I don't know much about the score for the show, but could Matt Bomer play Superman? I know that he was rumored to be one of the final contenders for the movie. And we know he can sing from one of the Kennedy Center Honors and from Glee. And he is pretty handsome and dashing....
Though I'm not sure if "White Collar" would have finished up or not by then.
As someone who saw the original it really needs a revival which I know will not happen. Doubt Encores will do any flying. It will be interesting how the Chinese acrobats are handled. The original concept was in no way demeaning or. Offensives. The whole thing was played as one big goof. Any nationality could do it or a mix. It was done before everything had to be PC.
Is a new recording really necessary> Is anything importante missing from the OBCR on Sony? I have never seen the show on stage, but have long loved the OBCR. IT'S A BIRD IT'S A PLANE IT'S SUPERMAN
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks." Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
I wonder which version of the script they'll be using- the original, the "censored" revised version, or the "uncensored" revised version that has been rumored for the past five years?
The "censorship," for those out of the loop, refers to a somewhat bizarre clause in the original Broadway cast which prevented the writers from using any of Superman's supporting characters, limiting them only to the use of Superman and Lois Lane. The rest of the characters became suspiciously similar substitutes. Rumor has repeatedly had it that a new version of the script exists, which removes the obfuscations and includes more authentic Superman material, but legal reasons have prevented the show from being used. Hence, Lex Luthor remains Max Mencken in the musical... thus far.
^I'd actually love it if they used the revised book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, but since this is Encores I'm sure they'll be using the original libretto -- or whatever the current licensed version is.
Didn't see the Mufti, but I saw the original as an adolescent and loved it. Cheyenne or Bomer would be great as Supe; and as the goofily evil Prof. Sedgwick (ah, the late Michael O'Sullivan!), after seeing John Bolton's happily manic turns in THE LAST SMOKER IN AMERICA and especially A CHRISTMAS STORY, I think he'd make a great nutty-bad chemist. His big number, "Revenge," is a showstopper.
Changing the Flying Lings to the Flying Crepes would be a good idea, and the ridiculous Pidgin lyrics of "Everything Easy When You Know How" could be maintained without offending anyone (except maybe the French, and who cares about them?).
Regarding the copyright problems with the original book, does anyone here know exactly WHY DC Comics (the Warner Brothers Conglomerate now, I believe) denied and continues to deny the rights to characters other than Superman and Lois Lane for this show?
Spider-Man got to use Green Goblin, Aunt May, Venom, tons of characters in at least cameo roles. Even the aborted Batman musical got the Joker and Catwoman. So why does Superman continually lose the character of Lex Luthor to the split role of Max Mencken and Dr. Sedgwick, as well as bowdlerizing Cat Grant into Sydney the Secretary and so on?