New Broadway Musicals

I made this post earlier today on one of the other boards, but I think it got lost somewhere in all the stuff about young actors...

OK, the basic trend of previous posts was, why do we do the same old musicals all the time.

So... a little test for everyone, these are all the musicals currently running on Broadway:
How many of the 21 do you know?

Brand New Musicals:
Caroline, or Change
Wicked
Avenue Q
Hairspray
Aida
Rent
Bombay Dreams
The Phantom of the Opera (original production still running!)

New Musicals based on pre-existing songs:
The Boy from Oz
Mamma Mia!
MovinÂ’ Out

New Stage Musicals adapted from films:
The Producers
The Lion King
Beauty and the Beast (original production still running!)

Non-Broadway Musicals making Broadway debut:
The Frogs
Assassins
Little Shop of Horrors

Revivals:
Fiddler on the Roof
Wonderful Town
42nd Street
Chicago

Personally, not counting what IÂ’ve seen on Tony broadcasts, I know a little bit about all of them, but I can only admit to knowing 11, only one of which came from the first category, and that was Phantom. But IÂ’m working on it!

Paul Treasure

Does having heard of them count?? If it does then I get 14 (or 13 if I'm confusing "Aida" with opera of same name). I'm definitely surprised that I know more than you, Paul (O, Wise One!). I've only heard the "Rent" sound-track, but I found it really great music. You should try & get hold of it.

I didn't get involved in previous posting, but submit idea that "old" musicals are staged because they pull crowds. If general population don't know/haven't heard of something, they will be more likely to stay home.

And what does the insult button have for us today?

Thou surly sheep-biting bladder!

Classy. Never would of thought of it. Like alliteration

Jess

Jess Limb wrote:
>
> Does having heard of them count?? If it does then I get 14
> (or 13 if I'm confusing "Aida" with opera of same name). I'm
> definitely surprised that I know more than you, Paul (O, Wise
> One!). I've only heard the "Rent" sound-track, but I found it
> really great music. You should try & get hold of it.

Nope, only having heard of them doesn't count. The only one on the list I hadn't heard of was Movin' Out, which apparently is a Mamma-Mia/We-Will-Rock-You-esque musical using Billy Joel's music.
Aida is the same plot as the opera but with music by Sir Elton John
To my shame I don't know Rent, I've heard about two songs and that's it!

> I didn't get involved in previous posting, but submit idea
> that "old" musicals are staged because they pull crowds. If
> general population don't know/haven't heard of something,
> they will be more likely to stay home.

But what about all the musicals that everyone has heard of and still no one does? When was the last time you saw Camelot or Brigadoon or Sweet Charity?

There is also the case of shows like Assassins, when it was first done at the Quarry, only the diehard Sondheimers had heard of it. It has now had two productions in Perth (not counting WAAPA) and is actually starting to acquire a following. Won't be too long before its a genuine draw card.

There has to be a way that we can 'educate' our patrons about new musicals, so they aren't afraid to come. The question is how?

what about Gilbert and Sullivan offerings? I remember a few years back Jon English and a few of his mates did a couple of those musicals. I loved HMS PInafore

Okay, my revised list then is 9 for certain, of plots I know. And a couple I've heard of / know vaguely.

My Mum's a Camelot fan - Julie Andrews! She convinced me to sing a song from it "Simple Joys of Maidenhood." There are some really nice melodies in the show.

Maybe some amateur companies could put together some kind of musical nights. Like an ongoing series or something. They could pick some older, less-performed shows and some new ones; then maybe include some of scene around song/s. It could be a quarterly event or something, some kind of musical exposure. Programs would give an idea of plot, say what has happened previously. Pick songs from different parts of shows, eg. beg, mid, end. Or intersperse them, so that it's like "meanwhile back at the ranch night fell...and everyone was squashed!" Oops. Slipped out. Concurrent stories...

How's that for an idea? I reckon it needs some more work, but it's a start.

Jess

Just acquired Cast Recording of "Avenue Q" thanks to a selfless Ann Adlem at That's Entertainment.

Absolutely hilarious!!

Look for a full review in the reviews section early next week.

Paul

Caroline or Change? Have a cd on order. But the music is by Jeanine Tesori (think that's how you spell her last name) and she's a phenomenal composer.

Avenue Q? Well it won all the Tony's and will most likely continue to win the biggest crowds. But judging from the CD it is not the world's most exciting score.

Wicked? The latest by Stephen Schwartz and just as witty, just as challenging, as many good tunes and as theatrically exciting as anything he has ever written. You should get the Cast Recording.

Anyway... I could go on. But you're right. The problem, as you say, is how to educate audiences. If your group has a regular "following" then one of the best ways is to put people in it that they know and love... your society's regulars... and feature them prominently in the advertising.

Jess suggests a concert, and if you do a limited run, just use the accompaniment of a pianist (+maybe bass and a kit) and again put singers in it that your audiences know and love, then in my experience good advertising will put such a show on the right track. And then before you know it, word starts to spread and your audience will start to self-educate. Sounds like an ideal world but it is possible!

What else? Well there are lots of good music shops and CD shops across the country that are dedicated to advancing Australia's knowledge of music theatre. The CD Collector in Sydney and Fine Music in Melbourne are just 2 such organisations. So it's not as though help isn't available.

