What’s On can exclusively reveal that smash-hit West End musical The Drifters Girl will stop off at Birmingham Hippodrome for a week-long run in April next year.

Telling the story of The Drifters - one of the most successful vocal groups of all time - and Faye Treadwell, the woman who, originally with husband George, ensured their success, the show features a series of hit songs, including Saturday Night At The Movies, Stand By Me, Under The Boardwalk and Save The Last Dance For Me. 

The Drifters Girl played to packed houses in London and will head out on tour this September. It stops off at the Hippodrome from 16 to 20 April 2024. The cast is yet to be announced.

Commenting on the news, co-producer Michael Harrison said: “When we were doing our research for the show, we found out that the two biggest UK markets whenever the Drifters toured were Birmingham and Glasgow. And I’m not surprised about that because they are both cities that loved and still love entertainment. There was a big club scene in the Midlands, and particularly in Birmingham, where people would go and see live bands. I’m sure the show will do really well in Birmingham - its audiences like to be entertained and The Drifters Girl is all about entertainment.”

Michael adds that it’s the story of Faye Treadwell which has helped make the show so successful: “I was all set on doing a musical about the Drifters and met Tina Treadwell, Faye’s daughter, who continued the management of the group after Faye’s death. It was Tina who said ‘If you’re going to tell a story about the Drifters, you have to tell the story about my mother’. At that point I didn’t really know much about Faye, but then I started researching and realised that this is the story which unlocks the musical - it’s that ‘extra something’. 

“So the show is about the boys and the band, but it’s also about what Faye did with them, what their relationship was, who went against her, who she was friendly with, the decisions she made. Tina has been involved every step of the way, and she was able to tell us about things which weren’t documented anywhere.

“The Drifters isn’t a story which has been very well documented. We all know the story of the Beatles, and Jersey Boys told us the story of Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons. But this story wasn’t really in the public domain, considering how famous a group they were and still are. So the show unlocks all that.”

Birmingham actor Matt Henry, who co-created the West End show and played founding Drifter Clyde McPhatter, will be directing the tour alongside former Birmingham Rep artistic director Jonathan Church.

But Michael says the role of Faye is yet to be cast. The part was played by Wolverhampton singer and actress Beverley Knight when the show opened in the West End.

“Genuinely no Faye Treadwell has been confirmed. The show was created for Bev, but Bev has a very busy career, so we are just having those conversations now about who will be in it. While it’s not cast yet, it will be a phenomenal cast. You’ve got to be brilliant for this show because there’s a lot of multiple role-playing for lots of the cast. There were about 60 different Drifters across the course of Faye’s time, and they are all portrayed by the same four actors. 

“When we first started doing it, I said it was ‘Jersey Boys meets Stones In His Pockets’ because it has that theatricality of seeing an actor stand there playing one part and then, before your eyes, completely changing into someone else.”

Michael says Birmingham audiences can expect all the razzamatazz of the London production.
“It's exactly the same book, music and lyrics - although we might add one more number at the end, to give a great feeling on the out. I have a great belief that audiences in the regions deserve to see what audiences in the West End see, so it’s the West End show on tour, not a touring show.

“The big draw is of course the music. Everybody knows those songs; it is hit after hit after hit in the show, and for a musical, that gives you a great score. But also the story is fascinating - Faye’s story about what she did for that group after the passing of George, and what she went through and what she struggled with. I think people are fascinated with the idea of a woman in the music business at that time.

It’s very easy now to think of those shoulder-padded female executives, but she was doing it 40 years before TV programmes came out portraying that kind of trailblazer. 

“I think that combination of the story, the theatricality and the soundtrack has made it something that people really like. They really respond to the show. Audiences want a good night out, they want escapism. You can literally leave your troubles at the door and come and enjoy it.”

Michael is looking forward to seeing The Drifters Girl come to Birmingham.
“The Hippodrome is a big theatre yet has an intimacy that means you can have one person standing on stage and it’s like you’re sitting in the living room with them. One of the unique things that I absolutely love is that there’s only the one circle - so there’s an intimacy there which doesn’t exist in some other theatres. You can still stage the big and the epic, but you’re not a million miles away. It’s one of the great theatres in the country.”

The Drifters Girl plays Birmingham Hippodrome from 16 to 20 April 2024. For more information and to book tickets, visit birminghamhippodrome.com