Bridget Jones' Diary (musical)


Bridget Jones' Diary is a musical based on the award-winning 1996 book and 2001 film of the same name. The show has been in development since 2009 and has had several workshop readings. A West End production is anticipated, although no date has been set.

Development

In early 2009, the production was first performed to a very small audience. As there was no music written for the show at the time, the performance consisted of only dialogue and a few spoken lyrics. The production featured a limited cast including Harry Enfield and British comedian Victoria Wood, each playing several parts. Although the script, penned by author of the original books, Helen Fielding, was considered very "raw" and incomplete in some places, the performance was praised by its audience. Representatives for the show's production company, Working Title, confirmed that Fielding had officially signed contracts releasing the rights for a musical production to go ahead.
In early 2010, it was confirmed that Tony award-winning English theatre and film director and producer Stephen Daldry, and Peter Darling would serve as director and choreographer respectively. The pair had previously worked together on the successful West End and Broadway productions of Billy Elliot. Lily Allen and Greg Kurstin then wrote the music and lyrics for the show. In April 2014 Allen cast doubt that the musical would be happening in an interview with Popjustice "It's finished and it's brilliant. But I don't know if it will ever see the light of day".

Confirmed songs

After a long period of development on the script and music, a workshop production of the show was held in London in early 2010 featuring Sheridan Smith as Bridget Jones, Bertie Carvel as Mark Darcy and Julian Ovenden as Daniel Cleaver. Smith appeared on BBC One's The One Show on 3 August 2010 and stated that if a West End production of the show were to go ahead, she would accept the title role.