''Becoming Nancy'' is the 2011

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

of musician Terry Ronald.

Synopsis

The novel is a

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

story set in 1979 in East Dulwich,

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

where 16 year old David Starr is cast as Nancy in his school production of the musical ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...

''.

Stage musical adaptation

A stage musical adaptation had its world premiere at the

Alliance Theatre The Alliance Theatre is a theater company in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center. The company, originally the Atlanta Municipal Theatre, staged its first production (''King Arthur'') at the Alliance in 1968. The ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

in 2019, before receiving a UK premiere at the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

in 2024.{{Cite web , date=2024-01-23 , title=New musical Becoming Nancy directed by Jerry Mitchell, songs by Stiles & Drewe, to debut at Birmingham Rep {{! West End Theatre , url=https://www.westendtheatre.com/216821/news/new-musical-becoming-nancy-directed-by-jerry-mitchell-songs-by-stiles-drewe-to-debut-at-birmingham-rep/ , access-date=2024-11-02 , website=www.westendtheatre.com , language=en-GB It is directed and choreographed by

Jerry Mitchell Jerry Mitchell is an American theatre director and choreographer. Early life and education Born in Paw Paw, Michigan, Mitchell later moved to St. Louis where he pursued his acting, dancing and directing career in theatre. Although he did not ...

with a book by Elliot Davis and music and lyrics by George Stiles and

Anthony Drewe Anthony Drewe is a British lyricist and book writer for Broadway and West End musicals. He is best known for his collaborations with George Stiles. Education He was educated at Maidstone Grammar School between 1974–1980. He studied Zoolog ...

(with additional songs by Terry Ronald and Elliot Davis).

References

2011 novels 2011 debut novels 2011 British novels Novels set in the 1970s Novels set in London