Not seeing an existing item on the topic, I'm entering this item to discuss all things "Broadway" / "Musical". You know, South Pacific, 42nd Street, Phantom of the Opera, all those. Rodgers & Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber.7 responses total.
I'm almost shamed to admit that I only recently have learned of the existence of the musical "Jekyll & Hyde" (based on the novella by Robert Louis Stevenson). I have fallen in love with the music. Does anyone else have anything to say / report about it? Locally (metro Detroit), the Oakland Theatre Guild staged a production of J&H earlier this spring (2004), and are doing so again July 2005. I plan on seeing it then. For basic info, start with: http://www.jekyll-hyde.com
I saw the musical in NY a few years ago; Jack Wagner did an awesome job as Jekyll/Hyde, which floored me. I was not expecting him to be that good after knowing him from General Hospital and pop radio.
Just from listening to the "original Broadway cast" recording, it seems as if the story, production, music, etc. is on par with "Phantom of the Opera". Do you agree?
One of my favorite musicals is Chess. I've found that I prefer the original London production over the Broadway production. Basically, the Broadway show had different songs. I've only heard recordings at this point. Despitehow dated the musical would seem now (US vs USSR in a chess competition), I would still like to see a live production. I also like "War of the Worlds". It's an odd production. The CD release tends to have more of Richard Burton narrating over disco music than actual musical numbers, but it's enjoyable in a kitschy way.
University of Michigan School of Music does a musical theater production every term. The fall production, opening Thursday November 18, is "The Water" by folks I never heard of before. Anyone know about this show?
I *know* nothing about it. The first thing I found during a web search: From http://web.playbill.com/news/article/81132.html : Coincidentally, Georgia Stitt, the respected music director who worked on The Baker's Wife for Goodspeed Musicals in 2002 and whose pop songs have been popping up in Manhattan venues, is shopping around a Midwest set, flood-related musical she wrote with collaborators Jeff Hylton and Tim Werenko. The latest draft of The a musical about people at risk emotionally and physically when a river floods a has been completed, composer Stitt told Playbill On-Line earlier this year. Werenko is co-librettist and Hylton is lyricist and co-librettist. "Set in 1997, it's a completely original story about a small Missouri town that survives a flood," Stitt explained. "It's fiction, but bookwriter Tim Werenko lived through a flood and drew quite a bit from his personal experiences." The three writers spent a year developing Watertown, as it was first known, in residence at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. Following readings they "are just now beginning to submit it to theatres, producers and developmental festivals," Stitt said. As recently as Jan. 20, a song from The Water was heard in an eclectic concert of show tunes and art songs at Symphony Space; George Dvorsky and Jill Geddes sang "River Like Life" in that evening. On Jan. 26, Stitt presented three songs from the show with Sally Wilfert, Keith Byron Kirk and Sean McCourt as part of the "New Sundays" series produced by Phil Geoffrey Bond at the Duplex in Greenwich Village. The Water was Stitt's idea, she said. "I wanted to write about why people choose to live in places that are devastated by nature, and why people rebuild in those same places knowing they face the possibility of another disaster," she explained. "I wanted to write about the concept of community, particularly in middle America. This town is situated on the banks of a river that is a tributary to the Mississippi River. It has flooded before, even within memory of some of the older people in town. The river is as much a character in the show as any of the actors, and the idea of its presence or its is almost always in the music." What's the musical nature of The Water? "It's a book musical," Stitt said. "I write both folky music and groove-driven music. Some of it is very lyrical and some of it is more pop. I wouldn't call it 'rock,' but it's definitely a step outside the norms of traditional musical theatre. I grew up outside of Memphis as a classical pianist, so there are hints of the South in the music, alongside very pianistic accompaniments." Among those who sang in previous readings of The Water were Danielle Ferland, Sally Wilfert, Andrea Burns, Jeff Edgerton, Corey Reynolds, Ed Romanoff, Brooks Ashmanskas and Sean McCourt. Jeff McCarthy (Urinetown, Side Man) and Donna Lynne Champlin (Hollywood Arms, My Life With Albertine) are the demo recording, along with McCourt, Burns and several others. Peter Flynn has been attached as director of the show. Stitt said the title was changed from Watertown to The Water to avoid any comparison to Urinetown, the comic Broadway hit about a town devastated by drought. "There are 12 actors in the show, and it is multi generational," Stitt said. "There are (among others) two men in their 60s, a single father in his late 40s, a love triangle involving a married couple in their 30s, sweethearts in their 20s getting engaged, and a 13 year old girl." Stitt's work can be heard at www.georgiastitt.com.
(P.S. That article was from August 2003)
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