Sorry if these comments are unwelcome or unhelpful. I don't know you and I apologise if I'm speaking out of turn. But if you want to discuss anything please feel free to email me. I'd be only too happy to try and figure something out!

Cheers :-)

Ben

benvt@tasmail.com

Hi everyone!!!

is it just me or does creativity and originality seem to be a thing of the past?!?!?!?!?
i wish to make a career out of the musical theatre and i grew up to watching the good 'ol shows by kander and ebb, rogers and hammerstein, stephen sondheim etc. the musical greats!!! it is those great show stopping songs that have developed my passion!

but lately i have noticed a scary trend............ many musicals are an adaptation of pop artists story's with their songs! i live in perth and here are the last few shows that have toured;
Shout! - songs of Johnny O'Keefe
Mamma Mia - songs of ABBA
We Will Rock You - song of queen

now, these shows were all fantastic!! SHOUT! being one of my favourite shows of all, but wheres the creativity?????
in many many years to come i would love my children and grandchildren, to be able to appreciate, like i do, the true essence of musical theatre. my worst fear is BRITANNY SPEARS - THE MEGA MUSICAL SPECTACULAR!! or EMINEM - THE REAL SLIM SHADY SHOW!!
can you imagine?? as much as i would love to brush off the idea i have no doubt they soon will be touring in a city near you!!

does anybody else share these fears?
call me old fashioned but give me Liza Minnelli and a bowler hat and i am in my glory! and what about the choreographers?????? bob fosse was a genius!!! we still do his moves to this day!!! can you think of anybody nowadays?

i say lets get back to basics and get creative!!!!

Actually I saw Camelot a couple weeks ago. G&S society did it. Sorry if someone's already said this, I just found your post and haven't read the rest of the thread.

Of course Fosse was a genius - but people like him don't show up every day. And fear not for the creativity of musical theatre. I'm writing a musical at the moment. Well, I say writing - but I haven't started yet. But I have a great idea for a musical. All I need now is a lyricist. Besides all that - a lot of musicals are based on factual stuff, so why not biographical stuff using old music. Rather than thinking of it as a hash of old rockers, think of it as

Book by Ben Elton
Lyrics by Queen
Music by Queen.

See! It's an original book musical.

OK I see where you're coming from and know what you mean. But oh well. It's late and I'm tired - forgive the incoherence.

Rob wrote:
>
>Rather than thinking
> of it as a hash of old rockers, think of it as
>
> Book by Ben Elton
> Lyrics by Queen
> Music by Queen.
>
> See! It's an original book musical.



The trouble I had with 'We Will Rock You' was in just how contrived Elton's book was. It really could not have existed, or contained any coherence, without reference to the existing canon of Queen lyrics....so really in this case, I did consider it a 'hash'.

Yes, I know musicals in general are contrived...a convenient frame to hang a song & dance upon...but this one seemed more so, because it was contriving so hard to include existing songs and references. An original musical usually has a contrived book that is justified by having songs that carry the story and are created especially for the show.

As a long time Queen fan, owning all their albums, it surprised me a bit that there were several references that would have been missed by a non Queen-expert, yet were hardly worth going to the trouble for even if you recognised them.


In contrast I was fairly impressed by the book of 'Mama Mia'...it was still obviously contrived to showcase ABBA songs, and yet the lyrics and references merged realistically with the characters and situations, and their existence always seemed fully justified.


Cheers
Craig

There were three done. - G&S with Jon. David Spicer controls the rights. Good to do as you need I think 4 keyboards plus drums.

Cheers,

JR

Susan Stroman - many tony's etc - brilliant creative choreography.

I guess so. Mind you contrived or not I'd love to see the Billy Joel musical. I had no idea it existed.

If only our audiences took a chance and came to see these "new" shows!! Unfortunately, most of the audiences in the societies I am involved with are elderly and will only go to see musicals they know and love.

I have recordings of all but 3 of the shows you listed (2 of which i don't have much desire to get (Wonderful Town & Fiddler), and one i don't know much about - (Bombay Dreams)). I have also purchased sheet music for more than half of those musicals. I love keeping up to date with the new interesting shows. I am involved with an up-and-coming society in Sydney (Shire Music Theatre) which has evolved from a Light Opera Company, and are now establishing a name for themselves doing these new interesting shows. It is extremely hard to convince people to come and see the shows we are doing, but everyone who comes loves them. These shows tend to attract a fantastic cast from all over Sydney.

We did "Songs for a New World" in March this year, the NSW premiere of "The Baker's Wife" in May, and "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" opens this Friday (27th August 2004) and runs for 2 weekends. It is very difficult to cover costs for these productions, so the society will be putting on "Jesus Christ Superstar" in November, hopefully as a guaranteed money-maker to cover the costs of us doing these rarely-done shows.

Next year, Shire Music Theatre will be doing the NSW premiere of "Prodigal" - an Australian musical written by (Helpmann Award Nominee for Direction of "The Last 5 Years") Dean Bryant and Mathew Frank from Melbourne and Maury Yeston's "Phantom". Do yourself a favour and come and see some of these different shows.

Andrew