'Dave' the musical (Kitt, Benjamin, Landau, Meehan)

[IlanaKeller]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 5:34pm

Hiya,

Spoke with Tom Kitt and Nell Benjamin about "Dave," which has its world premiere next month at Arena Stages. 

Lots of interesting facets with this one -- stellar creative staff, Thomas Meehan had it in the works when he passed away last year, premiering a musical about the presidency in Washington, D.C., etc.

We had an interesting chat about what all of those things meant, how you can successfully adapt a known franchise (which of course with "Mean Girls" and "SpongeBob," these guys all have very recent experiences with) and why a Kevin Kline comedy is a "beautiful fairy tale."

Plus how often does this sentence come along? "Casey Nicholaw from 'Mean Girls' said he had heard from Eric Idle on 'Spamalot' that ..."

Check it out if you're so inclined: 'Dave' musical bringing beloved comedy to life - with Broadway flair 

Anyone planning to see it this summer?

Updated On: 6/18/18 at 05:34 PM

[JSquared2]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 5:57pm

IlanaKeller said:

Plus how often does this sentence come along? "Casey Nicholaw from 'Mean Girls' said he had heard from Eric Idle on 'Spamalot' that ..."
 

Well, considering Casey choreographed the original production of Spamalot, I'd imagine it's come along fairly regularly?

 

 

[IlanaKeller]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 6:06pm

JSquared2 said: "IlanaKeller said:

Plus how often does this sentence come along? "Casey Nicholaw from 'Mean Girls' said he had heard from Eric Idle on 'Spamalot' that ..."


Well, considering Casey choreographedthe original production of Spamalot,I'd imagine it's come along fairly regularly?'

Thanks for spelling that out, had noooooooo idea. I gather you come across it often in conversation?





"

 

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 7:19pm

Seeing it in August. Have no expectations, but looking forward to it. 

[upinlights]

Posted: 6/18/18 at 9:58pm

Seeing it in about a month. I HAD no expectations, but I'm such a fan of the creative team that now, I have high hopes. We'll see...

[CarmenA3]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 12:00am

I'm looking forward to visiting friends and seeing this in August :)

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 1:43am

boy, this was a great story and could be a terrific musical

hope they execute well on this one!

 

[Dave28282]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 5:37am

Sounds like a great project!

[willrolandsframes]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 1:47pm

Dave28282 said: "Sounds like a great project!"

username checks out

[Sondheimite]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 1:58pm

willrolandsframes said: "Dave28282 said: "Sounds like a great project!"

username checks out"

Dave282666 is just happy that it's a mostly white cast.  

[newintown]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 2:10pm

I've heard a few songs from this project recently, and found them to be rather dull, both musically and lyrically - the kind of songs that could be written for any narrative. But they may be all changed out of town. I only vaguely remember the movie - yet another take (and far from the most entertaining) on the old Prisoner of Zenda gimmick; I do wonder how they'll make it sing.

[Dave28282]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 6:41pm

Sondheimite said: "willrolandsframes said: "Dave28282 said: "Sounds like a great project!"

username checks out"

Dave282666 is just happy that it's a mostly white cast."

I'm just hoping for a talented cast. 

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/12/18 at 6:16pm

First five performances canceled due to unexpected minor surgery for Doug Sills: https://www.facebook.com/arenastage/posts/10156777407402638

(sorry it's not clickable)

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 7/12/18 at 6:23pm

It should be clickable now:

https://www.facebook.com/arenastage/posts/10156777407402638I

[theatretenor2]

Posted: 7/13/18 at 7:20am

$140 per ticket. Nope.

[promisespromises2]

Posted: 7/13/18 at 9:07am

Had a ticket for opening night before it got cancelled! I'm looking forward to this, if only because I liked Drew Gehling in Waitress and Mamie Parris in On the Twentieth Century.  Also, Sherri Edelen makes my heart happy... she is a terrific local performer.  I saw her in a local production of Gypsy and absolutely fell in love with her acting.

[curel1]

Posted: 7/18/18 at 6:50pm

Anyone seeing this tonight?

[freewilma]

Posted: 7/18/18 at 11:17pm

Have ticket for Sunday. Heard from a friend the invited dress was awesome. They had to postpone their first previews by 5 days due to a cast member having surgery. Hopefully they got the time they needed to put in the new cast member and work out the kinks.

[Esther2]

Posted: 7/18/18 at 11:31pm

Going Saturday evening.  Just made our pre-theatre dinner reservations.  Looking forward to it.

[CaseyBrent41]

Posted: 7/20/18 at 11:04am

Anyone see this yet????

[Esther2]

Posted: 7/22/18 at 12:48am

Saw this tonight.  I found it totally charming.  The cast is pitch perfect.  They do miraculous things on a tiny stage.  The only quibble for me was the score was just kinda...there.  Not bad, but not terribly memorable.  

I'd definitely see it again at some point if discount tickets are available, if only to see if anything is changed.  

An enjoyable evening overall. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/22/18 at 1:05am

Can you elaborate on the staging? 

Also, do we think Kitt has kind of peeked? I feel like since Next to Normal he hasn't really hit it out of the park yet, though he's been attached to so much. 

[Esther2]

Posted: 7/22/18 at 1:13am

There are screens on stage that are tracked in 2 circles, inner and outer.  The cast moves them around to change scenes and there are projections on them to indicate where we are at the moment.  There's also an elevator that brings scenery up from under the stage.  And some clever staging where Drew Gehling has to change from being Dave to being Bill Mitchell - quickly.  I'm interested to see the show, if it transfers, on a bigger stage than this one.  It worked so well here.

[freewilma]

Posted: 7/22/18 at 10:11am

Esther2 said: "Saw this tonight. I found it totally charming. The cast is pitch perfect. They do miraculous things on a tiny stage. The only quibble for me was the score was just kinda...there. Not bad, but not terribly memorable.

I'd definitely see it again at some point if discount tickets are available, if only to see if anything is changed.

An enjoyable evening overall."

If you are under 30 years old, Arena has a "pay your age" ticket price.  Beyond that I haven't seen any ticket discounts in a while.  TodayTix has them at $145!  

 

[freewilma]

Posted: 7/22/18 at 11:04pm

Would love to give a full opinion of the show....but they were unable to finish the second act tonight due to an elevator malfunction onstage. They held for about 30 minutes with several of the cast coming onstage to talk with / entertain the audience. Finally Tina Landau came to apologize to the audience and said all would be offered tickets to a future performance.

The 2/3 of the show we saw we absolutely enjoyed. Drew Gehling was made to play this role. He is just terrific; as is the rest of the cast. There were a number of memorable musical moments; both funny and moving. I just can’t wait to see how the whole thing ends!