| Flowers For Mrs Harris | |
| Music: | Richard Taylor |
| Lyrics: | Richard Taylor |
| Basis: | Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico |
| Premiere Location: | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield |
| Productions: | 2020 Ostrava 2023 London |
Flowers for Mrs Harris is a multi-award-winning musical with music, lyrics and original orchestrations by Richard Taylor, and book by Rachel Wagstaff. It is based on the 1958 American novel Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico, which was released as Flowers for Mrs Harris in the United Kingdom.
The musical made its world premiere at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield opening 18 May running until 4 June 2016. The production was directed by Daniel Evans, designed by Lez Brotherston, lighting designed by Mark Henderson with Tom Brady as musical director. The cast featured Clare Burt in the title role of Mrs Harris.[1]
This Sheffield production won 3 2016 UK Theatre Awards for Best Design (Lez Brotherston), Best Performer in a Musical (Clare Burt) and Best Musical Production, the first and last of these awards shared with the Sheffield Theatres production of Show Boat.[2]
The musical was revived at the Chichester Festival Theatre from 8 to 29 September 2018. The production featured the same creative team as the Sheffield production including Daniel Evans as director, and the cast featured Clare Burt reprising her role as Mrs Harris.[3]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, an archive recording of the musical during its run in Chichester was streamed online from 9 April 2020 for 30 days.
The complete 2018 Chichester Festival Theatre cast and orchestra reassembled over 3 days in July 2020 to record the score. The recording took place on stage at the Festival Theatre, due to the COVID-19 pandemic making it impossible to record in a studio, whereas the Festival Theatre stage was large enough to accommodate full cast and band, sufficiently distanced. It was conducted by Tom Brady, recording engineer was Mike Walker, and it was produced by Richard Taylor and Mike Walker.[4] [5]
The first foreign production of the musical is the Czech production in National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava. It is translated by Hana Nováková and directed by Gabriela Petráková. The premiere took place on 3 October 2020 with Hana Fialová in the main role.[6] Hana Fialová won the 2022 Thalia Award in the music-dramatic genre for her outstanding performance in the main role.[7] The production closed in Spring 2023.[8]
On September 30, 2023, a new production opened at London's Riverside Studios starring Jenna Russell as Ada Harris, in a limited season running to 25 November. The production was directed by Bronagh Lagan with new reduced orchestrations by Jason Carr, musical direction by Jonathan Gill, casting by Jane Deitch, and produced by Aria Entertainment and Tiny Giant Productions. The show won the Best Off-West End Production at the 2024 WhatsOnStage Awards, held at the London Palladium on February 11th. Annie Wensak went on to win the Best Supporting Actor award at the 2024 Offie Awards for her portrayal of Violet Butterfield.
The premiere Swedish production is scheduled to open September 2024, and will be produced by Wermland Opera in Karlstad. It is to be directed by Niklas Riesbeck, with musical direction and new orchestrations (for 35-piece orchestra) by Jonas Nydesjö. Swedish translation by Staffan Berg (lyrics) and Niklas Riesbeck (book). Ada Harris to be played by Cecilie Nerfornt Thorgersen. The production runs to Dec 31st.
| (2016) | (2018) | (2023) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ada Harris | Clare Burt | Jenna Russell | ||
| Lady Dant/Madame Colbert | Rebecca Caine | Joanna Riding | Kelly Price | |
| Major/Monsieur Armande | David Durham | Gary Wilmot | David McKechnie | |
| Terry/Wireless commentator | Luke Dale | Luke Latcham | align=“center” | Harry Singh / Richard Morse |
| Violet Butterfield/French char lady | Anna-Jane Casey | Claire Machin | Annie Wensak | |
| Bob/Andre | Louis Maskell | Nathanael Campbell | ||
| Flower Girl/Dressmaker | Moyo Akande | Rhona McGregor | Issy Khogali / Abigail Williams | |
| Albert Harris/Marquis de Chassagne | Mark Meadows | Hal Fowler | ||
| Pamela/Natasha | Laura Pitt-Pulford | Charlotte Kennedy | ||
| Countess/Seamstress/Sybil Sullivan | Nicola Sloane | Pippa Winslow | ||