Do you feel the pressure of the fandom when you’re reviving these classic musicals?
Absolutely. In Dreamgirls, it was a balance. That show was sung-through onstage. It was two hours and 40 minutes. It’s impossible to do in a movie — you need relief. So we had an hour and 45 minutes of that score retained, but there’s a song called “Ain’t No Party,” and people condemn me to this day on chat boards about cutting that. I think many people’s favorite song in Kiss of the Spider Woman is “Dressing Them Up.” It’s not Molina’s “I want” song, but it’s sort of the song that defines him. It’s a beautiful Kander and Ebb song. I tried so hard to figure out how to get it in. He hums it in the movie just as a little Easter egg. But I think there are going to be people who do not forgive the movie for that, and I understand it. And the only thing I’d say to them is if you’re true to the medium you’re working in, and you want to tell this story in that way, you have to throw everything up in the air and, in a way, start over.
1. Prologue - Ensemble, Narrator 2. Gospel Truth I (Mount Olympus) – Muses, Ensemble 3 Gospel Truth II (Underworld) – Muses, Ensemble 4 Despina’s Lullaby – Despina, Muses 5. Gospel Truth III (Herc was Mortal) - Muses 6. Today’s Gonna Be My Day - Hercules 7. Go the Distance - Hercules 8. Go the Distance Reprise – Hercules, Muses 9. One Last Hope – Phil, Hercules 10. Forget About It – Meg, Hercules 11. Gospel Truth IV (So Not Dead) - Muses 12. Getting Even – Hades, Bob, Charles, Ensemble 13. Zero to Hero – Hercules, Muses, Phil, Ensemble 14. A Muse Bouche — Muses 15. I’m Back! – Phil, Ensemble 16. Getting Even Reprise – Bob, Charles 17. Phil Goes the Distance/Doomed to Be Human - Phil, Hercules 18. I Won’t Say (I’m in Love) – Meg, Muses 19. I Won’t Say (I’m in Love) Reprise - Hercules, Meg 20. Great Bolts of Thunder – Muses, Zeus, Hades, Ensemble 21. To Be Human - Hercules 22. Gospel Truth V (That’s Our Tale) – Muses, Ensemble 23. A Star is Born – Muses, Company 24. BONUS TRACK: To Be Human (Original Alan Menken Demo) – Alan Menken
CD and vinyl versions are currently available for preorder at the Disney Music Emporium U.K. store by clicking here and will be available online and in-person at the merchandise shop at Theatre Royal Drury Lane later this winter.
This will probably give the show the exposure it needs to get a new cast album (even though the score seems virtually the same from the series) and/or boost a licensing deal, and maybe a third season of the show, as is their hope.
Oh, and y'all need to chill out over a limited run (which was a producer's decision, mind you... as opposed to an open-ended run, which most of y'all would have been even more cynical about anyway) of only the THIRD officially-announ
FIRST IN THE BRIEFING: Keep Up: The Making of The Heart, a four-part docuseries that follows the creation of the new musical TheHeart which is currently running at La Jolla Playhouse, has been announced. From the first movement workshop in New York City to its world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, viewers get rare access inside the making of a new musical. Episodes of Keep Up: The Making of The Heart will premiere Sunday evenings on the And That’s ShowbizYouTube channel, beginning October 12 at 7pm EST. Trailer:https://bway.ly/q4y1d3
"In a shift from the 1985 awards strategy — when both Hurt and Raul Julia were campaigned in the lead actor category — this year’s campaign is splitting its acting pushes. It was revealed to Variety exclusively that Tonatiuh will compete in lead actor, while Luna and Lopez are being positioned in the supporting categories. If nominated, Tonatiuh would join a short list of Latino actors recognized in the lead actor category. Only five Latino men have received best actor nominations in the Academy’s nearly 100-year history: José Ferrer, Anthony Quinn, Edward James Olmos, Demián Bichir and Colman Domingo."
"Luna, fresh off a successful Emmy run as an executive producer on Disney+’s “Andor,” steps into the role once played by Julia. The Mexican actor, who first gained international recognition in “Y tu mamá también” (2001), could benefit from a less competitive supporting actor field, where only Stellan Skarsgård (“Sentimental Value”) and Sean Penn (“One Battle After Another”) are currently seen as front-runners."
