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the 2002 hit selected as a UK entry for the NAMT Festival of New Musicals, New York 2006
Paul Boyd’Äôs musical McCool was commissioned in 2002 and first produced by Northern Ireland's oldest independent theatre producer Big Telly Theatre Company in association with the Lyric Theatre, Belfast. The musical, based on the story of Irish mythological wild-child Finn McCool, toured Ireland extensively in 2002 and developed a cult following across the country. The original 2002 cast included Rachel Tucker who is currently starring as Elphaba in the West End production of the musical Wicked and who has also featured in the Queen and Ben Elton musical We Will Rock You at London’Äôs Dominion Theatre. In 2006 pbm presented McCool as part of The McCool Project, the company's musical theatre training programme at The Market Place Theatre, Armagh where students rehearsed with a professional cast and crew before appearing on stage in public performances. In the same year, the show was selected by Mercury Musical Developments in London as a UK entry to the NAMT’Äôs Festival of New Musicals in New York. More recently, McCool was performed by students of pbm's McCool Summer School 2007 at the Grand Opera House in Belfast and An Grianˆ°n Theatre in Letterkenny. Staged as an exciting multi-media rock concert McCool is performed by a multi-roleplaying cast of five and charts the life of Finn McCool from his lowly beginning as an abandoned baby to his eventual position as Ireland's first superstar. The show features an eclectic, non-stop mix of dance and pop music, culminating in a spectacular mega-mix finale. Songs include "Mythology", "Gotta Grow Up", "I Will Think of You" and "War".
PREMIERED IN 2002
THE STORY OF IRELAND’ÄôS FIRST SUPERSTAR
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Previous Production Teams: 2002 - Big Telly Theatre Co. Irish Tour original book, music & lyrics by Paul Boyd . illusions designed by Paul McEneaney . illusions built by Paul Gomac . costumes designed by Eilish Hogg . lights designed by Mike Borgia . film directed by Mark Hill . sound designed by Patrick Dalgety . sound operated by Mick Draine . technical manager Guy Barriscale . stage managed by Tracy Haddock . choreographed by Sarah Johnston . musical director - Paul Boyd . directed by Zoe Seaton . performed by Brenda Brooks . Mary McNally . Kevin Hynes . Rachel Tucker . John M Ryan 2006 - (as The McCool Project) pbm for The Market Place Theatre, Armagh original book, music & lyrics by Paul Boyd . stage managed by Lisa-Marie Cooke. choreographed by Sarah Johnston . produced by Georgia Simpson . directed by Paul Boyd . performed by Laura Hughes . Sharon Morwood . Bronagh Taggart . Simon Imrie . Tommy Wallace
Music and images from McCool © pbm 2002
Press Reviews: "This belter of a musical is a high tech hit ... Paul Boyd’Äôs energetic musical is a good old belter of a musical ... It’Äôs a high energy, high octane show, ideal for younger audiences desperate to strut their stuff ... a really McCool show ... it can harness the attention of tomorrow’Äôs theatre-goers as well as today’Äôs ... a giant step" Belfast Telegraph "Be blown away by Finn McCool ... arranger, composer, lyricist and musical director Paul Boyd is one of those gifted souls who can turn his hand to most musical genres ... Paul has evidently sussed out the structure of West End musical hits ... a zippy show delivered well" Belfast News Letter "A magical piece of rock theatre! ... Boasting more illusions than you could shake a wand at ... this new and innovative piece of rock theatre really does bring a new meaning to the term ’Äòthe magic of the musicals’Äô ... Replacing dialogue with an amalgamation of music, dance, physical theatre, humour, illusion, magic, special effects and projected live video footage, this piece adopts a kind of ’ÄòPaul Boyd Webber’Äô style, with a sung through score ... Bog-standard theatrical fare it is not ... this show is worth catching" Irish News "In Paul Boyd’Äôs new pop musical, Finn may be a big name and a big personality but in reality he is just an ordinary guy, blessed - or cursed - with extraordinary powers ... an opportunity for displaying Boyd’Äôs versatile song-writing talents ... 90 minutes of non-stop song, dance and multimedia effects" The Stage
PREVIOUS PRO PRODUCTIONS: 2 Irish Tour 11th March - 4th May 2002 The Market Place Theatre, Armagh August 2006 Ôøº PREVIOUS NON-PRO PRODUCTIONS: 2 Ôøº PREVIEW / BUY CAST RECORDING Ôøº RESOURCES Script, Backing Tracks - click here Ôøº PERFORMING RIGHTS Currently available in some territories. Inquiries click here Ôøº SHOW DETAILS Cast size: 6 Number of characters: 21+ Duration: Act One (45 mins) / Act Two (45 mins)pbm_store.htmlmailto:rights@pbmusicals.com?subject=rights%20inquiryshapeimage_17_link_0shapeimage_17_link_1
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