Großen Eindruck hat bei vielen Zusehern der diesjährigen Tony Awards beispielsweise die Schlussnummer hinterlassen. Sie wurde von Lin-Maunel Miranda (”In The Heights”) während der Live-Übertragung getextet und von Tony-Präsentator Neil Patrick Harris “gerappt”. Der Text:
We straightened things out in the opening number, Ellen Barkin and John Benjamin Hickey took home awards for their hilarious performances in THE NORMAL HEART.
Daniel Radcliffe kicked some butt, and we were so elated
Even Voldemort was sad he wasn’t nominated
Norbert Leo Butz sang and danced and tried to catch ya, comin’ atcha,
Chasing Trey and Casey ‘cause they nabbed a Tony statue
Commencing in the Chattanooga station
From the grand imagination of the Kander-Ebb collaboration
It takes a lot for a recipient to humble me
But everybody cried for gorgeous Nikki James, the bumblebee
Andrew Rannells sang «I Believe†and he landed it
So well now he’s Mitt Romney’s V.P. candidate
All across the country, from the north and to the south
They’re saying Brooke’s a hottie with a crazy potty mouth
John Larroquette brought an eloquent mood to the room
I’m still imagining him at home in his Fruit-of-the-Looms
SPIDER-MAN and Mary-Jane gave us perspective here
They sang a ballad, we didn’t need protective gear
Patina Miller nun sang «Raise Your Voice†with cheer
And MEMPHIS is relentless, they’re performing every year
THE NORMAL HEART won, Larry Kramer made us weep
And WAR HORSE dazzled us with a theatrical sweep
Sutton Foster never lost her knack
For talking smack
And tapping a full-on assault attack
I’m awesome, Hugh Jackman, take that
Go ahead and roll the credits if you need to
I’m out of control, I’m on a roll, this is my Tonys speed-through
ANYTHING GOES took the best revival prize in stride
We didn’t see it, we were singing «Side By Side By Side.â€
McDormand loves her job, Sutton Foster won again
Paul Shaffer sang and suddenly it started raining men
Mark Rylance runs at fences, he’s won the Tony twice
That guy can do it all, his follow-up is «Fanny Bryce.â€
Norbert Butz and MORMON swept the floor,
Won even more awards than WAR HORSE
Par for the course,
Someone get a car for the horse
And in the final analysis, what survives tonight?
Theater, because it’s what we live, we’re changing some lives tonight
And theater thrives because we live to give it, so to speak
This ain’t reality TV, this is eight shows a week
Every chorus member that you saw tonight tappin’
Had to make miracles happen
For a chance to see you clappin’
And applauding in the audience. What’s next? Who knows?
Anything goes. Now go see a motherfucking Broadway show.
Thank you, good night.
Martin Bruny am Samstag, den
28. Mai 2011 um 10:33 · gespeichert in Musical, Broadway
Im März 2011 feierte die Show “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” im Palace Theatre von New York Premiere. Am vergangenen Donnerstag gingen Broadway-Musiker, organisiert von “Save Live Music on Broadway”, auf die Straße, um gegen die musikalische Umsetzung des “Musicals” zu protestieren. In der Show werden vorgefertigte Aufnahmen mit live gespielter Musik kombiniert.
Zum Fall “Priscilla” meint “Save Live Music on Broadway”:
Now, producers of the recently opened Priscilla Queen of the Desert have actually begun implementing the unthinkable—the producers of Broadway’s Priscilla Queen of the Desert have drastically cut the theatre’s live orchestra, and instead are forcing the remaining musicians to play along with a recording. Needless to say, theatre critics who reviewed the show have been appalled, calling it «synthetic to the core†(Time Out New York); «mechanical and monotonous†and «karaoke-inspired†(The New York Times); «a glossy costume party masquerading as a musical†(New York Daily News); «the songs… blend together into an undifferentiated morass†(everythingmusicals.com); and «an oversized karaoke party†(AM New York). This show deprives the audience of the robust, live musical experience they have every reason to expect.
Die Produzenten von “Priscilla” verstehen die ganze Aufregung natürlich nicht und setzen dem entgegen:
The orchestrations were created more than five years ago and have been performed in productions in Sydney, Aukland, London and Toronto for thousands of performances prior to Broadway. There are elements in the sound of the ‘Priscilla’ score that cannot be recreated by live performance. These are the recorded manipulated sounds that accompany the live musicians who play every performance of the show.
