Bumblescratch

Bumblescratch
2016 Adelphi Poster
Music	Robert J. Sherman
Lyrics	Robert J. Sherman
Book	Robert J. Sherman
Productions	2016 Adelphi Theatre

Bumblescratch is an original sung-through musical with book, music and lyrics by Robert J. Sherman. The musical premiered at the Adelphi Theatre in London on 4 September 2016 as a one night, celebrity gala charity event in aid of Variety, the Children's Charity (UK). This was done as part of weekend commemorations of the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London. The staged concert was directed and choreographed by Stewart Nicholls with music direction by Tom Kelly, orchestrations by Rowland Lee and design by Gabriella Slade. An Original Cast Recording which includes musical highlights from the show was recorded at Angel Recording Studios on September 12–13, 2016 in Islington, London. The album was mixed and mastered between September 14 – November 11 in Kent and released by SimG Records on December 19, 2016. In the Adelphi cast were Darren Day, Jessica Martin, Michael Xavier, Ilan Galkoff, Alastair Barron, Jacob Chapman, James Dangerfield, Emma Harold, Katie Kerr, Jessie May, Teddy Moynihan, Cathy Read and Dickie Wood. Prior to this performance, there was a workshop of the show held on May 9 and 10, 2013 at the Network Theatre in London.

"The characters in Bumblescratch each experience one form of isolation or another. Redemption comes when a character no longer feels isolated. The overarching theme in Bumblescratch is "redemption of the unredeemable". This is why Melbourne had to be a plague rat. Otherwise his redemption would have come across as phony. The audience has to believe that Melbourne is a deeply vile creature, which he is. So when Melbourne rises up, his redemption too becomes plausible."

The first draft of Bumblescratch was written in the period between 2004 and 2008 when Sherman had first moved to London. It was during this time that his father, legendary songwriter, Robert B. Sherman of the Sherman Brothers was working on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins for the stage. Sherman later credited the epic scale of Bumblescratch to his exposure to his father's work during this period. Sherman had moved to England to be a support to his father and to manage his business affairs. Sherman said, "When I wasn't managing my father’s office, I was working on Bumblescratch. In 2009, Sherman and his old friend, opera singer, Michael Niemann presented three songs from Bumblescratch as part of a one night, off-Broadway showcase in New York and the songs were very well received. In November 2012 a weeklong workshop/read-through was conducted and then, six months later, a full workshop was presented of the show. In 2015 the LOST Theatre in requested the rights to present the show in 5 week run, but LOST pulled out of the production due to a lack of funds, meanwhile with orchestrations already commissioned and other aspects of the production already underway, Sherman pulled together some of the creative team who did the previous year's well received Love Birds and transformed the production into a one night charity benefit for Variety Club. The show was presented on September 4, 2016 and was in aid of Variety. An Original Cast Recording (CD) including many of the musical highlights from the show was recorded a week after the show and released in December 2016 by SimG Records.