By Natasha Montague
LONDON (Reuters) – The British composing team who shot to fame after they created the international hit musical “SIX”, based on the six wives of Henry VIII, chose Valentine’s Day to launch their latest interpretation of the ups and downs of relationships.
“Why Am I So Single?” is a musical celebration of friendship and love in the age of dating apps that will run from Aug. 27 until February 2025 in London’s West End.
It is the work of Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, who created “SIX” while students at the University of Cambridge. It premiered at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe, went on to take the West End by storm in 2019, transferred to Broadway and won multiple awards.
Kenny Wax, who is producing the new musical, described the pressure on the pair to prove “SIX” was not just “a lucky fluke” and deliver a follow-up.
“‘Why Am I So Single?’ proves that they are literally geniuses,” said Wax.
“It’s hilariously funny, very poignant, but it’s also very moving,” Wax added, citing the ease of getting a theatre to accept the new musical as proof of its worth.
“When the theatre-owners are fighting amongst themselves to get your show, you know you’ve got quite a good thing.”
Marlow said “Why Am I So Single?” was only loosely based on its creators’ experience.
“It’s not entirely autobiographical. A lot of it is fabricated or exaggerated or kind of like stolen from people that we know,” Marlow said.
Moss described the music as popular, but also drawing on styles such as 1930s jazz.
“Because it is a big, fancy musical, there’s lots of different genres within the shows,” she said.
Asked about the enduring power of musicals that have been major box office earners for decades, Moss said the combination of storytelling and music was “just really compelling”.
(Writing by Barbara Lewis; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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