Tim Smith von der “Baltimore Sun” liefert dazu einen sehr passenden Kommentar:
I still haven’t forgotten the experience of seeing the celebrated revival of “South Pacific” at Lincoln Center, where the audience burst into rapturous applause partway through the overture simply because a cover over the pit opened to reveal the sight of an honest-to-goodness, Broadway-sized orchestra — an experience as rare for most of us as obtaining a $500,000 revolving charge account at Tiffany’s.
Martin Bruny am Sonntag, den
22. Mai 2011 um 10:27 · gespeichert in Musical, Broadway
Auf bisher 700 Vorstellungen brachte es die Broadway-Show “Memphis”. Eine Verfilmung, die auch in den Kinos starten soll, wurde produziert, vier Tony Awards wurden gewonnen und eine US-Tour steht in den Startlöchern. Und dennoch: Die Investoren warten nach wie vor darauf, dass die Show Gewinne macht.
Dieselbe Situation haben wir bei “The Addams Family” (500 Vorstellungen) und “The Million Dollar Quartet” (450 Vorstellungen) - und auch bei “Rock of Ages” (800 Vorstellungen).
Auf dem Sprechtheater-Sektor ist es nicht anders: “The 39 Steps” lief von 2008 bis 2010 am Broadway und hat nie Gewinne gemacht.
Die Wahrheit: Nur 20 bis 30 Prozent aller Broadway-Shows fahren tatsächlich Gewinne ein, und das sind keine Neuigkeiten, das war in den letzten 60 Jahren nie anders. Die Shows, die es schaffen, ihre Produktionskosten einzuspielen, erreichen dieses Ziel oft nur mit Müh und Not.
Richtige Hits, Blockbuster-Shows, gibt es pro Saison maximal zwei bis drei. Jüngstes Beispiel: “The Book of Mormon”.
Was hat sich in den letzten Jahren dennoch verändert? Man spielt Shows länger, versucht eine Trademark aufzubauen. Flops schließen seltener schon nach ein paar Tagen. Wenn es der Businessplan erlaubt, versucht man, auf Umwegen dennoch Geld aus einer Show zu holen. Zum Beispiel im Fall “The Addams Family” - einer Produktion, die bis jetzt zwei Drittel ihrer Kosten eingespielt hat. Produzent Stuart Oken:
Clearly, there are certain shows that do well enough to establish themselves and find an audience but do not to do well enough to clean up and pay back investors as quickly as used to be the case.
It depends on your business plan. In our case, we’re also trying to establish ourselves in the lexicon for years to come.
Oken setzt auf Publicity-Stunts und erwartet hohe Einnahmen, wenn Brooke Shields im Sommer 2011 in der Show mitspielt. Touristen bringen Geld, Touristen wollen Namen sehen.
Und: Man braucht Geduld. Charlotte Church (Broadway League):
I think ‘Memphis’ really is the classic example of that. They had to do a lot of special promotions to find their audience. Clearly they had problems in previews. They had to have the opportunity to overcome the tepid reviews. And now they’ve done that. They knew that if they could just get people to come and see it, they would tell their friends. And they were right.
Fazit: Dieser Tage kann es am Broadway ratsamer sein weiterzuspielen, als vorzeitig zu schließen.
Martin Bruny am Mittwoch, den
11. Mai 2011 um 23:44 · gespeichert in Musical, Broadway
Der Kartenverkauf schwächelt, der Tony zeigte die lange Nase, und die Produzenten ziehen die Konsequenzen: Am kommenden Sonntag endet das Broadway-Abenteuer von Frank Wildhorns “Wonderland” - nach 33 regulären Vorstellungen fällt der Vorhang zum letzten Mal.
Martin Bruny am Dienstag, den
26. April 2011 um 11:05 · gespeichert in Musical, Broadway, TV
Am Marketing liegt es ja nicht, dass die Entertainment-Flugshow von U2, genannt “Spider-Man - Turn off the Dark”, nach gefühlten drei Jahren an Previews noch immer keine Premiere auf die Bühne bringen konnte. Die Produktion ist ständig in den Schlagzeilen. Mal stürzt wer ab und bricht sich sonstwas, mal feuert man quer durch die Reihen ein paar Mitarbeiter aus dem Leading Team. Es geht zu wie am Rummelplatz, ständig ist was los.
Neuester Überraschungscoup: Eine Episode der beliebten amerikanischen TV-Serie “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” wird dem Spinnenmann-Spektakel gewidmet sein. TVGuide.com beschreibt den Inhalt der betreffenden Episode wie folgt:
The story will focus on a high-flying show called Icarus, which detectives begin investigating when a botched stunt leads to one of the actor’s death. Suspects include a ‘high-strung and larger than life’ director possibly modeled after Spider-Man’s one-time director Julie Taymor. The episode also features a bisexual rock-star composer named Arno.
