M-G-M: Movies-Going-MusicalDon’t expect to see an end anytime soon to the ongoing phenomenon of films being transformed into stage tuners. Despite some recent backfires (read:
High Fidelity, among others), many more movie-to-musical metamorphoses are already underway.
This Broadway season will see yet another silver screen comedy hit the boards of the Great White Way's Palace Theatre in
Legally Blonde with
Laura Bell Bundy come April, and it’s been all but confirmed that
Mel Brooks’
The Producers will make way later this year for the stage incarnation of his
Young Frankenstein. As previously mentioned, it’s also been announced that
Desperately Seeking Susan is being prepped for the West End.
The trend will surely continue well beyond these few titles. Indeed, when perusing my program from Sydney’s stage musical version of
Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, a special message appeared from
Darcie Denkert and
Dean Stolber, veteran film and theatre executives who conceived, developed and run
MGM On Stage, “the industry leader in developing and licensing film properties for live stage presentation.”
In fact, according to the program notes, 25 new projects are already in the works, including the aforementioned
Legally Blonde, along with
The Pink Panther,
Marty,
Moonstruck and
Where's Poppa?Of course, MGM has a breathtaking catalogue from which to select. There will almost assuredly be some missteps along the way. But as long as the batting average remains fairly decent, particularly among audiences enthusiastic about revisiting some of their favorite characters, this twist in adaptations will be here to stay.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Australia, Broadway, Desperately Seeking Susan, Film, High Fidelity, Legally Blonde, Musical, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, The Producers, Young Frankenstein
High Fidelity To Skip Town SundayIf only enough JerseyGirls (see third comment on the
review summary) had a chance to see it, perhaps
High Fidelity would not be closing so prematurely (although others might argue, "What took them so long?"). The closing notices were posted today for the show that only opened a week ago to mediocre reviews.
It probably didn't help that its primary Broadway competitor for rock musical fans,
Spring Awakening, opened to nearly universal, ecstatic acclaim.
When
High Fidelity closes this Sunday, it will have enjoyed just fourteen regular performances. The speculation will no doubt intensify on which show will be next to inhabit the
Imperial Theatre. Any guesses?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:The Lowdown On High Fidelity Reviews (December 8, 2006)
You've Got To Have The Utmost Faith: High Fidelity Opens Tonight (December 7, 2006)
High Fidelity Catches Static From Boston Critics (October 6, 2006)
Two High Flying Broadway-Bound Shows Begin Tonight (September 29, 2006)
High Fidelity Tunes In To High Capacity Imperial (August 24, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Closing Notices, Film, High Fidelity, Musical, Spring Awakening
The Lowdown On High Fidelity ReviewsLast evening,
High Fidelity -- the latest movie-turned-musical arrived on Broadway. The reviews weren't half as bad as much of the buzz seemed to indicate.
Calling it "bright, breezy entertainment" in one of the better reviews,
Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press defends the show: "There used to be room on Broadway for genial. Shows maybe not of blockbuster quality, but, taken on less demanding terms, enjoyable nonetheless.
High Fidelity...belongs to that class of musical....
High Fidelity won't trailblaze...But its charms are considerable and don't be surprised if you fall under its spell."
High Fidelity is "modestly entertaining," according to
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News, who says: "The music doesn't lift the show off the stage, but there are some witty and tuneful standouts....As Rob, Chase, from the short-lived
Lennon, sings great and casts a high-wattage nice-guy glow -- but that's not the same as star quality. As Laura, Colella has a pretty voice, but ultimately she doesn't have enough to do."
Calling the musical a "brave, if foolhardy, attempt,"
Clive Barnes of
New York Post takes most issue with the music in his two-star review: "[I]t has a few redeeming features....Lindsay-Abaire's book hews more closely to the novel than the movie, even in its so-so happy ending.
Amanda Green's lyrics are even better....Her razzle-dazzle lyrics have a style and grace that zing in the ear -- just listen to her name-dropping verbal variations on the themes of Lyle Lovett, Kurt Cobain and Kevin Bacon and those degrees of separation. But if
High Fidelity"was to have had any real chance as a musical, it depended on the music that molds its rock-possessed hero....Here composer Tom Kitt emerges with a copycat, reverential, referential pastiche. It might have worked had it had the spectral vitality of Jonathan Larson's
Rent. But Kitt's music offers the fatal combination of sounding familiar yet unmemorable."
