The world premiere musical Sing Street, based on the 2016 indie film by John Carney, was first staged Off-Broadway as part of New York Theatre Workshop's 2019-2020 season, concluding on January 26, 2020. The production transfers directly to Broadway, beginning previews at the Lyceum Theatre in winter 2021.
Sing Street features a book by renowned Irish playwright Enda Walsh and a score by Gary Clark and John Carney (who wrote and directed the original motion picture). Broadway fans will most likely know the name John Carney as the writer and director of the 2007 indie film “Once” which went on to be adapted into a 2012 Tony Award-winning ‘Best Musical’. Similarly, Once also featured a book by Enda Walsh and also staged a pre-Broadway run at New York Theatre Workshop. However, this time Carney himself is a member of the musical’s creative team.
Fans of Once are bound to rekindle that passion with a trip down Sing Street, but as the latter is set in 1985, the score is appropriately infused with the new wave sounds of that era. Fans of David Byrne and his American Utopia Broadway engagement, therefore, might also find Sing Street right up their street.
The original company is led by Brenock O’Connor, who takes on the central role of Conor. The young British star is best known for his role as Olly on the global phenomenon that is HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and Sing Street marks his Broadway debut.
Director Rebecca Taichman burst onto the Broadway scene in 2017, having forged a stellar career Off-Broadway, and took home the Tony Award for ‘Best Direction of a Play’ with her Broadway directorial debut helming Paula Vogel’s Indecent. Sing Street marks her directorial debut for a Broadway musical.
(Photo courtesy of Polk & Co.)
Dublin, 1985. Everyone is out of work. Thousands are seeking bluer skies across the Irish Sea. Sixteen-year-old Conor and his schoolmates turn to music to escape troubles at home and impress a mysterious girl. With a score that embraces the new wave sounds of the era, Sing Street celebrates the thrill of first love and the power of music.
The producers of Sing Street announced on Monday that the musical will postpone its opening to the 2021-2022 season, with a target opening date for winter 2021/22. Based on the 2016 movie about a group of preparatory school boys who form a band, the musical was originally scheduled to open in April at the Lyceum Theatre but was shuttered due to the Covid-19 theatre shutdown.
As we await the Broadway premiere of Sing Street, the new stage musical based on the 2016 film of the same name, we caught up with the show's leading man Brenock O'Connor. Sing Street marks the Broadway debut for the gifted young Brit, who will celebrate his 20th Birthday next month. But millions and millions of fans around the world will recognize his face thanks to his TV role as Olly on the fantasy juggernaut that is HBO's "Game of Thrones."
PLEASE NOTE: This is a review of the Off-Broadway world premiere of Sing Street at New York Theatre Workshop.
