MACK AND MABEL (directed by Jerry Mitchell) Mack - Brian d'Arcy James Mabel - Rachel Bay Jones
MISS SAIGON (directed by Diane Paulus) Kim - Ashley Park The Engineer - Conrad Ricamora Chris - Aaron Tveit John - Brandon Victor Dixon Ellen - Elizabeth A. Davis
FLOYD COLLINS (directed by Sam Gold) Floyd Collins - Steven Pasquale Nellie Collins - Elena Shaddow Homer Collins - Andrew Rannells Skeets Miller - Matthew James Thomas
HAIRSPRAY (directed by Casey Nicholaw) Tracy Turnblad - Lena Hall Edna Turnblad - Brad Oscar Link Larkin - Corey Cott Penny Pingleton - Amanda Seyfried Seaweed Stubbs - Joshua Henry Amber von Tussel - Lauren Worsham Velma von Tussel - Heidi Blickenstaff Corny Collins - Christian Borle Motormouth Maybelle - LaChanze Wilbur Turnblad - Marc Kudisch
I kind of want wicked to close so they can have a revival 5-10 years after the closing with a completely new design. I would love them to take a minimalist approach! For elphie's makeup they can just copy violets revival and tell the audience to imagine the green skin. Oh also please give me a step ladder during defying gravity! Please!
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Lincoln Center doing John Caird's version of Candide. The show is done in concert versions and paired down stagings so often, I just want a full scale production of the show.
In looking back at my (fairly recently edited) post on this thread about how I would do a production of Tanz der Vampire that was closer to the German original (see page 4), I see a lot of things I've changed my mind about. My ideas with regard to style and tone, score, length, and casting stars who won't mess with the material still largely hold up, but I have a different outlook on the design, and further, the production's size and scale. Overall, it would be (compared to the European original and even DOTV) a small, minimalist production.
First, the venue. Along the lines of Rocky Horror starting off at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, I'd be thinking a similarly intimate space, but not an actual theater -- I'm thinking Goth-themed night club. That audience clearly has a special affinity for the piece, considering how many young Goths are part of the show's fan community already, and I also think the audience participation and natural levity that one finds in a club venue would augment the vitality and thrill of the piece.
The design would be stripped down. Costumes would suggest some of the Hammer Horror aspect in the peasants, but vampires would be fairly uniformly sexy and leather-clad (though not without dark or boring sides), operating on the assumption that the undead life must have some sort of allure to pull in its victims, because what they say (in the German lyrics at least) makes it sound damn depressing. The lighting would be largely stark, realistic, sheer black-and-white Nosferatu, in the village scenes, giving way to wild color when we spend most of our time in the Gothic playground of Krolock's castle in Act Two. And the set I envision as largely resembling the 10th anniversary concert in Vienna in 2007 -- a unit set with the "orchestra" (more on that in a second) onstage, and some props that get moved on and off.
Orchestra: smaller, and strongly emphasizing the rock elements of the score. 8 musicians, your basic rock rhythm section with an acoustic instrument or two. (Don't forget you can fill in a lot of the more symphonic elements with keyboards and programming if they need to be there -- much of DOTV was on a click track anyway, comparing the soundboard that's circulated for a few years with other recordings of the show in Europe.) I would also go with a smaller cast: the only four leads who don't double other roles would be Krolock, Sarah, Alfred, and the Professor. The secondary leads (Chagal, Magda, Rebecca, Herbert, Koukol) would double as ensemble, with a few extra performers to boost the ensemble vocals. No more than 20 people onstage. (I've always personally felt that the Tanz casts on average seem larger than is necessary for the choreography, which would work better with a smaller group.)
It's been a good couple of years since this thread has been bumped! Interested to hear some new revival casting ideas!
My dream Broadway revival would be a lush "Sweet Charity" revival starring Annaleigh Ashford, featuring a huge orchestra. Not only would she be a marvel, but it's also her number one dream role.
They/them.
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