Labeling it as one of Broadway's "all-time most forgettable musicals,"
The New York Times'
Ben Brantley says: "
High Fidelity is not mean-spirited, sticky sweet, stress-inducing, excessively loud, cutesy or pushy....Rob is played by
Will Chase, who, it must be said, is not obnoxious. And that’s a problem....The performances aren’t bad, but there is little in any of them to arrest the attention....Mr. Chase...is affable and smooth but doesn’t start to find anything resembling a character until the show is almost over."
Stating flatly that "
Nick Hornby's funny and insightful 1995 novel was just never meant to be a Broadway musical,"
Variety's
David Rooney writes: "Some cover versions are just bad ideas....There are some talented people involved here and a likable cast that makes the show by no means laborious to sit through. But it lacks charm, sincerity and heart."
Certainly the middling reviews eclipsed some of the more negative buzz that had been building on the musical, but that may not be enough to gin up much-needed ticket sales in the weeks ahead.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:You've Got To Have The Utmost Faith: High Fidelity Opens Tonight (December 7, 2006)
High Fidelity Catches Static From Boston Critics (October 6, 2006)
Two High Flying Broadway-Bound Shows Begin Tonight (September 29, 2006)
High Fidelity Tunes In To High Capacity Imperial (August 24, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Film, High Fidelity, Musical
You've Got To Have The Utmost Faith: High Fidelity Opens TonightThis evening marks one of the theatrical season's
least anticipated openings as
High Fidelity debuts at Broadway's Imperial Theatre.
If there's one musical that has suffered from a serious lack of positive buzz, it's this tuner. After suffering
poor reviews during its Boston tryout, this latest musical based on a movie (based on
Nick Hornby's popular bovel)
has also been the subject of many
negative stories, including those surrounding its less than stellar advance box office.
Is it possible that
Walter Bobbie who helms this musical -- with book by
David Lindsay-Abaire and original score by
Tom Kitt and
Amanda Green -- will have the last laugh? Find out tomorrow as I share the verdict of the critics.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:High Fidelity Catches Static From Boston Critics (October 6, 2006)
Two High Flying Broadway-Bound Shows Begin Tonight (September 29, 2006)
High Fidelity Tunes In To High Capacity Imperial (August 24, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Film, High Fidelity, Musical, Opening Night
Which New Broadway Musical Are You Most Enthusiastic About Seeing?As noted yesterday, readers of Steve On Broadway (SOB) will find a new poll feature on the right-hand column that enables you to provide a snapshot opinion on all things theatre with the click of your mouse.
Please note that the poll's mechanism only enables you to vote once meaning that if you try voting for a second time, only your last vote will count officially.
My first question is pretty simple: "Which new Broadway musical are you most enthusiastic about seeing?" Your choices include
Grey Gardens,
High Fidelity,
Legally Blonde,
Mary Poppins,
The Pirate Queen and
The Times They Are A-Changin'. I'm only listing new shows that have been confirmed to open during the current 2006-07 Theatrical Season.
I also invite your comments to each story posted on Steve On Broadway (SOB). In fact, please feel free to tell me why you're voting the way you are for a show. As always, whether you think my opinion mirrors yours or is just plain wrong, I promise to post each comment that seeks to engage in a thoughtful discussion on theatre.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Take The Steve On Broadway (SOB) Poll (October 15, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Grey Gardens, High Fidelity, Legally Blonde, Mary Poppins, Musical, SOB Poll, Spring Awakening, The Pirate Queen
High Fidelity Catches Static From Boston CriticsLast evening,
High Fidelity --
the latest musical to be based on a movie -- opened during its Broadway tryout in Boston. Rather than help build buzz, the tuner caught nothing but static from critics from Beantown's two major newspapers. Additionally, one of the best theatre bloggers out there, Boston-based
Chris Caggiano, weighed-in after seeing the show last Saturday.
Joan Anderman of the
Boston Globe writes, "[I]n an effort to straddle the hip, indie world of its characters and the mainstream demands of Broadway, the show misses both marks....The sparks here, though, are too few and far between to ignite into an electrifying whole."
