# An Officer and a Gentleman (musical)

An Officer and a Gentleman, The Musical is a stage musical adaptation of the 1982 film of the same name, written by Douglas Day Stewart.

## History

The world premiere production of An Officer and a Gentleman, The Musical was co-produced by John Frost and Sharleen Cooper Cohen. The book was written by Douglas Day Stewart and Sharleen Cooper Cohen, and the score was by Ken Hirsch and Robin Lerner. Directed by Simon Phillips, the musical starred Ben Mingay as Zack Mayo and Amanda Harrison as Paula Pokrifki. The production had its world premiere on May 18, 2012 at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney, Australia. The musical closed only six weeks later, on July 1.
A new version of the musical made its premiere at Curve in Leicester, UK, in April 2018 before touring the UK. It was directed by Nikolai Foster and used songs from the film's soundtrack such as "Up Where We Belong", "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "Toy Soldiers", "Alone", "Don't Cry Out Loud" and "Material Girl", as opposed to the original score by Hirsch and Lerner used in the previous incarnation.
In 2019, a North American tour of An Officer and a Gentleman was announced, with a book adapted by Dick Scanlan, based on the version by Douglas Day Stewart and Sharleen Cooper Cohen. Choreography for this version was by Patricia Wilcox.
In 2024, the Curve production of the musical returned to the UK, again directed by Nikolai Foster. Starring Luke Baker as Zack Mayo, it opened on February 23 at The Alexandra in Birmingham.

## Reception

The Sydney production received mixed reviews. In response to a highly negative review in The Australian, calling the show a "bloodless facsimile" of the film, author Stewart published a rebuttal defending the production and attacking the critics for their "eclectic, overly intellectual point of view". When the show's closing was announced, producer John Frost told a reporter that an American tour was still a possibility, after revisions were made to the show.
The show was nominated for five Helpmann Awards including "Best Musical 2012". Bert LaBonte won for "Best Supporting Actor".

## Cast and characters

| Character | Original Australia Cast | Original UK Tour Cast | Original US Tour Cast |
| Zack Mayo | Ben Mingay | Jonny Fines | Wes Williams |
| Paula Pokrifki | Amanda Harrison | Emma Williams | Mia Massaro |
| Sid Worley | Alex Rathgeber | Ian McIntosh | Cameron Loyal |
| Lynette Pomeroy | Kate Kendall | Jessica Daley | Emily Louis Franklin |
| Sgt. Emil Foley | Bert LaBonté | Ray Shell | David Wayne Britton |
| Byron Mayo* | Bartholomew John | Darren Bennett | Shelly Verden |
| Esther Pokrifki | Tara Morice | Rachel Stanley | Roxy York |
| Ramon Guiterrez | Josh Piterman | | |
| Taniya Seegar* | Zahra Newman | | Amaya White |
| Charlie Redding | Josef Brown | | |
| Amy Cantrowitz | Sheridan Harbridge | | |
| Young Zack Mayo | Michael Kilbane Oliver Wright Otis Pavlovic George Cartwright | | |
| Officer Candidates | | | Zare Anguay (Leung) William Carver (Perryman) Christopher Hanford (Greer) Kyler Hershman (McNamara) Nathaniel D. Lee (Watts) Blake Sauceda (Zuniga) Kevin Stevens (Cohen) |
* The character Taniya Seegar was changed to Casey Seegar in the US Touring production.
* The character Byron Mayo was changed to Zack's Dad in the US Touring production.

## Recordings

A promotional disc of five songs was released including "Up Where We Belong", performed by Ben Mingay, Amanda Harrison, Kate Kendall and Alex Rathgeber, and "If You Believe In Love", sung by Amanda Harrison.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
| 2012 | Helpmann Awards | Best Musical | Sharleen Cooper Cohen, John Frost | Nominated |
| 2012 | Helpmann Awards | Best Direction of a Musical | Simon Phillips | Nominated |
| 2012 | Helpmann Awards | Best Choreography in a Musical | Andrew Hallsworth | Nominated |
| 2012 | Helpmann Awards | Best Female Actor in a Musical | Amanda Harrison | Nominated |
| 2012 | Helpmann Awards | Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical | Bert LaBonte | Won |
| 2012 | Theatre People Pro Choice | Best Actress | Amanda Harrison | Nominated |
| 2012 | Theatre People Pro Choice | Best Supporting Actor | Bert LaBonte | Nominated |
| 2012 | Theatre People Pro Choice | Best Supporting Actor | Alex Rathgeber | Nominated |
| 2012 | Theatre People Pro Choice | Best Director | Simon Phillips | Nominated |
| 2012 | Theatre People Pro Choice | New Musical | Sharleen Cooper Cohen, John Frost | Nominated |