Crazy Concepts of Classic Shows- Page 4

[kchenofan]

Posted: 3/14/09 at 12:42am

How about in the middle of Gypsy, a few ensemble members come out with cameras.

Or in Seussical, they could wear costumes that somewhat resemble the animals they're portraying.

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 3/14/09 at 3:08am

"Working - we all wore cogs...b/c we were all part of a machine...or something "

husk charmer, this makes me laugh. of course! amazing.

Also, I'd love to see that original Chorus Line concept, with "Zach" choosing new dancers each night.

I'd like to see 1776 done with an all- female cast, except with Martha and Abigail played by men. I think it might have some surprising resonance in our day and age.

I also have dreams of a Follies that ends with a sort of tableau of Young Ben, Young Phyllis, Young Sally, and Young Buddy. We see the final scene, and we see the older four leave the decrepit inside of the theatre. Then, the set revolves on a turntable, to seamlessly reveal the young four walking out of the gorgeous outer theatre in all its glory. We see the young four walk off happily arm in arm, hopeful, not knowing what the future will bring, a la Merrily, and we are left with the outer beauty of what we know is a crumbling ruined theatre inside.

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 3/14/09 at 7:03am

I'd like to see 1776 done with an all- female cast, except with Martha and Abigail played by men. I think it might have some surprising resonance in our day and age.

I COMPLETELY AGREE!

And I think this is because I'm a woman who knows in her heart of hearts that she can never play Rutledge...

[gypsy4]

Posted: 3/14/09 at 10:57am

I would love to see an actor musician production of Into The Woods.

Narrator:Piano
Jack:violin,flute,clarinett,picolo
cinderellas prince: Trumpet/clarinet/keyboard
The Witch:Oboe/cello/tuba
Cinderella:flute/Clarinet
Little Red Riding Hood: Trombone,flute,tenor sax
The Baker: Violin,keyboards
Bakers Wife: Viola
Rapunzel: Guitar/ precussion
Rapunzels Prince: French Horn

Updated On: 3/18/09 at 10:57 AM

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 3/14/09 at 11:02am

this isn't for a show, but I don't really know where else to post it. I was listening to A Little Night Music on my way to work yesterday, and I was thinking how hysterical it'd be for "Now/Later/Soon" to be sung at something like Broadway Backwards. taking out the father/son factor, Fredrick and Henrik could be lovers and Anne is going to join them for a threesome.

or something.

[dfwtheatreguy]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 5:01pm

i have always wanted to do a cross-gendered "Pirates of Penzance" with the Pirates played by women, the Daughters by men, and the Police as an androgynous mix - and of course the main characters Ruth, Pirate King, Mabel, Frederick, and General Stanley would be cross-gendered as well.

i know this may prove challenging with some of the music, but hopefully a skilled music director could work some magic.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 9:47pm

What about a carbaret with a female emcee. That would be very sexy. But it won't be the same without Natasha as Sally

-Random Fact, I've lately been imagining Nick Adams as the Emcee-

But anywawy, if there were a female Emcee in the cabaret, who would play it?

Posted: 3/18/09 at 10:35pm

Cabaret has been done with a female emcee--I believe it was in Europe soon after the original production and the Gillian Lynne UK revival did it too didn't it? some 1980s UK revival anyway

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 3/22/09 at 1:12pm

I just thought of this - has there ever been a production of "Little Shop of Horrors" with the actor playing Audrey II appearing on stage, walking around like a character and addressing the characters directly (the dragon in Shrek-style)? I think it'd be really funny if he was in a pimp outfit that was green instead of purple.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/22/09 at 4:34pm

How about a production of COMPANY that starts and ends with Bobby coming out of the closet?

Updated On: 3/22/09 at 04:34 PM

[homeimp]

Posted: 3/22/09 at 5:25pm

Hey, DFWtheatreguy. I saw that Into The Woods at Stratford. The witch had two costumes. When she was the ugly witch she almost appeared to be a tree, Then when she transformed she became a dominatrix in black leather and cracking a whip. I loved the production, but to me the weak spot was the witch's costuming. Neither costume looked quite right for the witch, but they also looked very cumbersome and uncomfortable for the actress. Still, first rate performances and production values otherwise.

[wicked1492]

Posted: 6/27/09 at 12:17am

I had a really weird idea the other day. Music Man in a prison. Harold Hill is an old shyster that schmoozes everyone and tries to escape after collecting, Marian the Warden/Librarian/Music Teacher. The Pickalittle Ladies could just be the same. Mayor Shinn could be the I guess "owner" of the prison and his family could run around. The first number, "Rock Island" could have a chain gang feel to it, with Hill just arriving. And so on...

It's crazy but I like it haha.

[darquegk]

Posted: 6/27/09 at 12:24am

Interesting concept, but why are there prim-and-proper gossip ladies and ten-year-old children in a prison?

And as far as who would play a sexy female Emcee in Cabaret, how about actress/musician Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls?

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 6/27/09 at 1:17am

I'd love to see Amanda Palmer play the Emcee. That could be really interesting.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 6/27/09 at 2:16am

Not a classic, but I would love to see Caroline, or Change as a modern ballet type of show. The music just screams dance to me, but not a conventional type. I know very little about the original staging, but I assume it's a lot of singing and very little dancing. Especially the washing machine, radio, etc, doing a lot of dancing. I just would love to see that as a production with a lot of dancing.

