THE SPICE GIRLS are to host a TV talent show in which the group’s five stars choose members of a new girl band.

The show is said to be modelled on Andrew Lloyd Webber-hosted series such as I’d Do Anything, so we’ll get loads of Spicettes competing for the chance to star in the much-rumoured Spice Girls musical set for the West End.

“It’s a fantastic new way to broaden out the Spice franchise and cash in on their personalities, their story and their song,” an industry source told The Sun.

“The girls would have to work intensely on a TV show for a short period of time. But they then launch a musical which could run for months or even years.”

Ahhh! No! Andrew Lloyd Webber is back in the hospital after his release a little over a week ago. The doctors said that he has a chronic infection from his prostate surgery and would needed to be treated immedietly…… Get well soon Andrew! We love you.

Andrew Lloyd Webber has been readmitted to hospital after suffering a setback in his battle against prostate cancer.

The 61-year-old, Composer, revealed he had been diagnosed with the early stages of the illness last month, for which he underwent surgery.

A statement on his website read: “He has been advised that while the operation was entirely successful, he has developed a post-operative ‘chronic infection’ which needs immediate treatment.”

The theatrical impresario is currently working on Love Never Dies, a sequel to his acclaimed production – The Phantom of the Opera, due to begin in early January 2010.

We wish him a speedy recovery.

Considerado um dos melhores compositores de Teatro Musical da história, Andrew Lloyd Webber está com câncer na próstata. A notícia foi oficializada pelo seu porta voz mês passado: “Andrew está sob tratamento e constante observação. Esperamos que ele já esteja recuperado até o final do ano para continuar com seus projetos” disse.

Um dos fatores que motiva a sua recuperação é o novo musical: Phantom – Love Never Dies, que é a continuação do sucesso “Fantasma da Ópera” com estréia prevista pra 2010.

Eu particularmente estou MUITO ansioso pra saber mais sobre o novo musical. O Fantasma da Ópera além de ser um clássico, é um dos musicais preferidos. Muito corajoso da parte dele propor uma sequência pois o risco de não dar certo é muito maior do que o sucesso.

Segue abaixo a relação de musicais compostos pelo músico:

The Likes of Us (1965)
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1968)
Jesus Christ Superstar (1970)
Jeeves (1975)
Evita (1976)
Tell Me on a Sunday (1979)
Cats (1981)
Song and Dance (1982)
Starlight Express (1984)
The Phantom of the Opera (1986)
Aspects of Love (1989)
Sunset Boulevard (1993)
Whistle Down the Wind (1996)
The Beautiful Game (2000)
Bombay Dreams (2002)
The Woman in White (2004)
The Boys in the Photograph (2009)
Phantom: Love Never Dies (2009)

The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l’Opéra by Gaston Leroux. The music was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Charles Hart and additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. The musical focuses on a beautiful soprano, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious, disfigured musical genius known as “The Phantom of the Opera”.

Phantom is the most popular, most seen musical ever and is now the longest-running musical in history – surpassing Cats as the longest running Broadway show. According to its official website, it is the most successful entertainment project in history, grossing more than US $5 billion worldwide by 2007.

In the winter of 1984, Cameron Makintosh, the co-producer of Cats and Song and Dance received a phone call. Andrew Lloyd Webber was looking to create a new musical. He was aiming for a romantic piece, but having trouble reining in a worthwhile idea, and, hitting upon the idea of using Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera as a base, pitched the idea. Cameron and Lloyd Webber screened both the 1925 Lon Chaney and the 1943 Claude Raines versions but neither were able to gain any material that might be useful in making the leap from book to stage. Lloyd Webber tracked down a copy of the long out-of-print Gothic Horror novel and at last had found for what he was looking.

Lloyd Webber’s score is sometimes operatic in style but he maintains the form and structure of a musical throughout. The fully-fledged operatic writing is reserved principally for the subsidiary characters such as the theatre managers, Andre and Firmin; their Prima Donna, Carlotta; and principal tenor, Piangi. Fittingly, it is also used to provide the content of the fictional “operas” that are taking place within the show itself. i.e.; Hannibal, Il Muto, and the Phantom’s masterwork, Don Juan Triumphant. Here, Lloyd Webber affectionately pastiches various styles from the grand operas of Meyerbeer through to Mozart and even Gilbert and Sullivan (Coveney, 1999). These pieces are often presented as musical fragments, interrupted by dialogue or action sequences in order to clearly define the musical’s “show within a show” format. The musical extracts we hear from the Phantom’s opera, “Don Juan Triumphant”, during the latter stages of the show, are much more dissonant and modern – suggesting, perhaps, that the phantom is ahead of his time artistically (Snelson, 2004). This is also displayed when The Phantom makes his entrance on the show’s title song. Andrew had said himself that the title song was “Rock n’ roll merely masquerading as opera”. For the characters of Christine, the Phantom, and Raoul, the direct and “natural” style of modern song is used rather than the more decorative aspects of aria; their material provides the musical centre of the piece

