X FACTOR -- IT'S TIME TO FACE THE MUSICAL! Gets Go-Ahead at London Palladium; Slated to Begin Next Winter?

According to the Daily Mail, Harry Hill and Steve Brown's 16 million dollar new musical X Factor -- It's Time To Face The Musical! has been given the go-ahead by Stage Entertainment and Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment. Casting will commence in May, with rehearsals slated for next winter at the London Palladium.

Rebecca Quigley, managing director of Stage Entertainment's UK interests, stressed that the show is more than a spin-off or a story focused on one particular judge. "We didn't want to do something that just appealed to X Factor fans," she told the Mail. She also said X Factor judge Simon Cowell had had little influence on the show: "...as far as the process goes, he's leaving it to the theatre people."

Read the original report here.

The show will feature 19 new songs along with versions of familiar tunes. Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell are characters in the musical, as well as a judge named Geordie - an amalgamation of X Factor judges Cheryl Cole and Tulisa Contostavlos.

The story of the show, which invites comparison's to the Spice Girls'S VIVA FOREVER trails a young, black woman who lives in a trailer park and her rise to fame - via auditions for THE X FACTOR. The show is said to be closest in tone to Jerry Springer, THE OPERA.

Sean Foley will direct, with choreography by ZooNation's Kate Prince, sets by 2012 Olympics closing ceremony designer Es Devlin, lighting by Hugh Vanstone and music supervision and sound by Gareth Owen and Philip Bateman.

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the X Factor musical just had an invitation only workshop in London, starring Alexander Hanson as the infamous reality show judge. The actors who participated in the two workshop will be considered for roles in the final production.

"The X Factor" has remained the U.K.'s No. 1 program since its debut in 2004, peaking with an audience of 21 million, with a 65% audience share for its 2010 finale. The 2011 finale, held at Wembley Arena in front of a live audience of 12,000, was the most-watched TV show of the year, with a bigger audience than the Royal Wedding.