"A combination of nominations for Luna, Lopez and Atwood, alongside a possible lead actor showing for Tonatiuh, could bolster the film’s chances of cracking the best picture lineup.
Interestingly, Luna’s supporting placement continues a trend in movie musicals where top-billed actors are campaigned in supporting categories. Past examples include Meryl Streep (“Into the Woods”), Catherine Zeta-Jones (“Chicago”) and last year’s winner Zoe Saldaña (“Emilia Pérez”)."
After really enjoying the workshop of this, I was excited to see it fully fleshed out on stage. I am delighted to say I was not disappointed. I liked the bits of set there were and they were used cleverly, there was a bit of a reliance on screens/projection but it wasn’t bothersome for me. The one bit that did look a bit cheap was two flat decks which slide on and off stage left and stage right attached to a long solid pole (so it could be pulled back from the
EXCLUSIVE: Ann M. Martin’s bestselling book series The Baby-sitters Club is being developed into a stage musical with a book by Kate Wetherhead (The Devil Wears Prada), music and lyrics by Mark Sonnenblick (Kpop Demon Hunters), and direction and choreography by Annie Tippe (Octet).
Theatrical rights to the book series have been optioned by TWTheatricals, a division of TheaterWorksUSA dedicated to creating fully produced, full-length works for multigenerational audiences. An exclusive industry presentation is scheduled for November 13 in New York City, with plans for a theatrical premiere in Spring 2027.
The Baby-sitters Club creator Martin said, “I love musicals and am excited to see the adventures of Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, and Stacey come to life on stage. I’m humbled by the ongoing popularity of the series, and couldn’t be more thrilled by this news.”
Published by Scholastic between 1986 and 2000, the book series has nearly 200 million copies in print to date and has been published in 23 languages. After launching, the series popularity skyrocketed and expanded to more than 250 titles, four spin-off book series, bestselling graphic novel adaptations, a TV series on HBO, a feature film from Sony Pictures, and an acclaimed original Netflix series.
The musical picks up twelve years after the disbanding of The Baby-sitters Club when the founding members – Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia and Stacey – return to Stoneybrook, CT to honor the pact their 13-year-old selves made to reunite. Now twenty-five, the young women realize over the course of the show that the reunion not only presents an opportunity to revisit defining moments of their past, but to answer critical questions that have surfaced in their present-day lives: questions of identity, career, relationships and fulfillment.
“We look forward to bringing the BSC’s themes of friendship, growing pains, independence and self-discovery to a live audience,” said Wetherhead, “so that both young people and adults can see for themselves (or their former selves) that they are not alone in the grand adventure of ‘growing up.’”
“Though their triumphs and struggles and crushes are evergreen, these are girls of the ’80s and ’90s,” said Sonnenblick. “So the score’s inspired by some of our favorites – Sheryl Crow, Indigo Girls, Shania Twain. We’re just very excited for everyone to hang out with the club in Stoneybrook, whether it’s your first time or your five hundredth.”
Barbara Pasternack, Producing Artistic Director at TWTheatricals, said, “The Baby-sitters Club series introduced the original girl bosses, shaping and inspiring the lives of millions of young women and girls then – and still today. For adults who loved the books, it taps into a shared sense of nostalgia, inviting each of us to revisit the memories that shaped us while reflecting on how far we’ve come. For audiences of any age, it’s an inspiring story of friendship, empowerment, and finding your own voice, and a reminder that our stories are always evolving. And the score is amazing.”
BROADWAY NEWS EXCLUSIVE: “‘A Beautiful Mind’ musical in development based on Oscar-winning film” by Broadway News’ Ruthie Fierberg - “New Jersey’s McCarterTheatreCenter has announced the commission of the new musical “A Beautiful Mind,” adapted from the Oscar-winning film and biography of the same name. The musical will feature a book by SarahTreem with music and lyrics by ZoeSarnak. “A Beautiful Mind” began as a book by SylviaNasar, which became a New York Times bestseller and a National Book Critics Circle Award winner.” https://bway.ly/jgtnrq
