'Bake Off: The Musical' Is Not Just Real, But Opening Soon
When the BBC greenlit a little six-episode reality series called The Great British Bake Off to help raise money for the annual Children in Need charity programming block, it could not have imagined the juggernaut it would turn into. There are multiple hit spinoffs in other countries, like The Great Canadian Bake Off and The Great Australian Bake Off, and there are Bake Off: The Professionals, Bake Off, Stands Up To Cancer, GBBO: Masterclass, and GBBO: Holidays. Now, there's a stage show to go along with all that, as Great British Bake Off: The Musical is preparing to open at Everyman theater for a trial run ahead of a possible West End debut.
Love Productions, the company behind GBBO (and spinoffs The Great British Sewing Bee and The Great Pottery Throw Down), recruited the writers behind The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾, Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary, to create the script and the songbook. The score apparently incorporated the famous Bake Off theme that is familiar to viewers, and early reports say the set also follows the design elements from the reality series. But with the show opening starting Friday, June 22, most fans who do not reside in the southwest of England will have to wait for reviews to see what sort of songs emerge from the 16 numbers boasted in the score.
The stage show also follows the reality series in how it crafts its characters. Director Rachel Kavanaugh said in an interview with The Times the stories told are inspired by real-life contestants finding confidence through their experiences baking. "People sometimes bake for profound reasons and sometimes practical reasons. One character in the show bakes because she's got 17 grandchildren, and others bake for reasons more to do with loss or something missing in their lives. Baking is also a generous thing to do, and you're doing it for other people. We explore how you make relationships through baking."