• Eva – Rachael Wooding
• Che – Seamus Cullen
• Peron – Mark Heeneham
• Mistress – Carly Bawden
• Magaldi - James Waud

This show was stunning! Everything was so so slick, beautifully done. Rachael Wooding proved to be a first class Eva, her characterisation from young to her deathbed was utterly convincing, and lets face it she has a voice to die for, ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentia’ was awesome. Seamus has such a powerful voice, something you would not have expected given his ‘Any Dream Will Do’ days.

I really do love the show, there is something about the way Andrew Lloyd Webber writes a musical that I find really appealing, I think it’s the way that he re-uses a lot of his music in different sections of the plot, it keeps you captivated because you’ve heard that section before.

The Set was simplistic but it really worked, my one gripe was the stage hands pushing some of it on and off … personally I found it a bit irritating but alas, my companion didn’t even notice!

Definitely the best put together tour that I have seen this year, with some stunning performances and a solid plot … what is there not to love?

Wow, I knew it was coming up but I find myself completely surprised as I look at my taskbar calendar to see that the date is the 10th of November. The significance of this is that I have been in Korea for a month.

As I tend to think of these things in chunks of time, that’s 8% of my commitment at the hagwon, that is sizeable. Looking back on it, I’m trying to work some sort of memory narrative into this post, something to sum up this first month without going back over ground already covered in previous posts.

I suppose that really it feels a lot like I’m back at Uni, I’ve got a similar feeling of freedom coupled with obligation, not to mention that I am again living with my Uni house-mate of two years, Jon. The environment I have found myself in is also one which encourages personal learning, but like Uni I find myself less than enthusiastic to engage it. I have not taken every opportunity to learn the local language but I feel that I should do. I have taken in some by a sort of osmosis I think, I can think of literally several Korean words right off the top of my head.

When I arrived the words in a conversation that I might over-hear flowed together like a sort of… fast soup. Now I can hear individual words, some of which I recognise, sometimes I may even get the general gist of the conversation without knowing many words at all. This never fails to please me. Reading hangul, a must for any foreign teacher worth their salt, is becoming less effort and I am beginning to read some syllables rather than say out the smaller components first.

The largest part of my learning though, is the teaching. Having come to Korea with retrospectively no teaching experience, thoroughly bricking it for my first week, I now feel not entirely uneasy about each day as it comes. A fair chunk of the lessons are sort of formulaic; read a book, hand out worksheets, try to extract English from unwilling kids, quieten noise – that sort of thing. Some portions are a bit unnerving still, for example I still have to absolutely plan for my story time tomorrow. These lessons are my own making so after choosing a book to read, I’ve got to form some sort of learning related activity. For my first book, Dinosaur Train, I was given a series of interlinked cushion rings (as seen in a previous post) and was told to get the kids to make themselves into a train. I also thought of getting the kids of pretend to be dinosaurs, which hilariously scared one of the youngest (like, 3 years old, or 4 or something) kids to tears. I’m serious about it being funny, that kid is a jerk.

Talking about crying children, actually talking about children at all, I might have mentioned before that I felt uneasy around them. They are unpredictable. While that’s true for children that you don’t know, it’s not like that at all with kids you see every weekday. You get to know their personalities and when they are likely to be pestering shits or amusingly daft. Sometimes, they can even be surprisingly clever – even at the age that I am teaching. Couple this with my theory that most of the time children want: 1. Attention and 2. Approval, and you should be set to deal with most of what they can throw at you. Except sick, I will not deal with sick.

Looking forward to the coming months and rest of the year (assuming no-one cottons on to how I am constantly blagging being a teacher) I hope to get a little more active both physically – I don’t walk far to work… or to anything thinking of it, and mentally – I want to quit faffing and take a course in Korean, perhaps even something else while I’m at it. MOTIVATION!

Wish me luck!

—

Other stuff I have done in my first month:

• Bought a pet beetle larvae

named Andrew Lloyd Webber, with a playstation controller as size comparison

• got drunk in Hongdae several times
• retained an impressive cough
• missed good beer, good bread and good friends

I’ve seen many productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat over the years; the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Footlight Theatre’s production falls somewhere comfortably in the middle.

With music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, the family-friendly tuner has become extremely popular with community and school theatre groups.  Vancouver is apparently not immune to these charms, as this is the first of three Josephs gracing local stages over the coming year.

Based on the Old Testament story, the musical follows dreamer Joseph and his brothers using various styles of music including French ballads, country, calypso and disco.

