The producers of the world premiere of NOW That’s What I Call A Musical are delighted to announce that Sam Bailey will star as April. NOW That’s What I Call A Musical is a brand-new British musical written by award-winning comedian Pippa Evans and directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood.
Sam joins the previously announced Nina Wadia, who will star as Gemma as well as special guest star, playing herself and singing the songs that made her a NOW icon, Sonia.
Sonia said ‘We are going to take people back on a nostalgic road of all their favourite songs. Everybody has memories of where they were when that song was out and what they were doing.’
Get ready to relive the playlist of your life by celebrating 40 years of the iconic and chart-topping compilations brand NOW That’s What I Call Music, which has sold an estimated 200 million copies worldwide. This fun-filled evening is bursting with hits from Whitney Houston, Wham!, Blondie, Tears For Fears, Spandau Ballet and so many more.
Sam Bailey received her first big break as a singer-songwriter when she won The X Factor in 2013. Her debut single, Skyscraper, instantly became a commercial success making the coveted Christmas number one spot in 2013. Consequently, the single was released in a physical format alongside some of her most memorable X Factor performances. Her debut album The Power of Love was also number one in the British charts in March 2014 and, in support of the album, Bailey went on her first headline tour in January and February 2015. Her second album Sing My Heart Out was released in 2016. Her theatre work includes Mamma Morton in Chicago (UK tour), Betty Simpson in Fat Friends the Musical (UK tour), Vampires Rock (UK tour), Mrs. Potts in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (UK tour and London Palladium) and most recently Miss Hedge in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (UK tour).
Sonia was just seventeen when she became a pop star. She was spotted by record producer Pete Waterman whilst playing the Liverpool club circuit. Sonia’s catchy debut single You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You shot to number one in the UK and sold a staggering 350,000 copies. The debut album which followed, Everybody Knows, sold a million copies and included a string of top singles such as Can’t Forget You, Listen to Your Heart, Counting Every Minute and End of the World. Sonia became the first female UK artist to achieve five top 20 hit singles from one album. In 1993 Sonia was invited by the BBC to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest where she finished second. Sonia returned to the Eurovision stage in Liverpool in 2023 and performed as a special interval act. Her theatre credits include: A Slice of Saturday Night (Strand Theatre, West End), Grease (Dominion Theatre, West End), What A Feeling (UK and European tour), The Lily Savage Show (Blackpool), The Lily Savage Show (UK tour) and Good Golly Miss Molly (Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool). She also has 20 pantomime credits over the years. Her TV credits include Celebrities Under Pressure, Greasemania, The Lurics Board, The Lily Savage Show and Hollyoaks. In 2023 Sonia was proud to be made a Companion of LIPA (Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts) By Sir Paul McCartney.
The creative team will include Set and Costume Design by Tom Rogers & Toots Butcher, Musical Supervision and Arrangements by Mark Crossland, Lighting Design by Ben Cracknell, Sound Design by Adam Fisher, Wigs & Hair Design by Sam Cox, Associate Direction by Guy Woolf, Associate Choreography by Aaron Renfree, Associate Sound Design by Ollie Durrant and Casting by Annelie Powell CDG.
NOW is produced by ROYO, Universal Music UK, SONY Music Entertainment and Mighty Village.
