Ghost Brothers of Darkland County

[PlayItAgain]

Posted: 4/6/12 at 12:39pm

Here is a photo from the new Stephen King/John Mellencamp musical Ghost Brothers of Darkland County that started previews at Alliance last night



Updated On: 4/6/12 at 12:39 PM

[pariswho]

Posted: 4/6/12 at 12:56pm

Don't mean to nitpick, but the title of the show is "Ghost Brothers of Darkland County," not country.

I went to the first preview Wednesday night. My honest opinion is that as extraordinary as I thought it was, I can't imagine seeing this show have a life outside of Atlanta. It has such a distinct southern-feel to it that I feel won't be appreciated as much elsewhere.

The score is phenomenal, very bluegrass, very soulful. I'm not that familiar with Mellencamp's music, but I'd be willing to bet that T-Bone Burnett had a lot more to do than just musical direction. Either way, it's not a typical musical score obviously, but it's a helluva an album that I can't wait to buy. The book though.....needs so much work. I love Stephen King, I do. He's a great storyteller, but writing cohesively is not really one of his strong suits. The plot itself is really interesting (slow to start, but interesting nonetheless), but it REALLY falls apart at the final scene.

The whole ensemble is great but there is basically one person in the whole cast who just walks away having stole the whole show: Jake La Botz. Good lord, what a scene-stealer.

I have no idea what other people think of this show so far, but I loved it so much. I came home and right away snatched up tickets for two more performances. I might even think about rushing on my next day off.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 4/6/12 at 1:04pm

Oh, regionalism. Nice.

[theaterdrew]

Posted: 4/6/12 at 7:46pm

I'm seeing it the first week in May. I'm really jazzed to hear that the music reflects T-Bone's influence. Never been a Stephen King fan, so I'm not expecting much from the book.

[somethininthestars]

Posted: 4/6/12 at 11:14pm

i want to see this more than i want to see anything opening in NYC this year. I keep looking for an excuse to be in Atlanta, but it doesn't look likely. :P

[TheSeafarer]

Posted: 4/7/12 at 10:10am

I've been following this show for the last year or so and truly hope it makes its way to Broadway. Stephen King is a tremendous writer and the stage is one of the few mediums he hasn't tapped yet.

There has been such a dearth of mystery plays over the last twenty years and Stephen King would be the perfect author to revive this popular genre on Broadway.

[shomeika]

Posted: 4/9/12 at 5:19pm

I saw the show this weekend and was blown away. My first impression after the first three or four songs was "WTF IS THIS?!?". I was literally nervous. It.was.just.so.very.different.

Then things moved along, made more sense. The second act was great. I thought Emily Skinner stole the show.

I think this would succeed on broadway as it was just so different.

I do agree with you about the final number. The final bar scene with the little boy seemed oddly out of place. (UGH!!).

All in all I think they have something great in store for us!

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 5/3/12 at 9:55am

Amazing!