Danny Balkwill (Thoroughly Modern Millie, TUTS) as Joseph has a pop voice well-suited to the title role.  He mostly used his instrument to good effect, although in parts his riffing seemed excessive.

Bree Greig as the Narrator was off to an auspicious beginning in her Vancouver musical-theatre debut.  Her voice has a clear bell-like quality and she carried herself well amongst the large ensemble.

David Kemper’s Potiphar was a scene-stealer in his brief appearance and Brad Strelau’s Pharaoh was a credit to cheesy Elvis impersonators everywhere.

The children’s chorus sang earnestly under the capable direction of Elaine Lindbjerg and was absolutely precious.  Several young stars-in-the making were readily apparent during the children’s solo performances.

Live music can make or break a production and the band of Michael Creber, Buff Allen, Miles Black, Dave Ivaz, Kate Stewart and Rene Worst was nearly flawless.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is almost completely sung-through, and it can be difficult for some less-seasoned actors to properly define and develop their characters with little to no spoken dialogue.  This ensemble repeatedly fell into that trap and would have benefited from some stronger direction as to acting while singing.

This is Footlight’s first time in the larger 600-seat Michael J. Fox Theatre, which is double the audience space of their past venues.  Director Lalainia Lindbjerg-Strelau’s Joseph has set them off to a respectable start for what will hopefully be more successful shows down the road.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, presented by Footlight Theatre Company, plays until November 14, 2009, at the Michael J. Fox Theatre, 7373 MacPherson Ave, Burnaby.  Tickets are available online or by phone at 604-684-2787.

BroadwayWorld recently published an interview with Michael Kunze about his musical adaptation of Rebecca, which is aiming for an English language transfer to the a major commercial centre like the West End or Broadway. Kunze takes great pains to try and distinguish his work from traditional Broadway fare, so let’s take what he says, put it under a microscope and see if it holds up. The boxed sections below are all quotations from the interview.

The dramamusical is a tool to make clear that this is not a typical Broadway-type musical, which is more a musical-comedy. In what I do, we do drama with music. The way I write the shows is that I basically write the drama, of course with the music in mind, but the music is something that comes next, like a movie. The music is a very important element, but the most important element of the drama is the story, so the music really serves the story, and the music doesn’t really have a right in its own beside the story, like a number that is just made for the music and the dance.

Huh? It seems that Mr Kunze hasn’t seen any musical since 1926. He doesn’t seem to be aware of – for example – Show Boat, South Pacific, Sweeney Todd, Marie Christine, The Light in the Piazza. He doesn’t seem to be aware that musical theatre in the American tradition extends beyond the tradition of musical comedy that was dominant until the 1940s, but which made way for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical play, in which music is most certainly in the service of the drama and for the various forms of the concept musical, in which the music is often related most clearly to the ideas that are being communicated in the show from the very moment of its inception. Even if we look at the musical comedies that have appeared after the Rodgers and Hammerstein revolution, many are far more integrated than their counterparts in the 1920s and 1930s. So I’m left to wonder whether this is a case of ignorance or self-importance.

It really isn’t something that I’ve invented. Jesus Christ Superstar [and] the other Andrew Lloyd Webber stuff, if you exclude Cats, follows the same kind of basic idea. Well, Andrew would never say that the music only serves the story, but that’s what it really is. He uses the music to tell the story, and that’s what all dramamusicals do.

All right, so he seems to know something about British musical theatre and deems it of a high enough standard to rank alongside his “dramamusicals”. But is it true of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals that the music serves the story? Without engaging in an elaborate discussion on the matter, I’d be willing to bet that there is at least one example in each of the Lloyd Webber musicals where the music does not serve the drama fully. Off the top of my head – and to keep in line with the example Kunze himself cites – there’s “King Herod’s Song” in Jesus Christ Superstar, although the newer, rock-flavoured arrangement does help its cause somewhat. So it seems that perhaps the music does not need a particularly profound dramatic agency for it to serve the drama in these “dramamusicals”, which of course contradicts Kunze’s original thesis, that ‘the music doesn’t really have a right in its own beside the story’. What other purpose does a song like “You Can Get Away With Anything” in The Woman in White, for example, have if it doesn’t really serve the character and the humour comes not from the lyrics but from a pair of rats that clamber in and out of the actor’s costume? Or is Kunze saying that the music in a case like this still serves a dramatic purpose, even though the song as a whole is a failure because of the lyrics?

I think all the shows that concentrate on a dramatic story are dramamusicals. Billy Elliot is a dramamusical. Wicked is a dramamusical. I just want to distinguish where theatre is more theatrical than in a classical Broadway musical which is based on the vaudeville tradition, on dance, on spectacular things happening, and this is not what I look for…. I think (Wicked is) a milestone in the development of the musical, because in the history of the musical, this show will be regarded as the first one that really combines the European tradition with the Broadway tradition.

