Tim Rice’s stage musical brought James Jones’s classic wartime story to the big screen. Filmed from the West End production at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre, From Here to Eternity combined a sweeping score, intimate drama and the atmosphere of 1941 Hawaii in the tense months before Pearl Harbor.
About the musical
Based on James Jones’s 1951 novel, From Here to Eternity follows the soldiers of G Company stationed on Oahu as private passions, loyalty and military discipline collide. At the centre of the story are First Sergeant Milt Warden, Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt, Karen Holmes and Lorene — characters caught between desire, duty and the shadow of a coming war.
The musical features lyrics by Tim Rice, music by Stuart Brayson and a book by Bill Oakes. The original West End production was directed by Tamara Harvey, with choreography by Javier De Frutos.
West End production and cinema release
The production made its world premiere at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2013. Its cinema presentation was filmed over two performances and released to more than 250 cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 3 July 2014, giving theatre audiences a chance to experience the scale of the West End staging on screen.
The cinema version also included additional filmed material, including behind-the-scenes features and interview content connected with the production.
Cast
- Darius Campbell as Milt Warden
- Robert Lonsdale as Private Prewitt
- Rebecca Thornhill as Karen Holmes
- Siubhan Harrison as Lorene
- Ryan Sampson as Maggio
The story
Set against the approaching attack on Pearl Harbor, From Here to Eternity explores love, friendship, masculinity, pressure inside the military system and the cost of refusing to compromise. Its cinematic release highlighted both the emotional force of the story and the musical’s large-scale theatrical staging.
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