Crazy Concepts of Classic Shows — Page 4

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.

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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...

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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?

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.

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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?

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?

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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.

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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

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.