Toy Show
The Musical
Book
  • Lisa Tierney-Keogh
  • Jamie Beamish
BasisThe Late Late Toy Show
Premiere10 December 2022 (2022-12-10): The Auditorium, Convention Centre, Dublin

Toy Show The Musical is a musical based on The Late Late Toy Show. It was created and developed by RTÉ, the national broadcaster of Ireland.[1] The musical focuses on a twelve-year-old girl, Nell Mooney, who goes on an adventure as she and her family prepare for the Toy Show.[2][3]

Toy Show The Musical opened at the Convention Centre in Dublin, on 10 December 2022 and ran until 31 December 2022.

Background

On 13 May 2022, Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) announced details of a Christmas musical for the first time, with Toy Show The Musical to premiere at the Convention Centre in Dublin from 10 to 31 December 2022.[4][5] Shortly after the announcement, casting opened for the musical, with girls aged between 11 and 16 being sought to play the lead role.[6]

The full cast was announced throughout October and November 2022 which featured actors from Derry Girls, Fair City and Emmerdale in the lead adult roles,[7][8] while three girls would take turns to play the lead role of Nell.[9][10]

Speaking to the Irish Examiner in November 2022, The Late Late Show producers Jane Murphy and Katherine Drohan revealed that they had first thought about the idea prior to COVID-19. During the pandemic, Murphy and Drohan worked together and developed a two-year plan.[11]

Production history

In May 2022, RTÉ announced its intention to stage its first musical based on The Late Late Toy Show,[12] engaging Lisa Tierney-Keogh as playwright, Séimí Campbell as director, RuthAnne Cunningham and Harry Blake as the composer, Sarah Travis as musical supervisor and orchestrator, James Cousins as choreographer, Colin Richmond as set and costume designer and Paul Keogan as lighting designer. [13][14]

The musical premiered at the Convention Centre, with an official opening on 10 December 2022. It ran until 31 December 2022.[15]

In May 2023, after the show had closed, Tierney-Keogh wrote in a letter to the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee that the contracts negotiated with creative workers "were below industry standard".[16]

Reception

Writing in The Irish Times, Sara Keating praised the staging and prop design, but felt that the show made too much of the Toy Show's wider significance, and wrote that "it is difficult not to feel cynical about the artistic intention of what is essentially a spectacular, self-congratulatory marketing ploy."[17] Ruth O'Connor on the Irish Examiner wrote based on a preview performance that the story was "heartwarming".[18]

Several performances of the musical were cancelled during its opening run at the Convention Centre Dublin due to cast and crew illness; of those that went ahead, many tickets remained unsold.[19] Brian Stanley, in his role as chair of the Public Accounts Committee, commented during the show's run that the commercial risks had evidently been too high and that, "on the face of it, it appears that proper market research was not done."[20] Discussing Toy Show The Musical at the Oireachtas Media Committee in January 2023, a representative of the RTÉ director-general stated that "the reaction from audiences that did attend was fantastic, particularly children" and that, while ticket sales made the show unsustainable in 2022, RTÉ was examining ways to bring it back in the future.[19] In May 2023, it was confirmed the show would not return that year.[21]

Documents became publicly available in the wake of the RTÉ secret payment scandal in July 2023 confirming that the losses from Toy Show The Musical reached €2.2 million. It cost over €3 million to produce and it had been expected to sell 75,000 tickets across 54 shows in the 1,995 seat capacity venue, but was only attended by 20,000. Of these, 11,044 tickets were sold to paying customers; the balance were supplied to guests on a complimentary basis or awarded as competition prizes. The number of shows was reduced to 27 from lack of interest.[22]

