The Adventures of Pinocchio and 13 The Musical head to the Ambassadors Theatre

The Adventures of Pinocchio and 13 The Musical head to the Ambassadors Theatre

Two new summer musicals from British Theatre Academy.

Dom O'Hanlon
Dom O'Hanlon

The British Theatre Academy have announced a summer season of two musicals to run at the Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End. Following previous summer productions of The Secret Garden and Godspell, the season will see 20 teams of young people performing across both shows.

The Adventures of Pinocchio will run from 28 July to 31 August 2017, with an official opening on 1 August. Featuring music and lyrics by Neil Bartram and book by Brian Hill, the musical will be directed by Bronagh Langan.

Described as a family musical it is based on Carlo Collodi's classic tale of a wooden puppet longing to be a real boy. Carved out of wood by the lonely toymaker Geppetto, Pinocchio tumbles from one disastrous situation to another in search of adventure—only to discover that, in the end, all he really needs is an unselfish heart and the love of his father.

This will be followed by a new production of 13 The Musical by Jason Robert Brown, directed and choreographed by Ewan Jones which will run from 16 to 23 August.

"13 The Musical is an hilarious, coming-of-age musical about discovering that "cool" is sometimes where we least expect it. Geek. Poser. Jock. Beauty Queen. Wannabe. These are the labels that can last a lifetime. Evan Goldman is plucked from his fast-paced, preteen New York City life and plopped into a sleepy Indiana town following his parents divorce. Surrounded by an array of simpleminded middle school students, he needs to establish his place in the popularity pecking order. Can he situate himself on a comfortable link of the food chain... or will he dangle at the end with the outcasts?!"

Producer Matthew Chandler of the BTA said: "It is has been an incredible year for the BTA and to date all our productions and concerts have given 1,500 children the chance to perform on the West End stage. For our summer season, more than 2,000 young people auditioned for The Adventures of Pinocchio and over 1,000 teenagers for 13 The Musical. In total we have 17 teams of actors performing The Adventures of Pinocchio and 3 teams performing 13 The Musical.This is a fantastic opportunity for all the youngsters involved."

The British Theatre Academy is a unique performing arts programme that has inspired and nurtured the talent of thousands of young performers over the past 30 years.

Tickets for both productions are now on sale.

Originally published on

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