Southampton, Torquay, Canterbury, Southend, Liverpool, Nottingham, Woking, Truro, Bristol, Eastbourne, Wolverhampton, Blackpool, Aberdeen, Milton Keynes, Bromley, Hull and Carlisle.
Featuring a book by the writer of the movie’s screenplay Douglas Day Stewart co-written with Sharleen Cooper Cohen, the musical received its world premiere in Leicester in 2018.
Announcing the new tour, director Foster said: “Filled with love and quiet profundity, An Officer and a Gentleman sensitively charts the lives of working class, military folk in America in the early 1980s. We are proud to be working alongside the film’s creator Douglas Day Stewart, producer Jamie Wilson, Sharleen Cooper Cohen and an incredible creative team to present this beautiful and inspiring story. We are excited to share some iconic 80s songs and this moving story with audiences across the UK.”
The production will have musical supervision and orchestration by George Dyer, set and costume design by Michael Taylor, lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Tom Marshall and wig, hair and make up design by Sam Cox, with casting by Debbie O’Brien.
As well as featuring the film’s romantic anthem ‘Up Where We Belong’, the musical features 1980s pop classics including ‘Alone’, ‘Don’t Cry Out Loud’, ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ and ‘Material Girl’.
With an iconic and much parodied romantic finale, that belied the dramatic grit of the bulk of the film’s content, An Officer and a Gentleman captured the imagination of audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Directed by Taylor Hackford, the film was one of the biggest movies of 1982 and featured a career defining performance from Richard Gere and an Oscar-nominated performance from his leading lady Debra Winger.
Angela Thomas