Terence Frisby's 2004 musical Kisses on a Postcard has been turned into a radio play starring West End and Broadway alums. Set during World War II, the four-hour production will be released on audio streaming platforms this month.
The musical follows two young boys, Terry and Jack, who are evacuated to Cornwall from London to escape the Blitz in 1940. Homed with a Welsh couple Auntie Rose and Uncle Jack with their son Gwyn, the boys stay in contact with their mother through postcards and a secret code of kisses that rate their new home. Frisby wrote the musical based on his own experiences as an evacuated child during World War II.
Brandon McGuiness and Frankie Joel-Celoni play evacuees Terry and Jack, respectively. Also leading the cast are John Owen Jones (Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera), Katy Secombe (Les Miserables), Marcia Warren (Stepping Out), Rosie Cavaliero (Abigail's Party), Evelyn Hoskins (Waitress), Lance Ellington (Strictly Come Dancing), and Simon Thomas (Phantom of the Opera).
They are joined by Ian Virgo, James Clyde, Peter Temple, Sherry Baines, Henrietta Bess, Louise Cookman, Lynsday Danvers, Rupert Degas, Ginny Fiol, Valerie Gogan, Paul Jones, Jonathan Kydd, Helen Langford, Trevor Lock, Aideen McQueen, Cathy Murphy, Matt Price, Danny Ward, Mary Woodvine, Cordell Mosteller, Micah Touchet, Dennis Caldwell, Safin Sheikh, Alex Braglevicz, Harlyn Price-Lewis, Rudyard Braggist, Izabella Bucknell, Lola Byrne, LolaFrisby Williams, Ferdie Frisby Williams, Arthur Hastings, Molly Hedges, Poppy Jestico, Henry Littell, Edward Planche, and Sofia Rega.
A 15-piece orchestra accompanied them in the recording studio at Abbey Road Studios.
“This is an intensely moving musical about an extraordinary time in British history," said Dominic Frisby, son of Terence Frisby, in a statement. "Those who were evacuated in 1940 will be in their late 80s and 90s now, if they are still with us at all. In many ways Kisses on a Postcard is a farewell to that generation. But I played it to some friends in the car last month, and during the evacuation scenes they all said, 'that’s exactly what’s happening now in Ukraine.' The story remains so pertinent.”
READ: Terence Frisby, Playwright of There’s a Girl in My Soup, Dies at 87
Following Frisby's passing, his son Dominic Frisby co-wrote new songs for Kisses on a Postcard with Martin Wheatley, the son of a London evacuee himself. Dominic Frisby subsequently adapted, directed, and produced the audio version. The radio play features music by Martin Wheatley, Gordon Clyde, and others; lyrics by Dominic Frisby, Gordon Clyde, and others; arrangement and conducting by Martin Wheatley and Lola Frisby Williams; and casting and co-direction by Jeremy James Taylor.
For more information, visit KissesOnAPostcard.com.
