Beverley Knight will headline a new musical based on The Drifters.
The Queen of British soul and West End favourite will play Faye Treadwell, the legendary manager of The Drifters, who, alongside her husband, fought for three decades to turn Atlantic Records’ hottest vocal group into a global phenomenon.
The Drifters Girl charts the trailblazing efforts of the world’s first African American, female music manager and how she refused to ever give up on the group she loved.
Featuring classic hits such as Stand By Me, Saturday Night at the Movies, Under The Boardwalk, Save The Last Dance For Me
and Kissin in the Back Row of the Movies, the musical has a book by Ed Curtis and will be directed by Jonathan Church.
The musical will try-out in Newcastle, from 5 September 2020 thru 19 September, prior to a West End premiere at the Garrick Theatre where it will run fro 20-weeks from 1 October 2020.
Best known for her music career, Knight has starred in several highly acclaimed West End productions including Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard (Dominion Theatre), Felicia Farrell in Memphis The Musical (Shaftesbury Theatre), Grizabella in Cats (London Palladium) and Emmeline Pankhurst in hip hop musical Sylvia at The Old Vic.
The creative team includes design by Anthony Ward, choreography by Karen Bruce, lighting by Ben Cracknell and music supervision and orchestration by Chris Egan.
Further casting and full creative team will be announced at a later date.
The Drifters Girl is booking from 1 October 2020 until 13 February 2021 at the Garrick Theatre, London
Tickets for the The Drifters Girl are available now.
