Heathcliff (musical)

rdf:langString Heathcliff (musical)

rdf:langString Heathcliff

rdf:langString Heathcliff

rdf:langString Heathcliff Live

rdf:langString Frank Dunlop

rdf:langString Poster for 1997 London shows

rdf:langString Cliff Richard albums

rdf:langString Heathcliff_Live.jpg

rdf:langString cast

rdf:langString Heathcliff is a 1996 musical conceived by and starring singer Cliff Richard based on the 1847 novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. It is focused on the character of Heathcliff and the story is adapted to fit with the musical staging and production. The musical attempted to fill some gaps in Heathcliff's personal story by expanding plot elements implied by Brontë's novel, which were included chronologically. All of the dialogue in the show is from the novel, although some parts were transposed to better fit the manner in which it was performed. The music was composed by John Farrar with lyrics written by Tim Rice. The book is by Cliff Richard and Frank Dunlop. As a forerunner to the theatrical presentation, in early October 1995, Richard released the first single, "A Misunderstood Man", followed later in the month by the studio album Songs from Heathcliff, consisting of ten songs from the musical, five featuring Olivia Newton-John in duets. Three more singles followed, "Had to Be" (a duet with Olivia Newton-John), "The Wedding" (a duet with Helen Hobson not on the album) and "Be with Me Always". Rehearsals for the musical took place during the summer of 1996 in Camden, London, before moving to Earls Court 2 for production rehearsals featuring the stage sets and full band. Several public previews were held at Earls Court before the show moved to the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. Heathcliff opened on 16 October 1996 having raised considerable interest from the media regarding Cliff Richard playing the dark, barely civilized character; with many sources speculating that Richard could not carry off such a role. Box office records were broken for first-week ticket sales. Following the run in Birmingham, the show transferred to Edinburgh for four weeks, before returning to the National Indoor Arena for a few additional dates before Christmas. After the New Year, the show opened in the Palace Theatre, Manchester before transferring to London. The final performance was at Hammersmith Apollo, in May. Heathcliff played to audiences of close on half a million people, and broke box office records at almost every theatre at which it played. Although the musical was not well received by critics, with one referring to it as "living dull", it was popular with Richard's fans. An advertising campaign for the show used some of the critics' quotes, such as "This Wretched Show" and "Withering Rather Than Wuthering", to contrast the opposing views of critics and fans. The opening advance takings for the show were £8.5m, believed to be a record at the time. A cast recording of the show was released in October 1996 to coincide with the start of the tour, alongside the single "Be with Me Always". A film recording of the show was made at the Hammersmith Apollo, the video of which stayed at the top of the charts for eight weeks.