This Is Tom Jones!
The Nutshell
Inspired by the 1960s British Pop Invasion, This Is Tom Jones! (formerly known as Tom Jones the Musical) is a bawdy and rollicking romp through the back roads and bedchambers of England, where aristocrats, wenches, and scalawags abound.
The Backstory
A few years ago I was commissioned to adapt Henry Fielding’s novel Tom Jones into a musical. I was determined to work with my good friend, Paul Mirkovich, who collaborated with me on China the Whole Enchilada. Because of his schedule with The Voice (He’s the musical director), it has taken years for us to get together. But now the music is coming to life and the show is nearly ready for its world premiere.
The Trivia
I agreed to make this Tom Jones into a musical before I had read the book. Man the book is long. After I wrote the book for the novel I sat on it for a long time while I waited for Paul to have free time to work on the music. For a while, it looked like he wasn’t going to be able to work on the project but I held out. I ended up writing about 15 songs. And while I was waiting I turned the musical’s book and the lyrics into a straight play, which had a fantastic world premiere. All of the music for the musical is inspired by the 1960s British Pop Invasion. Think The Beatles, Herman’s Hermits, the Dave Clark Five, and the Animals.
The World Premiere
In September, the show received its world premiere at the Human Race Theatre in Dayton, OH. It got wonderful reviews, standing ovations each performance, and attendance the final week had gone up 30% since the opening night.
The “Making Of” Video
Here’s a great video my friend Nathan Gregory made about the recording of the music.
The Music
The recording of the concept album can be found on nearly every streaming service. Here are a few links:
Live Performances
You can see videos of live concert performances by clicking here.
Sizzle reels for the Human Race Theatre Production can be seen here.
And here.
And here.