Die 10. Staffel von “Law & Oder: Criminal Intent” geht ab 1. Mai 2011 auf Sendung, “Spider Man” nimmt seine Previews wieder ab 12. Mai 2011 auf.
Martin Bruny am Dienstag, den
26. April 2011 um 02:22 · gespeichert in Musical, Broadway
Von den Kritikern geschlachtet, vom Publikum geliebt? Vorerst schlägt sich Frank Wildhorns Musical “Wonderland” ausgezeichnet am Broadway. Die erste Woche nach der Premiere beendete man mit 96,2 Prozent Auslastung. Ein um 5 Prozentpunkte besseres Ergebnis als in der Woche vor der Premiere. [Playbill]
Wie schnell es schlechte Kritiken schaffen können, eine Show abzuschießen, musste Hollywoodlegende Kathleen Turner erfahren. Ihre Show, das Drama “High”, wurde am 24. April, nur 5 Tage nach der Premiere, abgesetzt. Nach insgesamt 8 Vorstellungen (und 28 Previews) war Schluss. Kritisiert wurden nicht die schauspielerischen Leistungen von Kathleen Turner und Evan Jonigkeit, sondern das Stück selbst. Die New York Times bezeichnete den Text als “sensation-stuffed” und bemängelte den “largely unexceptional dialogue”. [Hollywood Reporter]
Martin Bruny am Montag, den
25. April 2011 um 16:36 · gespeichert in Musical, Broadway, Tonträger
Die Cast-CD von “Wonderland”, dem neuesten Broadway-Abenteuer von Frank Wildhorn, wird zwar am 3. Mai 2011 veröffentlicht, und doch, ist es eine so richtig “echte” Cast-CD, die das widerspiegelt, was zumindest bei der Premiere zu hören war? Das kann man mit einem klaren jein beantworten.
Die Aufnahmen für die Cast-CD fanden Wochen vor Beginn der Previews statt, im Rahmen der Previews gab es jedoch zahlreiche Änderungen, was Musik und Text betrifft.
Auf Wikipedia haben sich Fans der Genesis von “Wonderland” angenommen, recht interessant –> hier.
Martin Bruny am Donnerstag, den
21. April 2011 um 11:06 · gespeichert in Musical, Broadway
USA Today [Elysa Gardner]
History has taught us that there are few subjects as polarizing as religion. But a few current Broadway productions suggest otherwise.
This season’s two most winning new musicals to date both put faith in the forefront with a mixture of satire and sweetness that can be embraced by the pious and non-believers alike.
The latest entry, Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy (***½out of four), may be less giddily profane, and thought-provoking, than The Book of Mormon, but it has its own distinct and surprising charms.
Variety [Steven Suskin]
Whoopi Goldberg looms large over the new musical comedy “Sister Act,” and that’s part of the problem. While she co-produced, Goldberg isn’t onstage, and the outsized sense of hilarity mixed with humanity she brought to the 1992 motion picture is sorely missed. Patina Miller makes an altogether impressive Broadway debut as diva-on-the-run Deloris Van Cartier, singing up a veritable storm, but the decision to plaster Goldberg’s name on numerous signs outside the theater raises comparisons that flatter neither Miller nor this garish production.
New tuner has various assets that place it comfortably in the feel-good entertainment category, and might have launched it to the top last season or even three months ago. But timing is everything. “Sister Act” comes in on the heels of a handful of musicals, including another disco-beat film adaptation (”Priscilla Queen of the Desert”), and comparisons are not favorable.
The New York Times [Steve Suskin]
Mr. Menken, who wrote the lustrous period-pop score for «Little Shop of Horrors†(with the lyricist Howard Ashman), is a skillful interpreter of the Philadelphia sound. And he and Mr. Slater supply dutiful versions of the musical-theater sacraments: comic numbers for the club owner, Curtis (Kingsley Leggs), and his henchmen; a romantic Lou Rawls-style groove for Chester Gregory as Deloris’s adorer and protector, the policeman assigned to guard her; and climactic soul-baring ballads for Deloris and the mother superior, and Sister Mary Robert too, in which each questions the tenets of her personal faith.
But with the exception of a couple of those roof raisers, the songs in «Sister Act†are more serviceable than memorable. Maybe that’s not so surprising given the predictable plot proceeding mechanically along two suspense-free tracks: Will Deloris escape the bloodthirsty Curtis and his minions? And will her tutelage of the singing nuns help save the church from being sold to a couple of bachelor antiques dealers? (That gag is one of Mr. Beane’s gay-friendly interpolations into the new production.)