Now I’m just beginning to chuckle. Wicked being taken as a prime example where the music exists in service of the drama? The book of Wicked was forced to fit in with Stephen Schwartz’s ideas regarding the way the story should be told. The book in its best moments is competent, but completely falls to pieces in the second act, completely ignoring the very concept that Maguire had in the first place: to fill in the gaps of the story behind The Wonderful Wizard of Oz without contradicting the basic mythology in that particular book in the series and its iconic movie musical adaptation and thereby offer a different perspective on the story. Winnie Holzman, spurred on by Schwartz, creates a story that prides itself in tying itself all up very neatly, but it does so with little sense of logic and the songs that punctuate the book become less and less credible as dramatic building blocks as we speed towards the final curtain. This doesn’t even begin to engage with ideas around the way the music is orchestrated, which separates it out even further from the given circumstances of the show. It doesn’t even work to access the show from the perspective of post-modern deconstruction, which is surely the very point of creating a musical of this nature, because the choices are so inconsistent – and in contradiction to Kunze’s view on the show, constructed around “spectacular things happening” rather than on any firm set of dramaturgical principles. Perhaps Wicked is a milestone, but it’s not one that develops musical theatre as an art form. In what is commercial, yes; in what is popular, sure. In what artistically successful and dramatically compelling; most certainly not. And I’m still not clear on what specifically European musical theatre traditions are incorporated into this hybrid form, but based on what Kunze has said about the “dramamusical”, I’m convinced they do more harm than good.

I believe in drama as the key entertainment in theatre, and I think I’m not the only one who does. I didn’t even invent the name dramamusical, that was invented by a journalist. I just think it’s more European because I think the tradition of opera with the highly dramatic stories lent more to that kind of art-form, and I think that also our audiences in Europe, and I really include here in England, are more interested in going to theatre and have a real theatrical experience, a real emotional experience at last, not just an entertaining evening, but something they can discuss after the show.

Well, at least Kunze displays some humility by admitting that he did not come up with the idea of a dramatically integrated musical. I wonder who the journalist who coined the term is; I’d love to have a look at what he has to say about this potent new musical theatre form he has identified….

The comparison with opera that follows is not one that works for Kunze’s argument either. Opera by its nature is led by the music; it is music theatre rather than musical theatre and, as long as it is technically well-performed, opera often manages to be excused in its shortcomings as drama. This is, of course, a generalisation as there are operas, particularly those that are more contemporary that do integrate dramatic aspects more successfully into the theatrical whole and certainly even many traditional operas have a strong narrative and thematic thrust – but they are still led first and foremost by the music, hence the prominence of the composer and the conductor in any discussion of any opera.

Then we get to what effect Kunze believes a musical should have on its audience. In his eyes, musicals like Wicked, The Phantom of the Opera and his own shows offer a rare, real emotional experience that delivers a sense of enlightenment hitherto unseen in the musical theatre canon and one to which the American musical theatre tradition holds no claim. Clearly, he’s never heard of Carousel, Cabaret or Pacific Overtures. Obviously, there is no such experience to be had in Camelot, Follies, Fiddler on the Roof.

I’ve never really engaged with Kunze’s musicals, but his work must be truly phenomenal if it is what he implies they are: impeccable examples of musicals in which all other elements are in service to the drama. I must get my hands on Elisabeth, Tanz der Vampire or this impending masterpiece of the musical stage, Rebecca, and see for myself – but they had better live up to the high expectations that Kunze has created for them….

Tremate gente perché i gatti più famosi del mondo sono arrivati anche nella città eterna.

Cats, nato dal genio Andrew Lloyd Webber (ispirato alle poesie di Thomas Stearns Eliot con aggiunte di Trevor Nunn e Richard Stiloge), andato in scena la prima volta al New London Theater nel West End di Londra l’11 maggio 1981 è arrivato anche da noi attraverso la trasposizione teatrale della Compagnia della Rancia, la principale società di produzione di musical in Italia, in questi giorni in scena al Teatro Sistina di Roma.

Dopo quasi 30 anni questi gatti fanno ancora impazzire le platee di tutto il mondo con le loro storie, i loro balli e i loro splendidi costumi (quante ore ci vorranno per far assomigliare il volto umano a quello di un gatto? pensare che c’è gente che paga oro per averlo sotto l’effetto di un bisturi loro ci mettono qualche ore e solo qualche trucco).

