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- TONY! The Blair Musical is a satirical comedy musical written in 2007 by Chris Bush, director of the White Rose Theatre, with music composed by Ian McCluskey. TONY! follows the premiership of former British prime minister Tony Blair from his landslide election in 1997 to his resignation ten years later. It is told to the audience by Blair himself, in the form of an interplay of spotlit monologues and musical flashbacks to various moments in the former prime minister's career. The musical focuses primarily on Blair's relationships with the key characters in his life, rather than the politics, including his Chancellor and successor as Prime Minister Gordon Brown and wife Cherie Booth. It is a musically eclectic production, featuring rock pieces, power ballads and a barbershop quartet of former Tory leaders. Performed at York's Theatre Royal, the Edinburgh Fringe and the Pleasance Theatre, Islington, TONY! has been described by the BBC as "sharp, engaging and original," and as "a shining example of honest comedy writing." It has also been criticized for crude caricatures and cheap one-liners. Nonetheless, the play won the NSDF & Pleasance Edinburgh Competition 2007. As part of the prize the production transferred to the Pleasance Theatre, Islington, for a limited run in late September 2007. The production returned to the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2008, alongside its sequel Tony of Arabia. Previews were performed at the Oxford North Wall and the Theatre Royal, Wakefield, in July 2008. (en)
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