''The Commitments'', also called ''The Commitments: The Saviours of Soul'', is a

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that plays a user-selected song from a self-contained media library. Traditional jukeboxes contain records, compact discs, or digital files, and allow user ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

written by

Roddy Doyle Roderick Doyle (born 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been ...

, based on the 1987 novel of the same name, also written by Doyle. Like the novel (and its 1991 film adaptation), the musical is about a group of unemployed Irish youths who start a

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

band. It premiered in 2013 at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

's West End. The music within the musical consists of soul and

rock & roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

classics from the 1950s and 60s, including "

Think In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, and delibe ...

", "

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff is w ...

", "

Papa Was a Rollin' Stone "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" is a song originally performed by Motown recording act the Undisputed Truth in 1972, though it became much better known after a Grammy-award winning cover by the Temptations was issued later the same year. This la ...

" and " Night Train". The music is entirely

diegetic Diegesis (; , ) is a style of fiction storytelling in which a participating narrator offers an on-site, often interior, view of the scene to the reader, viewer, or listener by subjectively describing the actions and, in some cases, thoughts, o ...

, meaning that all the songs are performed by the band rather than being sung by characters to express an emotion. For that reason, Doyle has insisted that ''The Commitments'' is not a

jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known, pre-existing popular music songs, rather than original music composed for the musical. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while ...

Background

The musical is based on the 1987 novel, by

. Following the 1991 film adaptation, Doyle said he received 20 different offers to turn the novel into a musical. He turned them all down because he had become resentful of the success of ''The Commitments'', to the seeming exclusion of his other novels and because he was not a fan of musical theatre, having never seen a musical. He eventually changed his mind due to his children, who were fans of the 1991 film, and who took him to see musicals, including a production of the film-turned-musical '' The Producers'', which he called "a revelation". Officially confirmed on 19 April 2013, in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, producers announced that the show would play the

, with tickets going on sale everywhere on 23 April. Despite initially looking to hire another writer to write the book for the musical, Doyle ended up writing the show himself. The show was directed by

Jamie Lloyd Jamie Lloyd is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of the ''Halloween'' franchise. Introduced in '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' as the series' new protagonist after Jamie Lee Curtis declined to return as Laurie ...

, with choreography by Ann Yee, set design by Soutra Gilmour, sound design by Rory Madden and lightning by Jon Clark.

Production history

West End (2013–2015)

''The Commitments'' began previews on 21 September 2013, at the

, before holding its official opening night on 8 October. The cast consisted of Denis Grindel as Jimmy Rabbitte,

Killian Donnelly Killian Donnelly (born 25 June 1984) is an Irish tenor singer and stage actor. He has appeared in musicals such as ''Les Misérables'', ''The Phantom of the Opera'', and '' Kinky Boots''. Background Donnelly is from Kilmessan, in County Meath, ...

as Deco, Ben Fox as Joey Fagan, Sean Kearns as Jimmy Rabbitte's father and Sarah O'Connor,

Stephanie McKeon Stephanie Adrienne McKeon (born 9 June 1987) is an Irish actress. She began her career as a teenager in the RTÉ soap opera '' Fair City'' (2004–2007). She was nominated for Laurence Olivier and WhatsOnStage Awards for her role as Anna in the ...

and Jessica Cervi played The Commitmentettes. A typical London performance ran 2hrs 25mins, including one interval of 15 mins. The show closed on 1 November 2015.

UK and Ireland tour (2016–2017)

Another tour commenced in 2016. The production officially opened at Dublin's

Bord Gáis Energy Theatre The Bord Gáis Energy Theatre (originally the Grand Canal Theatre) is a performing arts venue, located in the Dublin Docklands, Docklands of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is Ireland's largest fixed-seat theatre. It was designed by Da ...

in October, and closed at the Bradford

Alhambra Theatre The Alhambra Theatre was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts, opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two yea ...

on May 13, 2017. It featured a number of cast members from the West End production, including original cast members Brian Gilligan as Deco and Andrew Linnie as Jimmy. Kevin Kennedy, best known as Curly Watts from ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', joined the cast as Jimmy's Da. The production was directed by C Jay Ranger.

UK and Ireland tour (2022–2023)

The show began a UK and Ireland tour opening at the

Churchill Theatre The Churchill Theatre in Bromley, southeast London, was built by the London Borough of Bromley according to designs by the borough architect's department. The Churchill is an example of a repertory theatre built in the style of European opera ...

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

in September 2022, after previously being postponed from September 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The production is directed by Andrew Linnie who previously played Dean in the London production and Jimmy in the previous tour.

Musical numbers

The musical features nineteen main songs with a further nineteen short

sound bite A sound bite or soundbite is a short clip of speech or music extracted from a longer piece of audio, often used to promote or exemplify the full-length piece. In the context of journalism, a sound bite is characterized by a short phrase or sentence ...

s of

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and motown numbers. ; Main songs * "

You Keep Me Hangin' On "You Keep Me Hangin' On" is a song written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland. It was first recorded in 1966 by American Motown group the Supremes, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song has since been interpreted ...

" * "

Knock On Wood Knock on Wood may refer to: * Knocking on wood, an act of superstition Music * Knock on Wood (Eddie Floyd song), "Knock on Wood" (Eddie Floyd song), a 1966 song by Eddie Floyd, covered by many performers * Knock on Wood (Amii Stewart album), '' ...