Cast and characters

Character[23][24] 2022
Nell Mooney[25] Ceola Dunne
Clare Keeley
Doireann McNally
Áine Mooney (Nell's mother) Clare Barrett
Brendan Mooney (Nell's father) Jamie Beamish
Nana (Nell's grandmother) Anna Healy
Luan (Nell's brother) Gus Holmes
Joseph Dunne
Mark Keegan
Maisie (Nell's best friend) LilyMai Clancy
Mabel Sweeney
Sadbh Breathnach
Special appearances[26]
Adam King (guest on the 2020 Toy Show) Noah Rafferty (guest on the 2020 Toy Show)
DJ Calum (guest on the 2021 Toy Show) Alex Hughes (guest on the 2017 Toy Show)

References

  1. ↑ O'Loughlin, Ciara (11 June 2022). "'Talent we saw over the tapes is incredible' – Toy Show The Musical auditions for main role kick-off". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  2. ↑ "About Toy Show The Musical". RTÉ. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  3. ↑ Dillon, Brian (19 May 2022). "Tickets for Toy Show The Musical go on sale". DublinLive.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  4. ↑ "Toy Show The Musical is coming to Dublin stage". RTÉ News. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  5. ↑ Moloney, Eoghan (13 May 2022). "RTÉ to take on the pantos with launch of Toy Show The Musical". Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  6. ↑ McNally, Tadgh (20 May 2022). "Casting opens for RTÉ's Toy Show The Musical". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  7. ↑ Hyland, Claire (4 October 2022). "Roll it there Jamie! Derry Girls' star lands lead in Toy Show, The Musical". Evoke.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  8. ↑ McTaggart, Maeve (5 October 2022). "Celebrity cast confirmed for Late Late Toy Show The Musical". Sunday World. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  9. ↑ Dillon, Fiona (15 October 2022). "Meet the stars of Toy Show the Musical: 'I was jumping up and down in excitement'". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  10. ↑ Mallon, Sandra (14 October 2022). "RTE's Toy Show The Musical makes a major announcement about lead roles". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  11. ↑ Walsh, Rowena (5 November 2022). "Toy Show — The Musical: 'We had a silly dream and now it's reality'". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  12. ↑ Moloney, Eoghan (14 May 2022). "RTÉ set to take on the traditional panto with Late Late Toy Show - The Musical". Sunday World. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  13. ↑ "Creative Team". RTÉ. 18 October 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  14. ↑ "RTÉ Presents Toy Show The Musical". RTÉ. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  15. ↑ Moriarty, Aoife (7 October 2022). "RTÉ Toy Show The Musical: Everything you need to know ahead of December premiere". Buzz.ie. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  16. ↑ Power, Jack (26 May 2023). "Toy Show the Musical staff paid 'below industry standard', playwright says". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  17. ↑ Keating, Sara (15 December 2022). "Toy Show the Musical: there is much to admire in the ambitious staging by Séimí Campbell". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  18. ↑ O'Connor, Ruth (7 November 2022). "Preview: Toy Show The Musical has perfect recipe to become an instant Christmas classic". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  19. 1 2 Slattery, Laura (18 January 2023). "Toy Show the Musical will return after a 'rethink', says RTÉ". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  20. ↑ Clarke, Vivienne (20 December 2022). "Toy Show musical risk was 'too high' in saturated Christmas market - PAC chairman". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  21. ↑ Horan, Niamh (28 May 2023). "Mastermind of 'Toy Show The Musical' is picked to steer Patrick Kielty's 'Late Late' relaunch". Sunday Independent. Dublin. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  22. ↑ Spain, Sinead (5 July 2023). "Just 11,044 tickets sold for Toy Show The Musical". RTÉ News. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  23. ↑ McHugh, Connell (4 October 2022). "First cast members for 'Toy Show The Musical' announced". The Irish Post. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  24. ↑ "Four Toy Show stars join Toy Show the Musical". RTÉ News. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  25. ↑ "Toy Show The Musical casts three new stars in the lead role". RTÉ News. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  26. ↑ McTaggart, Maeve (16 November 2022). "Adam King among beloved Toy Show stars set to join musical cast". Sunday World. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
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