[MrJNLong]

Posted: 6/27/09 at 3:31am

I was involved with a version of "A Chorus Line" that did what was mentioned in this thread: had the actor playing Zach select different dancers who 'made it' each night. To make matters worse, some times he would ask the front line to stay and sometimes the back line, so when the actors were asked to step forward they still didn't know if they had made it or not.

It kind of wigged audiences out who saw it more than once. It was extremely taxing on the actors who had to learn up to 8 different choreography tracks for the "One" finale depending on who was chosen. Also, one night, the actress who played Cassie (who normally did get chosen), did not get chosen and had a weird 'super in character' emotional reaction and couldn't stop herself from crying throughout the finale.
Way cool experience for the performers though...the tension was real

[jagfkb]

Posted: 6/27/09 at 10:28am

Though not that classic of a show, what if, in the end of The Drowsy Chaperone, the Man in the Chair flying away on the plane was actually him jumping off his balcony, while being encouraged by the characters to do so. My mother brought it up when seeing it years ago, and while I don't neccessarily think it's a good idea, it's an interesting one at that, kindda like Company where Bobby kills himself in the end.

Also, though not classic enough yet, I've always wanted to see a really professional, but minimalistic (or abstract at least) rendition of Beauty & the Beast. After watching so many bad comminuty theatre productions where the actors could not move in their costumes, I started wondering if whether or not it could be done without such large costumes. Have Lumiere carry two candleabras, or have Cogsworth wear a large medal which looks like a pendulum. Certainly the transformation and other effects would have to be done with some spectacle, but still, it would be interesting to see, no?

[Edna Turnblad]

Posted: 6/27/09 at 11:30am

I love the Cats concept. I dont' know what I would think of the Into the Woods/instruments idea. I feel that Company works well like that, but not Into the Woods (or Sweeney for that matter). It needs to be kinda big.

[James2]

Posted: 6/27/09 at 11:32am

When I auditioned for NYU's directing major, I included my idea of having Sweeney Todd being performed in Hell. He has to participate in the story all over again as punishment for his deeds. The original inspiration for this was an episode of "Rocko's Modern Life" in which Heffer goes to Heck and sees how his gluttony affected the people around him. A better and more recent (for me at least) inspiration is the book "After the Massacre," which mentions how the Vietnamese believe that people who experienced unnatural death are stuck reliving that moment and have to be released by the living. In the case of Sweeney, his punishment is being forced to reinact his story not only to see the full error of his ways, but also to see what he did to other people, specifically Tobias and the somewhat reformed Judge (yes, the Judge's "Johanna" would be included, and I would portray the Judge as being someone who reasons that marrying Johanna would be more for her benefit than for his own).

Anyone interested, or am I just crazy?

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 6/27/09 at 11:36am

^ Brilliant.

[James2]

Posted: 6/27/09 at 10:00pm

If you liked my idea, here are a couple more facets about it:

1. Sweeney would be onstage for almost all of the show's duration. He would make his usual entrance in the opening Ballad and he would be absent for all but the last verse in the closing Ballad, but otherwise he would witness everything from different parts of the stage depending on the importance of his reaction (his reaction to the Judge's "Johanna" is important, but his reaction to "Parlor Songs" is not).

2. The supporting cast, being played by denziens of Hell, sing the Ballads throughout the show in either a mocking or accusatory way to Sweeney.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 3:20am

If you're going to impose a big directorial "concept" on a show, if needs to be at least somewhat supported by the script. I think that staging Sweeney that way would be incredibly confusing for people who haven't seen the show before.

[BwayTday]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 4:59am

Jezz, the Cats, both the OP and hell Sweeny, and the Into the Woods with the closeted Jack are brilliant, I want to direct them.... just wow.

I think the Into the Woods Giant could be like a night-club owner, mafia type.

But the Into the Woods would need some reworking, seriously though, I want to direct that, it would be amazing.
Updated On: 7/31/10 at 04:59 AM

[Weez]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 5:55am

Interesting concept, but why are there prim-and-proper gossip ladies and ten-year-old children in a prison?

Have you seen Oz? Get the flaming crossdressers as the gossip ladies, and the only-just-old-enough-to-go-to-prison (and mentally retarded?) as the 10 year olds. Fixed! ^_^

[jonmbway4652]

Posted: 12/13/09 at 1:54am

I have envisioned a Sweeney Todd where all the characters wear costumes that are clownish with extremely bright colors. For example
Sweeney: Bright pants and shirt, orangish clownish hair
Mrs Lovett: big multi layered dress with many bright colors, petticoats, and corset. Her hair could have the usual pig tail like style, but instead of the buns they should just tease the pigtails
Johanna: pink princess-like dress, deep yellow hair. Overall a doll-like appearance.
Anthony: pale blue sailer suit
Beggar Woman: a tattered dress with multicolored patches
Judge Turpin: a bright suit and maybe even an exaggerated powdered wig for the one courtroom scene
Beadle: bright green waistcoat with a bright orange hat
The set for this production would be very realistic except that everything would be slight skewered and distorted. The barber shop would be on a turntable that revolves out of the floor. The blood would be very realistic.
The story of Sweeney Todd itself is very strange and unreal in a sense and I think this idea would accent this perfectly.