" * " In The Midnight Hour" * "

What Becomes of the Brokenhearted "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" is a hit single recorded by Jimmy Ruffin and released on Motown Records' Soul label in the summer of 1966. It is a ballad, with lead singer Jimmy Ruffin recalling the pain that befalls the broken-hearted who h ...

" * "

I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" is a 1967 single released by American soul singer Aretha Franklin. Released on Atlantic Records as the first big hit of her career and the lead single from her tenth studio album of the same name, it be ...

" (now cut) * "

I Heard It Through the Grapevine "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is a song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records in 1966. The first recording of the song to be released was produced by Whitfield for Gladys Knight & the Pips and released as a ...

" * "

Reach Out I'll Be There "Reach Out I'll Be There" (also formatted as "Reach Out (I'll Be There)") is a song recorded by the American vocal quartet Four Tops from their fourth studio album, '' Reach Out'' (1967). Written and produced by Motown's main production team, Holl ...

" * "I Take What I Want" (now cut) * "

I Can't Turn You Loose "I Can't Turn You Loose" is a song written and first recorded by American soul music, soul singer Otis Redding. It was released as the B-side to his 1965 single "Just One More Day". The up-tempo song became a bigger hit on the US R&B chart tha ...

" * "

Thin Line Between Love and Hate "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" is a 1971 song by the New York City-based R&B vocal group The Persuaders. The song was written and produced by the Poindexter Brothers, Robert and Richard, and was also co-written by Robert's wife, Jackie Mem ...

" * "Save Me" * "

" * "

" * " Night Train" * " Mr. Pitiful" * "

Uptight (Everything's Alright) "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder for the Tamla (Motown) label. One of his most popular early singles, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" was the first hit single that Wonder himself co-w ...

" * " Mustang Sally" * "

River Deep Mountain High A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it run ...

" * "

Land of a Thousand Dances "Land of a Thousand Dances" or "Land of 1000 Dances" is a song written and first recorded by the American rhythm and blues singer Chris Kenner in 1962. It later became a bigger hit in versions by Cannibal & the Headhunters and Wilson Pickett. ...

" * "

Treat Her Right Treat Her Right was an American rock group, formed in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in 1985. The band originally featured Mark Sandman on "low guitar", Billy Conway on cocktail drum, David Champagne on guitar and Jim Fitting on har ...

" * "

Try a Little Tenderness "Try a Little Tenderness" is a song written by Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly, and Harry M. Woods. Early versions It was first recorded on December 8, 1932, by the Ray Noble Orchestra, with vocals by Val Rosing. Another version, also recorde ...

" ; Featured songs * "

Master and Servant Master and servant describes a hierarchical relationship between an employer and a worker. Master and servant or masters and servants may also refer to: *Master and Servant Act Master and Servant Acts or Masters and Servants Acts were laws desi ...

" * " Blue Monday" * "

Don't You Want Me "Don't You Want Me" is a song by British synth-pop group the Human League (credited on the cover as the Human League 100). It was released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from their third studio album, '' Dare'' (1981). The band's be ...

" * "

Whiskey in the Jar "Whiskey in the Jar" ( Roud 533) is an Irish traditional song set in the southern mountains of Ireland, often with specific mention of counties Cork and Kerry. The song, about a rapparee (highwayman) who is betrayed by his wife or lover, is ...

" * "McDonald's Girl" * "

Brass in Pocket "Brass in Pocket", also known as "Brass in Pocket (I'm Special)", is a song by English rock band the Pretenders, released in 1979 as the third single from their self-titled debut album. It was written by Chrissie Hynde and James Honeyman-Scot ...

" * " We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" * "

Relax Relax or RELAX may refer to: Albums * ''Relax'' (album), by Das Racist, 2011 * ''Relax'', by Blank & Jones, 2003 * ''Relax'', by Los Piratas, 2003 Songs * "Relax" (Deetah song), 1998 * "Relax" (Frankie Goes to Hollywood song), 1983 * "Relax ...

" * " Addicted to Love" * "

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

" * "

I Want to Take You Higher "I Want to Take You Higher" is a song by the soul/rock/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, the B-side to their top 30 hit "Stand!". Unlike most of the other tracks on the ''Stand!'' album, "I Want to Take You Higher" is not a message song; instead ...

" * "

I Wanna Be Your Dog "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is a song by American rock band the Stooges, released as the group's debut single from the band's 1969 self-titled debut album. The riff is composed of only three chords (G, F♯ and E), is played continuously throughout th ...

" * "

Tubular Bells Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the Percussion instrument, percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillons, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the soun ...

" * "

All You Need Is Love "All You Need Is Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in July 1967, with "Baby, You're a Rich Man" as its A-side and B-side, B-side. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lenn ...

" * "

Moon River "Moon River" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also won the 19 ...

" * "Courtin' In The Kitchen" (now cut) * " Jimmy Jimmy" (now cut) * " Rudy, A Message to You" * "

Bring It On Home to Me "Bring It On Home to Me" is a song by the American soul singer Sam Cooke, released on May 8, 1962, by RCA Victor. Produced by Hugo & Luigi, and arranged and conducted by René Hall, the song was the B-side to " Having a Party". The song peaked ...

Principal roles and cast members

Awards and nominations

Critical reception

The West End production of ''The Commitments'' received mixed reviews from critics.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Commitments, The 2013 musicals Musicals based on novels West End musicals Irish musicals Musicals set in Ireland