Over at the
Boston Herald, critic
Terry Byrne says, "[A]s a musical, the show doesn’t add up....The musical, making a two-week stop at the Colonial before heading to Broadway, is loyal to its sources but is missing an essential ingredient: great music....
High Fidelity needs a tuneup before it tries to rock Broadway."
That thought is certainly shared by Caggiano, who in his always engaging, exceptional "
Everything I Learned I Learned From Musicals" blog writes, "It needs work. Lots of work....
High Fidelity is going to need some serious reshaping if it's going to have a chance at the
Imperial....Numbers that on paper should stop the show sit limply and go nowhere. But the main culprit is
Walter Bobbie's direction, which is flat and lifeless."
None of those assessments portend great things on the Great White Way. A story in today's
New York Post by
Michael Riedel certainly can't help, either. Riedel writes: "
High Fidelity, which is based on
Nick Hornby 's popular novel, is positioning itself to be the hipster show of the fall. But so far the hipsters aren't buying it. Ticket sales in both New York and Boston (where the show opened last night) are anemic."
Unless, the static turns into buzz, potential audiences may tune out this new show altogether (and this is despite an aggressive television advertising campaign in New York). In the meantime, perhaps the Imperial Theatre can begin scouting for another new occupant for early 2007 sooner than later.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for High Fidelity tickets in BostonClick here for High Fidelity tickets in New York.Related Stories:
Two High Flying Broadway-Bound Shows Begin Tonight (September 29, 2006)
High Fidelity Tunes In To High Capacity Imperial (August 24, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Film, High Fidelity, Musical, Tryout
Two High Flying Broadway-Bound Shows Begin TonightTonight marks the first performances for two musicals with trajectories aimed directly at Broadway, despite the fact that they're getting their start in exact opposite ends of the country.
The first,
High Fidelity, has already found a berth on the Great White Way at the
Imperial Theatre and is currently set for a December 7 opening.
High Fidelity begins its tryout performances this evening at Boston's Colonial Theatre. Based on the movie of the same name, this
Walter Bobbie-helmed tuner features music and lyrics by
Tom Kitt and
Amanda Green, book by
David Lindsay-Abaire (this is his first musical) and choreography by
Chris Gattelli. It will star
Will Chase and
Jenn Colella.
The other musical starting previews tonight is the
Des McAnuff revival of
The Wiz at the
La Jolla Playhouse. While there may be no place like home, this "major re-imagining" of
The Wiz has yet to find the appropriate house on Broadway -- something that has dogged this planned production for well over two years. Now that McAnuff is finally getting this production off the ground, will the end result be enough to spin it toward New York? We may have a better sense after the show officially opens in October.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for High Fidelity tickets.Click here for The Wiz tickets.Related Stories:High Fidelity Tunes In To High Capacity Imperial (August 24, 2006)
Which Broadway Musical Will Depart Next? (August 21, 2006)
The Wiz Cast Set to Ease On Down the Road (July 25, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, High Fidelity, Musical, Revival, San Diego, The Wiz
High Fidelity Tunes In To High Capacity ImperialFor all those musicals
I've described as circling the Great White Way like vultures, one has officially found its prey in the
Imperial Theatre. With previews set for November 20 and opening night on December 7,
High Fidelity (based on the
2000 film) will replace the exiting
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at this 1417 seat venue.
The
Walter Bobbie-helmed musical boasts a book by
David Lindsay-Abaire (
Rabbit Hole) and original score by
Tom Kitt and
Amanda Green. The cast includes
Will Chase (
Lennon),
Jenn Collela (
Urban Cowboy) and
Christian Anderson, among others). The show will begin its
Boston tryout next month at the Colonial Theatre.
Now that
High Fidelity has found its Broadway berth, where will
Curtains land? Although there's been considerable speculation that
Curtains was circling over the
Al Hirschfeld Theatre (current home to
The Wedding Singer), 1215 seats would seem to be much too small to successfully accommodate this unusually large production. So
I again throw out the possibility that
The Producers' days may be numbered. Time will tell.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, High Fidelity, Musical