Trama: Come ogni anno i gatti della tribù Jellicle si sono dati appuntamento al chiaro di luna per festeggiare insieme al loro leader Deuteronomio, il quale dovrà scegliere chi tra loro passerà al “Dolce aldilà” per rinascere a nuova vita. I Jellicle si presentano e raccontano la loro storia. Tra di loro c’è anche Grisabella, un tempo gatta affascinate ora reietta del gruppo.

Momento speciale e il più celebrato di tutto lo spettacolo è la canzone Memory interpretata dalla stessa Grisabella (canzone poi ripresa da oltre 100 artisti in tutto il mondo compresa Barbra Streisand).

La messa in scena al Teatro Sistina è splendidamente arrangiata e accurata nei dettagli musicali, con ottimi interpreti e meravigliosi costumi. Purtroppo la parte coreografica manca a tratti di stile e di sintonia tra i vari attori.

Malgrado questa pecca Cats rappresenta una un’ottima interpretazione e opportunità di conoscere e apprezzare il musical che ha fatto storia e continua a mietere vittime feline in ogni parte del globo.

Uomini tremate, i gatti son tornati…MIAO!

The renowned composer – Lloyd Webber is being treated for Prostate Cancer as per the reports released in recent times. Prostate Cancer is becoming more and more common in Europe, as every year around 30,000 men in UK are getting affected by it and it kills over 10,000 men each year. Thus it is becoming one of the most common diseases especially in men in UK. As per the statement released by one of his spokesmen “Andrew Lloyd Webber has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The condition is in its very early stages.” He also said “Andrew is now undergoing treatment and expects to be fully back at work before the end of the year.”

Lloyd Webber

This popular composer is already 61 but, he is still known for his spectacular West End musical which includes Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Starlight Express, Jesus Christ Superstar and the extremely phenomenal The Phantom of the Opera. He is the owner of around 7 theatres in West End which also includes London Palladium. This living legend also launched the most awaited sequel of Love Never Dies at the famous Her Majesty theatre in London. The phantom which was opened 23 years ago was also a huge success and was seen by more than 100 million viewers worldwide. The rehearsals for the popular Love Never Dies are also pending as it had to be released in the month of January next year. Lloyd was also about to launch a show on television which was to find Toto and Dorothy for its new theatrical – The Wizard of Oz.

Prostate cancer mainly affects the men who are generally over the age of 50 years and people affected by it have symptoms such as pain in the hips and lower back. Thus it is also painful but we hope o see Lloyd, back at work soon.

The musical CATS is coming to Manila, complete with its Broadway production and cast ensemble.

Filipino stage actress Lea Salonga will be in the said musical, to be staged at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

We may not be fully aware of it, but CATS, the longest-running Broadway musical, has been in our consciousness for a very long time. How many singers have sung “Memory” in Bagong Kampeon/Tanghalan ng Kampeon? Yes, that song is from this Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.

Citibank card holders can pre-order tickets.
Andrew Lloyd Webber has cancer.

Susan Boyle sings Memory:

Jason Castro sings Memory:

Neil Simon Revivals Closed & Canceled

Playwright Neil Simon

Call it a sign of the times – the tough economic times, that is. After opening on Broadway barely a week ago, the new revival of Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs is already history. According to the New York Times, the show, which opened on October 25th, played its final performance last night.

Brighton Beach Memoirs was supposed to run in rep at the Nederlander Theatre with a revival of Simon’s Broadway Bound, which was scheduled to open later this year. Now the former is dark and the latter has been canceled.

Both plays were huge hits on The Great White Way back in the 1980s, yielding Tony awards for Matthew Broderick in Brighton Beach Memoirs, and for Linda Lavin (of TV’s Alice fame) in Broadway Bound.

Scarlett Johansson Planning Broadway Debut
Golden Globe winning actress Scarlett Johansson is set to make her Broadway debut in Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge. Johansson will co-star with Tony award winner Liev Schreiber who will play Eddie Carbone, a New York longshoreman obsessed with his 17 year old niece Catherine, played by Johansson. When Catherine falls in love with a newly arrived immigrant, Eddie’s jealousy erupts in a rage that consumes him, his family, and his world.

The production will play a 14-week limited engagement at Broadway’s Cort Theatre, with previews scheduled for December 28th and opening night set for January 24th.

Andrew Lloyd Webber Diagnosed With Cancer
Just a couple of weeks after announcing plans for a sequel to Phantom of the Opera, 61 year old legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has made a more grim announcement. He has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The good news, according to Webber’s publicist, is that the cancer was discovered in its early stages and a full recovery is expected. “Andrew is now undergoing treatment and expects to be fully back at work before the end of the year,” the statement said.

You may recall that we told you about the upcoming opening of Webber’s Phantom sequel, Love Never Dies, which is set to debut in London in March, with a Broadway opening planned for next November. At this time, Webber does not expect that this unfortunate news will affect that schedule.

