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[0:00] Casey Nicholaw: My name's Casey Nicholaw and you're listening to Eleven, the official theatre podcast.

[0:16] William J Connolly: Hello and welcome to Eleven, the official theatre podcast that brings the biggest stars and creatives together in one place to discuss life in the arts. He's the Tony and Olivier winning director and choreographer that's brought some of the greatest theatrical worlds to life on stage, earning him an army of laughter, tears and some rather special memories by audiences too. With his leading work on Hercules, Mean Girls, The Book of Mormon, Dreamgirls, Aladdin, Some Like It Hot, The Prom, Something Rotten, Elf the Musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, Spamalot and many, many, many more, including The Greatest Showman in 2026, nobody quite does theatre like him. And now he's turning his hand to the official stage adaptation of 50 First Dates The Musical, based on the 2004 film, which is now playing a limited run at The Other Palace in London.

So what is it about this beloved movie that makes him want to help lend his hand in bringing it to life each night? Well let's find out. As direct from his home in London, we talk all things 50 First Dates, including his development of this new piece of work, his personal connection with his husband to the original movie, and why everything in this world works, thanks to heart, heart, heart, and maybe some comedy too. Plus we explore the extra power of intimacy in a location like The Other Palace and how it helps to bring this story to life for audiences, and why similar smaller spaces can often feel challenging as a creative. We also celebrate 10 years of The Book of Mormon in London, how creating Aladdin first started off with more adults in the audience than kids living out their childhood on date night.

His extraordinary link between his first ever live theatrical experience as a kid and his later professional debut, and why when you've a global theatrical family like his, you've got good kids everywhere. It's the genius mind of Casey Nicholaw, here now on this the next episode of Eleven, the official theatre podcast.

[2:21] William J Connolly: Please help me welcome to this the next episode of Eleven. He's the director and choreographer and all-round genius of the stage that's brought to life some of the biggest and best live theatrical experiences in West End and Broadway history, of which he's rightfully bagged himself Olivier's and Tony Wynn's galore, alongside many many other gongs. And now with his brand new production of Hercules flying out of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, he's turned his hand to something rather special, the official stage adaptation of Fifty First Dates, and he's here to tell me all about it. So I say good day Casey Nicholaw, how are you sir?

[2:52] Casey Nicholaw: I'm great, how are you?

[2:56] William J Connolly: I'm doing very well, thank you so much for agreeing to do this. Smiling all the way through that, how are you when people give you your flowers? Do you embrace it or do you get a little bit embarrassed?

[3:04] Casey Nicholaw: When people give me flowers, a little embarrassed, I'm even embarrassed by the question for crying out loud.

[3:10] William J Connolly: That's such a director's response. I'm happy to be here but I don't want to be in front of the audience or the stage, so I feel that.

[3:14] Casey Nicholaw: Yeah.

[3:15] William J Connolly: Well I said something a second ago with Fifty First Dates, it's incredibly exciting, not just because it's something new, but it's something new from your mind, the genius that I just mentioned, and it's incredibly exciting for the West End, a place I know that you love and hold very dear to your heart. Before we talk about specifics, what's it like to be back?

[3:32] Casey Nicholaw: Oh I love being here, I do, I always have. We grew up poor and for my graduation from high school, my dad gave me a suitcase with a plane ticket to London in it, and I couldn't believe it, and it was a lot for my dad to even be able to afford that, and he had like a friend of a friend who had a flat, and so I just flew by myself right out of high school to London for three weeks and saw like 17 shows, you know, it cost me two pounds because I was a student, and it was just like I had the time of my life, and I fell in love with the city then, and every time I come back I still have that feeling, I never get tired of it.

[4:14] William J Connolly: Does that moment, and in particular that memory, does that stay with you quite a lot when you're doing some of these amazing projects?

[4:17] Casey Nicholaw: It does, it absolutely does, or you know where one day I was walking down the street and some young actor stopped me and just, you know, was giving me flowers, no he was not giving me flowers, but he stopped me and you know said you know how much he loves my work, and I just had that moment where I thought back to me as a kid at a high school coming here, never would I ever have thought then I would be directing or choreographing shows on the West End.

[4:42] William J Connolly: I think that also shows that this means not just professionally but personally to you, and perhaps that's why you've had the level of success that you have is because it means more to you than just going to work. This is a vitality to you as much as the audience, right?

[4:55] Casey Nicholaw: Absolutely, and I still love doing what I do so much, and getting it right, and working really hard, and having a good time, and playing with everybody, and just having, you know, having it feel like a party, but with like-minded people who like to work hard.

[5:10] William J Connolly: Is that also why when you make the projects that you do, you speak so openly in interviews about the fact that if you're not interested it's not just a job, like you have to be interested in telling that story, do you think that's the magic recipe for you?

[5:19] Casey Nicholaw: Oh absolutely, you have to like love what it is, and I have the luxury of being able to choose and pick things that are that are really appeal to me, you know, and it's not like, oh let's just put this movie on stage.

[5:29] William J Connolly: So when this project was first floated into your aura, into your world, take me back even, take me back to the very beginning.

[5:38] Casey Nicholaw: Well you know, the very beginning was during the pandemic, and you know, I was looking to be as busy as I could, like on zooms with people that I'd worked with before, that I wanted to work with, and you know, I'd wanted to work with David and Steve, who wrote the book Music and Lyrics for the show, on something, and we didn't know what, and then you know, David said, what about 50 First Dates, and it happens to be one of my favorite movies, and I said, are you kidding me? Of course, and so went out and got the rights to it, and was like, let's do this together, you know, and as it happened, I've seen the movie, I've seen the movie so many times, and it actually was one of the first dates I had with my now husband of 13 years.