The musical’s draggy conventionality lifts only when the sisters break out into their rousing gospel numbers, which grow more lavish as the evening proceeds, and the church is, for all intents and purposes, transmogrified into a fabulous reproduction of the old Limelight, the Manhattan nightclub housed in a former church in the 1980s. (It now contains a bouquet of high-end boutiques, possibly what Mr. Beane’s joke about those antiques dealers was alluding to.)
The Hollywood Reporter [David Rooney]
Lead producer Whoopi Goldberg is the name above the title of “Sister Act,” playing indefinitely at New York’s Broadway Theater.
This enjoyable family-friendly musical adaptation’s biggest draw is the brand she was instrumental in forging in the 1992 Touchstone movie and its sequel. But paradoxically, Goldberg is also a handicap here, demonstrating that hers are tough shoes to fill in a comedy.
But despite some missteps, “Sister Act” comes together to provide payoff in laughs, emotional uplift and spectacle. Who doesn’t want to see nuns in silver-sequined habits boogie down while a giant Virgin Mary statue subs for a disco ball, and a wall of stained-glass church windows pulses like a multicolored dance floor?
In the end, these brides of Christ are not so different from the spotlight-loving drag queens a few blocks away in “Priscilla Queen of the Desert.” And for audiences seeking entertainment without penance, that’s probably no bad thing.
New York Post [Elisabeth Vincentelli]
Big, glitzy numbers are the toast of Broadway musicals. The only thing better? Big, glitzy numbers . . . with nuns! «Sister Act†has plenty of both — and it’s one of the season’s happiest surprises.
Menken evokes the lush, funky sound of Philly soul without falling into mere pastiche: «When I Find My Baby†starts off like bedroom R&B before the lyrics take a hilarious turn. «Take Me to Heaven†and «Spread the Love Around†bloom into full-throttle disco epics, the latter building up to an ecstatic finale.
Associated Press [Mark Kennedy]
It’s time to stop mocking Mormons. And high time to have fun with Roman Catholics.
“Sister Act” — the crowd-pleasing musical that rhymes “chicks” with “crucifix” — opened Wednesday at the Broadway Theatre, having imported its dancing nuns from a well-received stint in London.
Calibrated to be frothy, giggly and yet often poignant, the Jerry Zaks-directed musical is based on the 1992 movie of the same name starring Whoopi Goldberg, who is now producing. This is a musical that hits all the right spots, achieving something close to Broadway grace.
amNewYork.com [Matt Windmann]
This has not been a great season for Broadway musicals based on movies. «Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown†was a total bust, and «Catch Me If You Can†was a disappointment, too.
So it’s a pleasure to find that «Sister Act,†a new adaptation of the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg film comedy, is energetic, hilarious and thoroughly enjoyable. In spite of a few issues, it has all the makings of a feel-good hit.
The one-liners by Douglas Carter Beane, who rewrote the book’s scenes for Broadway, are cute. Composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater provide a catchy score built on period pop and disco with a few touches of gospel.
Patina Miller delivers a breakout performance as Deloris, displaying genuine sex appeal, musical-comedy chops and a phenomenal voice. Tony winner Victoria Clark is similarly terrific as the strict but sincere Mother Superior.
Bloomberg News [Jeremy Gerard]
Whoopi Goldberg, who carried the «Sister Act†film franchise in the early 1990s, returns as a lead producer of the Broadway version of the comedy. And just as the films confirmed Goldberg’s box office appeal, so the show is likely to sprinkle stardust on a roof-raising singer named Patina Miller.
Miller plays that supreme wannabe Deloris Van Cartier, who witnesses her married boyfriend (Kingsley Leggs) killing a colleague of dubious loyalty.
Miller’s big, brassy voice and unwholesome swagger inject just the right amount of sizzle into the proceedings. In short order, she transforms a group of mousy nuns from meek choir singers to foot-stomping, palm-waving, ear-splitting cheerleaders for Jesus.
Praise the Lord, or Jerry Zaks, the enterprising director who has turned a chancy enterprise, which debuted in London, into a ripping goodtime hit.
New York Magazine [Scott Brown]
Miller’s an enormous presence, and what she lacks in character detail (there’s precious little to build on in Douglas Carter Beane’s very funny, very thin book), she generally makes up in brass and goodwill. Be warned: This is a show that’s not afraid to do a rappin’ granny number (the same rappin’ granny number, in fact, from The Wedding Singer). If that sort of thing doesn’t put a hitch in your rosary, you’ll likely get religion at Sister Act.