And that’s today’s ShowBus Buzz. Check back here often because we’ll be back with more news from Broadway very soon.

The ShowBus Team
http://ShowBusTours.com
info@showbustours.com
(800) 882-6400

Afgelopen zaterdagavond zijn Daphne en ik naar de musical Joseph geweest. Joseph is de musical van Andrew LLoyd Webber en Tim Rice die het bijbelverhaal over Jozef uit Genesis 37-47 herverteld.

Het was een hele grappige show, en de cast heeft goed zijn best gedaan. Die ene jongen (Freek Bartels) van die talentenjacht, Op zoek naar Joseph, speelde de hoofdrol en deed dat vol passie en enthousiasme.

Twee dingen zijn me echt opgevallen: het publiek. De mensen applaudisseerden bij het zien van Joseph en na vrijwel elk lied. De regie had daar ook rekening mee gehouden met dialogen e.d. Kun je voorstellen hoe ongemakkelijk het was toen er moment ontstond waarop de cast en muziek afwachtte, maar het publiek niet klapte (het was na de dans van de dood, blijkbaar is dans niet zo populair?). Maar mensen waren ontzettend enthousiast en daar wordt gretig op ingespeeld. Aan het einde neemt niet de cast zoals gebruikelijk applaus in ontvangst, maar gaat iedereen (echt iedereen), nog een keer opnieuw zingen/dansen/acteren wat ze al eerder hebben gedaan. Echt waar…. terwijl het publiek een staande ovatie geeft. Dat betekent dat je minstens een kwartier staat te klappen… ik voelde me zo dom en ongemakkelijk. Maar blijkbaar had niet iedereen dat gevoel, want de vrouw naast Daphne zat in alle vrolijkheid mee te zingen en te klappen (en nee, ze kon niet echt zingen). Maar toch hè? Voor een gemiddeld kaartje voor deze voorstelling betaal je waarschijnlijk net zoveel als voor een opera in het muziektheater in Amsterdam, maar toch draait deze voorstelling al meer dan een jaar negen keer per week, terwijl zo’n opera maar een keer of vijf wordt uitgevoerd.

De tekst: de musical is geschreven door Tim Rice en vertaald door Martine Bijl. Maar sommige dingen konden echt niet. Nu ben ik geen expert, dus ik weet niet of dat de originele engelse tekst was of de vertaling. Misschien een idee om uit te zoeken. Een voorbeeld: Joseph zingt in één van zijn liederen (sluit alle deuren maar) “de kinderen van Israël zijn nooit alleen” en “want mij is een land beloofd en daar ga ik heen”. Ik vind dit iets dat in een synagoge, of in een kerk gezegd mag worden. Maar zo in een musical…? En niemand valt het op, volgens mij. Niemand legt de link tussen deze tekst en de problemen in Israël en Palestina. Los van de vraag wie er nu gelijk heeft.

Al met al was het de moeite waard om te gaan. Een leuke, vermakelijke voorstelling.

This is a list of 5 of my favourite musicals of the 1990s. If you don’t know them – head straight to Amazon and pick up a cast recording! These are definitely shows that should be on your radar.

1. Marie Christine

Simply put, Michael John LaChiusa is the best of the new generation of serious musical theatre composers and Marie Christine represents one of his lushest and most seductive scores. Loosely based on the Greek play, Medea, the show transposes the action to 1890s New Orleans where Marie finds herself spurned by her love, Dante, and exacts a tragic revenge. Add a touch of voodoo and a dash of history by way of the real-life figure Marie Laveau and you have the makings of a compelling tale of mythic proportions. LaChiusa’s score is filled with ravishing melodies and haunting motifs and the original cast recording preserves a tour de force performance from Audra McDonald in the titular role.

2. Passion

Passion is a haunting show, a musical of immense emotional depth and intellect. It’s not perhaps the most easily accessible of musical theatre scores: the score is not compartmentalized into extractable, toe-tapping songs, but uses a series of motifs to develop narrative and character in an immensely sophisticated manner. Emotionally we’re looking at some of the things that drive us all: the nature and meaning of love, and the thin line between passion and obsession. It’s disquieting how easily one can see something of oneself in Fosca, as broken in her soul as she is in her body, or in Giorgio, a man whose life is completely transformed by his experiences with this woman. Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine challenge conventional ideas about the relationship between love, passion and obsession from three perspectives: what people expect them to be, what they truly are and what they have the potential to become. It’s dark and brooding and brilliant.

