Rumours of a Steps musical have been going around the houses for years now. After an unauthorised musical was announced on the network formerly known as Twitter nearly four years ago, it was met with a response of an official one being in the works. While I'd have been a Deeper shade of blue if nothing had come from that, it is happening here and now. Well... later this year.
The world premiere of 'Here & Now' will open at the Alexandra, Birmingham from 9th - 24th November, prior to a planned West End run.
Featuring Steps' most beloved hit songs, the musical is produced by the band and ROYO with Pete Waterman and will be directed by Rachel Kavanaugh. While the group are known for their own iconic dances (you will always find me giving it my best 'Tragedy' when the opportunity arises), the show will feature choreography from Matt Cole who recently won an Olivier award for his stunning work on Newsies.
The musical will feature an original book by Shaun Kitchener and will be set in seaside superstore Better Best Bargains, where it's Friday night, the vibe is right, and everyone's dancing in the aisles. But when Caz discovers the shelves are stocked with lies and betrayal, the summer of love she and her friends dreamed of suddenly feels like a tragedy. Have they all lost their chance of a 'happy ever after'? Or does love have other plans in store…
It will feature many of their most loved songs including 5, 6, 7, 8, Stomp, Better Best Forgotten, and Last Thing On My Mind. 9Casting is to be announced.
Steps said, “We’ve been lucky to do many things together as a band, but the question we get asked again and again is ‘where is the Steps musical?’ Well...it’s finally here and we couldn’t be more excited. We’ve searched for the perfect story for our music and we’ve found it in the aisle of a seaside superstore, where four friends set out on their own Summer of Love. It’s a story of friendship, romance and community; packed with our biggest hits and sure to have everybody laughing, crying and dancing in the aisles. We can’t wait to open the doors later this year, and see you there!”
Steps (Claire Richards, Faye Tozer, Ian ‘H’ Watkins’, Lee Latchford-Evans and Lisa Scott-Lee) are the UK’s most successful mixed sex pop group of all time, with 14 top five singles, 4 number one albums, 22 million record sales, 500 million streams & 11 sold-out national arena tours under their belts. The band’s hits include #1 singles Tragedy/Heartbeat and Stomp, the gold certified One For Sorrow & Better Best Forgotten, the silver certified 5,6,7,8, Last Thing On My Mind, Love’s Got A Hold Of My Heart, Chain Reaction, all of which will feature in the musical alongside many more.
Steps’ 2017 comeback tour sold out all 300,000 tickets, making it one of the biggest pop tours of the year. The band have since continued to release new music including two further iTunes #1 singles, the Sia-penned What The Future Holds in 2020 and the Michelle Visage duet Heartbreak In This City in 2022. In 2022 Steps celebrated their 25th anniversary with a headline summer tour and released the #1 album Platinum Collection which means they join ABBA, Rolling Stones and Stereophonics as the only groups in UK history to score #1 albums in four consecutive decades.
Tickets go on general sale on 9th February from www.atgtickets.com/venues/birmingham with priority booking available on 8th February.
It's safe to say a Steps musical has never been the last thing on my mind. It's been a dream show of mine for a while now so you will catch me in Birmingham during this run... possibly multiple times!
Visit www.thestepsmusical.com for more information and to sign up for priority booking.