When this project was still looking for a director, do you think Schumacher, et. all ever considered Julie Taymor? She has given them their biggest artistic and financial success, after all.
She probably would have wanted complete artistic control, and I don't see why they wouldn't give it to her. It's clear she knows what she is doing.
I can't think of any reason why they would NOT ask her to do it.
I just can't help but think about what this show could have been were it in her capable hands...
For the record, I liked Mermaid a lot more than most people did.
She was too busy for the project. Too bad for me.
Probably not. They wanted a totally different look.
Well, they needed a Jerome Robbins -- to do for this what he did for PETER PAN. Create magic that is uniquely theatrical, not borrowed, not recycled, and entirely focused on story telling.
Isn't Taymor doing a "Spider-Man" musical or something?
I heard Matthew Bourne was also considerd.
"Well, they needed a Jerome Robbins -- to do for this what he did for PETER PAN. Create magic that is uniquely theatrical, not borrowed, not recycled, and entirely focused on story telling."
Amen!
Didn't Matthew Bourne decline?
It's likely that, or his ideas for the show were not what Disney wanted.
"Probably not. They wanted a totally different look."
Yeah, that worked out well. :)
It's not like she'd have put Gazelle under the sea!
(sorry to threadjack)
I'm kinda curious to see SPIDERMAN bec. of Julie Taymor & Bono Vox's music.
J*
Maybe the costume design would be more creative if she was involved.
I thought I read an interview with Matthew Bourne that said he was working on the choreography but left because he didn't like where the show was going? I doubt I fabricated that in my head, since I barely have a passing interest in the show.
I'll mention that A) they should have hired Taymor, simply because I would have a much bigger desire to see the show if she was involved.
And B) I'm sorta intrigued (in a worried sort of way) with the Spider Man musical, as long as she doesn't cast Evan Rachel Wood as Mary Jane (which she mentioned to the press). That girl is a terrific actress, but a very mediocre singer in my humble opinion.
I think Taymor and DISNEY are on very bad terms, when THE LION KING was moved and Taymor first came to see it there, I heard there was quite a SCENE!
"I think Taymor and DISNEY are on very bad terms, when THE LION KING was moved and Taymor first came to see it there, I heard there was quite a SCENE! "
Why? They didn't downsize or change one thing about the physical production.
Actually PRIDE RODK is now from the Tour set,
and there are other differences.
She was even more upset about some of the casting and the general "shape" of the show.
Did she 'fix' it?
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/21/06
I don't remember ever hearing her name attached to MERMAID, though she was attached to an adaptation of PINOCCHIO shortly after THE LION KING. She abandoned the project.
As someone mentioned, Matthew Bourne was attached to MERMAID, however. He worked on the material for a couple of years, but wasn't happy with it. I remember he saying in an interview (I believe for Edward Scissorhands, though I could be wrong) that he was having understandable trouble with a lead that couldn't walk in Act I or speak in Act II. Too bad, because I would have loved to see what he would have done with the material.
Updated On: 1/12/08 at 02:30 AM
How could the pride rock on Broadway be the one from the tour?
The one from the tour was physically pulled on stage. The one on Broadway comes up from under the stage. It still does even after the move to the Minskoff.
Couldn't Julie Taymor pull a Michael Bennett and whip the show back into shape?
i heard something about how the costumes from The Lion King cause permanent spinal damage, and because of this, Taymor tried to distance herself from the show.
"Actually PRIDE RODK is now from the Tour set,
and there are other differences. "
On tour, Pride Rock slides onstage from the wings. The Broadway Pride rock still rises out from the floor. I don't see how Pride Rock could be from the tour set, especially when both tours are still running.
How is it her right to throw a fit over the condition of the show? She's the director... Shouldn't she have returned to oversee how things were going before the move?
A director ALWAYS has the right to be concerned about the condition of a show. Especially with the long running shows.
Take CHICAGO for example. It's been running over 11 years. AND Walter Bobbie and Ann Reinking still return to help direct and choreograph some of the new stars.
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