3. Assassins

In contrast, Sondheim’s Assassins has a score that is almost immediately accessible, owing to its brilliant use of pastiche and the inclusion of a range of characters that lurk within the boundaries of our public consciousness. Even if one hasn’t heard of the assassins whose perspectives placed at the centre of this muiscal, one has surely heard of the American presidents who were their targets. From the variations on “Hail to the Chief” to the series of ballads that tell the stories of those who would see the chief fall, every number in the show is memorable. The original Off-Broadway cast recording also preserves the chilling climactic scene in full and, if you’re lucky enough to see the show live, there are other treats that await in the book: the monologues of Samuel Byck, would-be Richard Nixon assassin, and the hysterically funny scenes between Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme and Sara Jane Moore, who both attempt to assassinate Gerald Ford. It’s a satirical gem that works best without the latter day addition of “Something Just Broke”, a song that forces us back into our traditional perceptions of the assassins and their deeds and which dilutes the experience we should undergo as we experience this show.

4. Sunset Boulevard

Some people ask why Andrew Lloyd Webber turned what is considered by many to be an untouchable film into a musical. Well, I prefer my divas singing, so it suits me just fine. Sunset Boulevard is not particularly subtle, but its broadness suits its mileau and characters. There are some haunting pieces of music here: the instrumental use of “The Greatest Star of All”, for instance, or the ghostly introduction to the titular tune, or the two instantly memorable songs given to Norma Desmond, “With One Look” and “As If We Never Said Goodbye”, and even smaller numbers like “The Perfect Year” are melodic little gems that stay with you long after the last time you listened to the score.

5. Titanic

In 1997, two different versions of the Titanic story were told in two different styles in two different mediums. The film offered Leonardio DiCaprio and Kate Winslet frolicking in a fictional love story set against the backdrop of the ill-fated ship of dreams, while the musical used the stories of the real life Titanic passengers as a basis for telling its Robert Altman-like version of the tale. These days, I find myself returning to my cast album of the stage score rather than the film. It’s a moving piece of musical theatre, from the opening sequence to the haunting contra-punctual duet “The Proposal/The Night Was Alive”, from the exquisitely structured sequence at the end of the first act (where the ship hits the iceberg) to the chilling lifeboat sequence that climaxes with the stirring anthem, “We’ll Meet Tomorrow”. And any of these is many times better than “My Heart Will Go On”….

PROSTABLOG NZ: Celebrity prostate cancer is big at the moment: in the same week we heard Andrew Lloyd Webber (right) has it, there’s now an announcement Dennis Hopper (at left, star of iconic Baby Boomer movie Easy Rider) is afflicted. READ MORE> and HERE>

Primo concorrente per l’edizione 2010 dell’ Eurofestival, che si svolgerà ad Oslo in Norvegia dal 25 al 29 maggio prossimi: si tratta di Miroslav Kostadinov, in arte Miro, che sarà in gara in rappresentanza del suo paese di origine, la Bulgaria.

Selezione interna per la tv bulgara, che ha scelto il cantautore. Ora sarà l’artista a proporre cinque canzoni in una apposita serata ed il pubblico di casa sceglierà quella da mandare in Norvegia. Dopo il fiasco dell’anno scorso, i bulgari sono in cerca di riscatto. Hanno tutto il tempo per scegliere il pezzo giusto…

ALTRE CINQUE CONFERME, ESCE L’UNGHERIA – Esce l’ Ungheria. Dopo la sofferta stagione passata, con tre brani selezionati prima di arrivare a quello buono, la tv ungherese ha detto che quest’anno non ci sara. per colpa della crisi economica. In compenso, con l’adesione di Serbia, Croazia, Slovenia e Bosnia Erzegovina e proprio oggi dell’Irlanda, sono 31 i paesi che hanno già detto sui. C’è tempo sino a fine anno.

ELTON JOHN PER GLI INGLESI? – Mentre arriva la triste notizia che al grandissimo Andrew Lloyd Webber, l’anno scorso autore del brano giunto quinto in quota Regno Unito, è stato diagnosticato un tumore alla prostata, la BBC ha dichiarato di essere in trattativa con Elton John, cui si vorrebbe affidare la composizione del brano 2010. 

Voci danno anche in moto la Francia: in attesa che confermi la sua presenza, pare abbia contattato come autore l’irlandese Johnny Logan, due volte vincitore al concorso, per scrivere il brano (la musica, perchè il pezzo sarà in francese). Si muove anche Cipro: il tam tam dà in corsa Andy Paul, visto presso la sede della tv cipriota.

TELEVOTO “ALL NIGHT LONG” – Dopo l’introduzione delle giurie anche nelle due semifinali, il cui peso sarà del 50%, la Ebu ha confermato un’altra novità: non si voterà più solo alla fine, ma anche durante le esibizioni, a partire dall’inizio del primo concorrente.

