''Spend Spend Spend'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

with a book and lyrics by Steve Brown and Justin Greene and music by Brown. The musical is inspired by the life of Viv Nicholson.

Productions

''Spend Spend Spend'' premiered in 1998 at the

West Yorkshire Playhouse Leeds Playhouse is a theatre in the city centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire. Having originally opened in 1970 in a different location in Leeds, it reopened as West Yorkshire Playhouse, on Quarry Hill, in March 1990. After a refurbishment in 2018-20 ...

and won the Barclays Theatre Award for Best Musical of the Year. The production starred Rosie Ashe and Nigel Richards. After a week of previews, the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

production, directed by Jeremy Sams and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood, opened on 12 October 1999 at the

Piccadilly Theatre The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, London, England. Early years Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A. Stone ...

, where it ran until 5 August 2000. The original cast included

Barbara Dickson Barbara Ruth Dickson (born 27 September 1947) is a Scottish singer and actress whose hits include ' I Know Him So Well', ' Answer Me' and ' January February'. Dickson has placed fifteen albums on the UK Albums Chart from 1977 to date, and had ...

Steven Houghton Steven Houghton (born 16 February 1971) is a British actor and singer. He is known for appearing in the ITV drama series '' London's Burning'' and for releasing a cover of the song "Wind Beneath My Wings", famously sung by Bette Midler in 1988. ...

Jeff Shankley Jeffrey Richard Shankley (born 17 November 1947) is a British actor, singer and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company who has had a long career as a television and stage actor particularly in the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber for who ...

and

Rachel Leskovac Rachel Leskovac (born 5 June 1976) is an English actress and singer. She is known for portraying the roles of Kelly Yorke in the BBC One medical drama series ''Holby City'' (2003–2004), Natasha Blakeman in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Stree ...

. The original London production was arranged by the Musical Director, Dane Preece. Shortly after closing in London, the production, with most of the original cast, went on a UK Tour. The Musical Director for the tour was Steve Hill and the role of Keith was played by Grant Anthony. On 8 July 2009 the

Watermill Theatre The Watermill Theatre is a repertory theatre in Bagnor, Berkshire. It opened in 1967 in Bagnor Mill, a converted watermill on the River Lambourn. As a producing house, the theatre has produced works that have subsequently moved on to the Wes ...

, Newbury, presented a revival of the musical, directed by Craig Revel Horwood, with Karen Mann as the older Viv, Kirsty Hoiles as young Viv and Greg Barnett as Keith. The production next had a 7-week tour across the country, beginning 28 September 2010 to 9 November 2010. It was awarded the 2010 TMA award for Best Musical and Kirsty Hoiles (young Viv) was awarded the TMA award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical.

Premise

In 1961,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

housewife Viv Nicholson won £152,319 in the

football pools In the United Kingdom, the football pools, often referred to as "the pools", is a betting pool based on predicting the outcome of association football matches taking place in the coming week. The pools are typically cheap to enter, and may enco ...

. When a reporter asked her what she planned to do with her new fortune, she replied, "I'm going to spend, spend, spend!," which is exactly what she did. Her rags-to-riches-to-rags-again story takes her through five husbands, expensive sports cars, fur coats, and jewelry, a battle with alcohol, and bankruptcy as, unable to cope with her new-found wealth and fame, she rapidly spirals downward.

Awards and nominations

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

for Best Musical (nominee) **Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Dickson, winner) **Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Leskovac, nominee) **Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance In A Musical (Houghton, nominee) **Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director (nominee) **Laurence Olivier Award for Best Choreography (nominee) **Laurence Olivier Award for Best Set Design (nominee) **Laurence Olivier Award for Best Lighting Designer (Mark Henderson, winner for multiple productions) * Evening Standard Award for Best Musical, 1999 (winner)" Lion King's awards triumph"
bbc.co.uk, 22 November 1999 *

Critics Circle Award A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governm ...

for Best Musical (winner)

References

{{reflist

External links

Viv Nicholson on Myspace

Webpage for film director/producer John Goldschmidt

1998 musicals West End musicals Musicals inspired by real-life events British musicals