We went to this sort of art installation that was like a pop-up drive-in in just like a building on the Lower East Side, and it was just a convertible sitting in a room with a white wall and a popcorn machine and sodas, and they said, okay, so what movie would you like us to play for your date? And I said, 50 First Dates, of course, and so that's what we did, and it was our third date.

[6:54] William J Connolly: So literally, I feel like there's a musical there happening of your first date.

[6:57] Casey Nicholaw: Might be a boring one.

[7:00] William J Connolly: But I love the fact that you have your own personal connection to, which this is a stupid question coming from a stupid person, but for you to have a connection to something, for you to be interested in telling that story, and for you to be interested in the material, does that take everything up for you, creative, to know this is where I should be?

[7:14] Casey Nicholaw: Oh, absolutely. I mean, it really just felt so right to do it, and also it's one that I could see singing. You know, a lot of times you see a movie, and just because it's a title doesn't mean it should sing, and this one felt like it should sing, and we all sort of knew how to do it, and it was very quick as far as creating the first draft of it.

[7:35] William J Connolly: Do you remember where you wanted to start with this? What was the thing that you said, this is why I think, as you say there, the translation from screen to stage works, what was the thing that you went, yeah, that's the why?

[7:44] Casey Nicholaw: You know, I don't really, I don't really know. I mean, you know, it takes between like five and seven years to do a new musical, and this is, we're about in year five at this point, and you know, I think that the thing that we responded to the most was the heart of it, and you know, everyone remembers a lot of the comedy, and some of it doesn't hold up, and you know, even if it made us laugh when it first came out, and it's, it was the heart, and that's what made it feel like it sang to us, is how, you know, I can't watch that movie without sobbing, and it's so many different places too, or a different place every time, and going like, oh my god, why does this do this to me?

[8:22] William J Connolly: It's so true, isn't it? It's so true with that, with that, that era, and those types of films where it's just like, we're either laughing ourselves silly, or just completely breaking down, and then you're, and you don't even know what happened, you're like, Jesus!

[8:35] Casey Nicholaw: It's almost like watching, watching a film or musical at the moment feels like trauma, because we go through so many different, so many different emotions, but I think such is the genius of these translations, and I imagine for you, you're very well aware of not just your personal connection to this original material, but also for an audience, which means you know the audience's care, you know they're going to go on this ride with you, and I imagine that's important.

[8:54] Casey Nicholaw: The thing that has kind of blown me away, as you look around, you look around at couples that are there watching it, and they're completely attached, you know, a hand on the knee, holding hands, arm around each other.

[10:06] Casey Nicholaw: I’m so excited to be here. Thank you for having me.

[10:30] Casey Nicholaw: You know, I’ve been working on this adaptation of "50 First Dates: The Musical" for quite some time now, and it’s been such a joy to bring this story to life on stage.

[10:54] Casey Nicholaw: The process has been really collaborative. We’ve had an amazing team of writers and musicians who have contributed to making this show something special.

[11:23] Casey Nicholaw: One of the challenges was figuring out how to translate the film’s humor and heart into a live performance. It’s a delicate balance, but I think we’ve found a way to do it.

[11:47] Casey Nicholaw: The music is a huge part of that. We’ve got some fantastic songs that really capture the essence of the characters and their journey.

[12:07] Casey Nicholaw: I’ve always loved working with music in my shows. It adds another layer of emotion and storytelling that you just can’t achieve with dialogue alone.

[12:29] Casey Nicholaw: And of course, the choreography is a big part of my vision. I want the audience to feel the energy and joy of the characters through movement.

[12:49] Casey Nicholaw: We’ve been experimenting with different styles and techniques to create something that feels fresh and exciting.

[13:09] Casey Nicholaw: I think audiences are going to be surprised by how much they connect with the story, even if they’re familiar with the film.

[13:22] Casey Nicholaw: It’s all about finding those universal themes of love and connection that resonate with everyone.

[13:46] Casey Nicholaw: I’m really proud of what we’ve created, and I can’t wait for people to see it.

[14:10] Casey Nicholaw: The cast is incredible. They bring so much talent and heart to their performances.

[14:35] Casey Nicholaw: It’s been a joy to watch them grow into their roles and really embody the characters.

[14:57] Casey Nicholaw: We’ve had some great moments in rehearsal that I think are going to translate beautifully to the stage.

[15:07] Casey Nicholaw: I’m also excited about the set design. We’ve created a vibrant and colorful world that reflects the spirit of the story.

[15:29] Casey Nicholaw: It’s all about creating an immersive experience for the audience, so they feel like they’re part of the journey.

[15:39] Casey Nicholaw: I think that’s what makes live theatre so special—the ability to connect with the audience in real time.

[16:07] Casey Nicholaw: I hope that when people leave the theatre, they feel uplifted and inspired.

[16:35] Casey Nicholaw: That’s always my goal as a director and choreographer—to create something that resonates on a deeper level.

[17:03] Casey Nicholaw: I’m really looking forward to seeing how audiences respond to the show.

[17:31] Casey Nicholaw: It’s been a labor of love, and I can’t wait to share it with everyone.

[17:51] Casey Nicholaw: Thank you for having me on the podcast to talk about this exciting project!