John Owen-Jones, who is undertaking his most challenging part to date based on Paul Hollywood, stated, “That was the million dollar question.” How on earth could the Great British Bake Off be transformed into a musical?
The six-year-old stage adaptation is based on the television series and depicts the struggles and tribulations of fictional candidates.
John claims that the final piece brought a tear to the actual Paul Hollywood’s eye.
The Great British Bake Off, also known as Bake Off or GBBO, has been on our television screens for thirteen years, with a group of amateur bakers competing in a number of rounds to impress two judges with their baking talents.
The stage production of The Great British Bake Off begins in London’s West End on Monday, starring Welsh musical theatre legend John Owen-Jones as judge Phil Hollinghurst, who resembles the real Bake Off judge, Paul Hollywood.
Owen-Jones has portrayed some of the theatre’s most recognizable characters, including the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera.
He stated that portraying a character based on a real person was one of his greatest challenges to date.
“When playing such a person, you have a responsibility,” he stated.
“We alter and tease the character to make it funnier and more theatrical, but when I was invited to play the role, I believed it had nothing to do with me – that is until I dyed my hair gray and began to resemble him.
“When portraying a real-life somebody who is still living, one must be sensitive to their feelings and exercise caution, but Paul is a genuinely kind man.”
John was eagerly anticipating a handshake, as Hollywood is famous for the ‘Hollywood Handshake’ he offers to bakers who earn his approval, and Hollywood is also known for this.
“Paul attended the performance and enjoyed it,” stated John.
“He offered me two handshakes thereafter and will return with his mother.” Before today, he had never even seen a musical.”
John did not inform the group that Hollywood was in attendance, but he adds, “I swore I saw him wipe a tear at the conclusion.”
“Having followed Bake Off since its inception, I felt I already knew Paul,” he continued.
Matt Lucas, the former host of the program, and I are good friends, so he provided me with valuable inside knowledge.
John, who formerly worked as a butcher with his father and brother in Burry Port, Carmarthenshire, enjoys cooking and dabbles in baking when he’s not on stage.
I portrayed Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, who infamously stole a loaf of bread. Hence, it is gratifying to be in a position where we create bread.
Formula for success?
John stated that the musical’s creators “accomplished the impossible by transforming a television show into something extraordinary.”
He stated that the central human stories are what makes them so effective on television and the theater.
“It’s one of those shows where you want the contestants to succeed and have a wonderful time,” he continued.
Pam Lee, portrayed by Hadyn Gwynne, is based on judge Dame Prue Leith. She conducted research for the role by viewing previous GBBO episodes and reading Leith’s memoirs.
“I opted not to imitate her totally since my singing voice is so different, but I did listen to her because she grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, and I can hear the South African rhythms in her voice,” she explained.
Without attempting a thorough imitation, I have fed this and other information into the program.
Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary were given the task of putting the tent’s hopes and dramas to music, which Pippa says they eagerly accepted.
She stated,
“It was an easy ‘oh my gosh, yeah'”
“We received the call during lockdown one, which was obviously a dismal time in the operating room, so we were feeling quite sorry for ourselves.
We’ve been fans of the program for many years, so we were quite excited. Lockdown research included extensive Bake Off viewing and cake eating.
Pippa stated that although the finalists are not based on actual people, they have “scattered” references and experiences that may be recognized.
“We wanted this to have genuine emotion, as it is not a parody but a legitimate musical,” she explained.
Jake stated that determining how to do the judges was the most difficult aspect of the procedure.
Jake remarked,
“We experimented with so many variants over so many iterations while staying as near as possible to what the locals know and love.”
“Yet, their names are Pam Lee and Phil Hollinghurst. So, the initials and syllables are identical, but we cannot be sued. I hope.”
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