And the Spring Musical Is...Narnia?

[Imchristine4real]

Posted: 12/5/05 at 8:11pm

Hi! I just heard about the spring muscial here at Rose State College and it is "Narnia", based on "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". Anyone ever heard of this? I tried searching, but all I could find was:

Book by Jules Tasca, Music by Thomas Tierney, Lyrics by Ted Drachman

I looked on Amazon.com, but I couldn't find it.

Anyway, if anyone has ever heard of it or knows where to get a recording, if one exsists, I would love to hear about it. Thanks a Lot!

[theatreguy]

Posted: 12/5/05 at 9:30pm

I did this show a year ago. It's not great though it does have a few nice songs. There's no recording available that I know of.

Posted: 12/5/05 at 10:14pm

lol I did this play in cali right before I moved. There isn't any recording (taping) of it. The music is ok, my experience with the show wasn't the best, but Im sure if done properly it can be great. There's a turkish delight (sp?) song and then theres this song called doors and windows...it was AWFUL with my production. However im sure yours will be great! I dont know where to get the CD at though and thats really all I remember lol.
Good luck! :)
*cassie*

[Imchristine4real]

Posted: 12/6/05 at 6:17pm

Thank you for posting, Theatreguy and EAChic2.

And a bump because I want to know more.

[musicgal04]

Posted: 12/10/05 at 2:34am

We did this show my sophmore year of high school. It was an interesting experiance. Our Peter was in a car accident so we had to do the show without the character... I (playing Lucy) was knighted. Our Mrs. Beaver also lost her voice, so I had to sing her song. It made no sense. I hated that show. "Doors and Windows" is a horrible song too. That was the show with the worst luck that I have ever done.

[beyondthebreakofday]

Posted: 12/10/05 at 3:08am

I also performed in this show a few years ago and our production was great. I think that the music is quite entertaining and the show can really work well when done right. Our musical director made tapes for us with all of the music on it. If you can imagine the book being adapted for stage then you've pretty much imagined the show. All of the same main characters exist: the four kids, Aslan(male lead), the white witch(arguably the female lead), Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Tumnus, the dwarf, various animals and creatures...
Probably the best part about the musical is that the actor who plays Prof. Diggory(the Uncle of the 4 kids) is supposed to double in the part of Aslan, and the mean maid lady at the beginning is supposed to double as the white witch. This really makes the production interesting though it puts even more of the show onto the shoulders of the actor playing Aslan, which is really a very involved, emotional, and taxing role.
The songs are really fun and with the right choreography and costume pieces the show can really turn into something great. I think once you hear the music you will be impressed- I know that I was when I first heard the score because I did not expect a show geared towards younger kids to be so well developed. There are some really nice harmonies when Aslan dies and the numbers range from jazzy("Hot and Bothered" which the witch sings) to goofy("Turkish Delight" sung by the witch, the dwarf,Edmond, and the two reindeer in our production) to really pretty and whimsical(a lot of the rest).
If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask or pm. I really enjoyed performing in the show. Coincidentally the same theatre group that I did Narnia with also performed The Magician's Nephew(the pre-quel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) in its next season and the show is far inferior. It is not a musical and was not nearly as entertaining for the audience. I would, however, highly recommend Narnia.

Posted: 12/10/05 at 4:10pm

LoL i just found my taping of our show. It is hillarious. All I have to say is make sure you dont have like 5439809 cats in your chorus lol. WoW. They let us pick what animals we wanted to be (the younger kids) because the adults and older kids had like actual parts haha obviously. So like you can tell every kid wanted to be like a Cat or a Dog lol. Im sure yours wont end up this way, and Im also not sure what youre doing with your chorus lol. I just found this really funny.

[BroadwayBaby315]

Posted: 12/10/05 at 5:28pm

One of my favorite productions I have been involved in.
I (being a female) got to play the dwarf, which, in my opinion, worked well and was a lot of fun for me. As has been metioned there are some fine musical numbers and plenty of opportunities for coreography. Favorite numbers include
"Turkish Delight" (Witch, Dwarf, Edmund)
"Hot and Bothered" (Witch, Fenris Ulf, Dwarf, Edmund)
"Bit 'o Spring" (waltz duet between Mr. and Mrs. Beaver)
"Aslan" (Four children and Mr. and Mrs. Beaver)
"Cair Paravel" (Four children and Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, I believe)
"Murder Tonight" (Witch, Dwarf, Fenris Ulf, and Cruelies)
"Deep Magic" (Climatic duet between the Witch and Aslan)
"Field of Flowers" (Aslan's death song)
Hope this helps... I'm sure it will be a great show. PM me with any other questions.

[Imchristine4real]

Posted: 12/12/05 at 4:23pm

Thanks so much, everyone! So, as far as I understand, this is no recording, and it's just a show. Anyway, all I really wanted was to listen to the music but since I can't, what musical would you say the music is similar to? More like a R & H, or more modern, like Webber?

Posted: 12/12/05 at 8:26pm

Personally I dont think it really matters that much. The music is pretty diverse from what I remember (reckon it was a while ago lol). I would probably base the audition piece off of what character you are going for, instead of trying to match the show. But I'd probably stay away from like really upbeat songs and stick with like a fast paced ballad (if that makes any sense lol). Maybe try "somewhere thats green" from little shop, "Ive got the sun in the morning and the moon at night" from Annie get your gun, maybe even "I am sixteen going on seventeen" from the sound of music. Im sure you already know all these pieces and although they are done a lot I think they would fit, although Im probably not the best critic on song choice for this show! LoL Hope I could help! *cassie*

[Imchristine4real]

Posted: 1/13/06 at 6:46pm

Yea! I got the call, and I'm Susan!!!

OK, excitment getting under control (maybe )