Ma a differenza di Sanremo, il televoto non sarà aperto anche nella sera in cui non c’è la diretta o nella semifinale nella quale i cantanti di un determinato paese non cantano: ogni semifinale e la finale avranno un televoto a parte, che durerà soltanto sino ad un quarto d’ora dopo l’esibizione dell’ultimo cantante.

ADESIONI CONFERMATE - Albania, Azerbaigian, Armenia,  Bielorussia, Belgio, Bosnia Erzegovina, Bulgaria, Cipro, Croazia, Danimarca, Finlandia,  Germania, Gran Bretagna,  Georgia, Grecia, Irlanda, Islanda, Israele,  Malta, Norvegia, Olanda, Portogallo, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovacchia, Svezia, Svizzera, Turchia,  Ucraina.

Yes my friends that’s what we all said when we said goodbye to Phantom of the Opera. At least I did when I left Majestic theatre that fine night over a weekend. I was so sure I wasn’t coming back to NYC (sniff sniff) but hey who knew I would be back! And now, Phantom will return as well! Yes you heard it right, he’s a coming back.  So if you ever thought hey I wonder what happened to that Phantom dude? Or that gal Christine? Or Raoul?  Well guess what your dream will finally come true.

Earlier this month, Andrew Lloyd Webber did a press launch at Her Majesty’s Theatre for “Love Never Dies” the highly anticipated sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, the longest running Broadway show in history.  The new musical story will take place ten years after the end of The Phantom of the Opera at Coney Island in Brooklyn! Yes that’s what happened to him, he immigrated to USA! Woo hoo.  By the way do you know that about hundred years ago Coney Island was like the 8th wonder of the world? Yeah seriously! Kind of hard to believe after my last visit over the summer but hey that’s what it was according to Andrew Webber.

Okay are you guys ready?  Here’s the video of the press launch.  It starts out with an introductory film that summarizes the success of the Phantom and later Webber talks about the sequel and introduces “The Coney Island Waltz” – Quite lovely!  Ooh and the best part comes around 11:41 when Ramin Karimloo performs “Till I Hear You Sing” – Karimloo will play the Phantom and Sierra Boggess (originated the role of Ariel in The Little Mermaid on Broadway 2007-May 2009) will be the new Christine Daae.  Ramin Karimloo is also currently performing the Phantom in the London production.

“Love Never Dies” will premiere in London at the Adelphi Theatre on Tuesday March 9, 2010 (previews from February 20) and New York on Thursday November 11, 2010! Overall thoughts?  Are you excited?  Will you fly to London to check it out or wait till it comes to NYC?

And if by any chance you can’t or haven’t watched any theatrical performances of The Phantom Of The Opera yet, I highly recommend you run, walk, or drive  to your nearest library or get it online and specifically check out the original cast of Webber’s production that started in 1986 with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman.  And after that you may check out the 2004 film adaptation staring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum.

My tea for the moment: TAZO Lotus Decaffeinated Green Tea with subtle essence of lotus blossoms. Sounds good doesn’t it? hehe  Actually it is especially since I enjoy flower flavors.

Phantom Links
Love Never Dies – Official Website
Love Never Dies – Blog
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Never_Dies_(musical)

The Phantom Of The Opera – Official Website
http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com

-  Wist je dat… Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, Pearl Jam en zelfs Queen en R.E.M. als foltertuigen in Guantanamo worden gebruikt? Dit doen ze door op een oorverdovend volume de gevangen 72 uur lang naar hetzelfde liedje te laten luisteren. U kunt u voorstellen dat de muzikanten not amused zijn en erg op de sluiting van de gevangenis staan.

- Wist je dat… er op de winterspelen 2010 in Vancouver indiemuziek van onder andere Joan as Police Woman, Iron and Wine en Wilco gespeeld gaat worden.

- Wist je dat… de releasedatum voor de debuutplaat van Them Crooked Vultures bekend is? 17 november, baby!

Tracklisting:

‘No One Loves Me & Neither Do I’
‘Mind Eraser, No Chaser’
‘New Fang’
‘Dead End Friends’
‘Elephants’
‘Scumbag Blues’
‘Bandoliers’
‘Reptiles’
‘Interlude With Ludes’
‘Warsaw or the First Breath You Take After You Give Up’
‘Caligulove’
‘Gunman’
‘Spinning in Daffodils’

Je wilt nog beter nieuws? Europese tourdata worden binnenkort bekend gemaakt!

- Wist je dat… de bekende musicalcomponist sir Andrew Lloyd Webber prostaatkanker heeft? Ik gun de man een spoedig herstel.

- Wist je dat… Public Enemy begin deze maand aan zijn fans een kleine bijdrage vroeg om 50 000 dollar bijeen te krijgen voor hun nieuwe album? Nu zijn ze in die opzet geslaagd.

- Nu Oasis gesplit is, gaat Noel Gallagher alleen verder.