Gary Barlow: No thoughts of Broadway...yet!
Singer Gary Barlow and screenwriter Tim Firth, who are gearing up to debut their new musical, 'The Girls', say they want to get opening night out of the way before they start thinking about Broadway and beyond.
The musical, which opens in Leeds on November 14th, is an adaptation of the 2003 film 'The Calendar Girls', which follows the true story of a group of Yorkshire women who produced a nude calendar to raise money for Leukaemia Research under the auspices of the Women's Institutes in April 1999.
When speaking to ITV News, Gary said that their focus is on getting through the opening run, rather than looking too far into the future:
Despite having sold over 50 million records, and penning 14 number one singles, the process was a departure for Barlow. At the beginning of the four year process, Barlow's co-writer, Tim Firth, who penned the original screenplay for the 2003 film told him not to go away and watch 30 different musicals, but instead to come at the medium with a completely different perspective.
Firth, who grew up in Frodsham, Cheshire with Barlow, sheds says there was a massive amount of material the duo had to create before they could whittle it down to the final product:
Meanwhile, Take That have been announced as the first headline act for the annual summer music festival at London's Hyde Park.
The group are the first act announced for the multi-day festival, which has seen The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi and Black Sabbath headline since it began in 2013. Tickets go on general sale on Friday November 13 at 9am.
Speaking exclusively to ITV News, Barlow spoke of his excitement ahead of the gig:
In the immediate future though, Barlow says he is focused on the opening night of 'The Girls', and also says opening it in the same county that birthed the production adds that special, extra ingredient to proceedings:
Click below to see Gary and Tim's full interview with ITV News: