Jason Robert Brown, Taylor Mac, Rob Ashford collaborating on MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL musical adaptation

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 2/28/23 at 9:03am

Industry-only reading to the held May 12-13

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 2/28/23 at 9:11am

I’ve never seen the film but the premise and team sound intriguing!

[JanMaxwellsBag]

Posted: 2/28/23 at 9:15am

I love the movie despite its star and director. I think this has amazing potential with the material and could have an impressive design if it makes it to a full production.

Updated On: 2/28/23 at 09:15 AM

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 2/28/23 at 10:06am

jacobsnchz14 said: "I’ve never seen the film but the premise and team sound intriguing!"

The movie is definitely an odd duck - and I don't blame anybody for not wanting to revisit a Clint Eastwood/Kevin Spacey collaboration - but as a character actor-filled period southern gothic murder mystery with queer overtones made in the 90s, it was alot more interesting than I expected it to be.

I could definitely see it working as a musical.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/28/23 at 10:18am

Authors I love and a director who's been away for quite a while! I'll have to add this movie to my queue.

Of note, Rob Ashford will not be choreographing, which is odd. Tanya Birl and Sarah O'Gleby are choreographing; I don't know Tanya's work, but Sarah's has been continually mediocre (unless SHUCKED changes that).

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/28/23 at 11:00am

Don't know the source material very well but this doesn't scream something that Ashford's choero would lend itself to. 

[inception]

Posted: 2/28/23 at 10:27pm

The book is  non-fiction, written like a novel.  One of the main characters was a real life transgender performer The Lady Chablis, who appeared as herself in the film version.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady_Chablis

I haven't seen the film since it first was released, but if I remember correctly there was also some sort of Black Cotillillion ball?

Plenty of material to turn into interestingly choreographed scenes.

 

[willep]

Posted: 2/28/23 at 10:29pm

RippedMan said: "Don't know the source material very well but this doesn't scream something that Ashford's choero would lend itself to."

Well as both the article and the post literally directly above yours points out, Ashford is not doing the choreo.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 7/31/23 at 9:58am

https://deadline.com/2023/07/j-harrison-ghee-lady-chablis-midnight-in-the-garden-of-good-and-evil-musical-1235450342/?mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Tony Winner J. Harrison Ghee To Play Lady Chablis In Industry Reading Of ‘Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil’ Musical; Steven Pasquale, Amber Gray, Others Join Cast

[halfhourcheckwithmerman]

Posted: 7/31/23 at 10:19am

What a great cast! Ghee, Pasquale, and Gray, of course, but also Jennifer Laura Thompson, Harriet Harris, Paul Alexander Nolan, Grace McLean, Jessica Molaskey, even 13's Allie Trimm...

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/31/23 at 11:59am

Well as both the article and the post literally directly above yours points out, Ashford is not doing the choreo."

Lolz.

Great cast, great film, great director. GREAT. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/31/23 at 5:58pm

Fine cast, and anything Taylor Mac does gets my immediate attention. Ashford's directing has a pretty lousy track record (one success, I think, but it was a result of megastar casting; the rest from bad to worse). Brown's music famously generates flops. Re the choreographers, I dunno, but my sense of the intention here is that this is not going to be an Ashford style musical with 2-3 rows of dancers. Behind all of my griping is a lot of hopeful anticipation. One great thing that could come out of this is if judy could become brown's howard ashman. (and maybe give ashford some support as well.)

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 8/4/23 at 11:09am

Not really any well-defined spoilers ahead but for those who haven't seen the movie, I'll just put it out there just in case. 

Count me in as being intrigued over a musical treatment of this quirky and (for me) memorable movie.  I know it has been a while since this movie played, and it is not a movie that necessarily resonates with everyone with regard to its themes and subject area. But I would definitely plan a trip to NY to see it.

In browsing the threads on the site here, and upon seeing the news of this book being turned into a musical, my first thought was I wonder if this is something they get Ghee to do.  The Lady Chablis is such an iconic role in the book and the movie.  Sure enough, Ghee's name is attached.

The setting, the tones and moods of this story have a sense of the provocative, and I'm actually excited to see what they would do with this.  And there's the Johnny Mercer songbook involved too!

I agree that the choreography would be interesting because the subject matter of the book doesn't exactly scream breaking into some big tap number or even a dream ballet sequence.  Although I guess the latter could be tied to the reenactment of the murder as it appears in how the lead character retells it, while leaving "what really happened" to the audience's imagination.

When I ask friends about this movie, the response has been everywhere from "never heard of it" to "I think I saw it," to "not really my thing," to "I loved it."  Will be interesting to see how they market it since it wasn't necessarily a blockbuster along the lines of a "Back to the Future," or a super popular romantic movie like "The Notebook."  Again, a lot of people probably don't even remember it, even though the book was super popular.

I'm very interested in this.

[eugenia2]

Posted: 8/4/23 at 1:31pm

This could be absolutely delicious.  Southern Gothic at its best: murder, voodoo, eccentrics, graveyards, even Savannah's Spanish moss.  Just please please please let me hear a proper Southern drawl.  And if you haven't, read the book!

[lapinitsa]

Posted: 8/4/23 at 3:14pm

Isn't it unusual to announce a reading nearly 10 months from now?

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 8/4/23 at 3:35pm

lapinitsa said: "Isn't it unusual to announce a reading nearly 10 months from now?"

Looks like this cast did a reading yesterday and there's another one today. The initial reading mentioned in the thread must have been three-ish months ago May.

[Dom P]

Posted: 8/4/23 at 4:08pm

Interesting list of creative people and reading cast. The book is intriguing,  the film directed by Clint Eastwood is a tough slog. This could be a really interesting new musical.

[ChiDoc]

Posted: 8/16/23 at 1:02pm

New Jason Robert Brown/Taylor Mac Musical MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL to Premiere at Goodman Theatre (broadwayworld.com)

Very excited about a JRB premiere in my city!  Date-wise, this seems to be replacing the previously announced Female Troubles.

[Chaz Hands]

Posted: 8/22/23 at 12:12pm

ChiDoc said: "New Jason Robert Brown/Taylor Mac Musical MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL to Premiere at Goodman Theatre (broadwayworld.com)

Very excited about a JRB premiere in my city! Date-wise, this seems to be replacing the previously announcedFemale Troubles."

Do we know why Female Troubles got replaced? Very interesting that Amanda Green is working on that show and she’s good friends with JRB, whose show is now taking their spot. 

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 1/10/24 at 12:32pm

#MidnightintheGardenofGoodandEvil author #JohnBerendt is hosting a special discussion with @TaylorMacNYC in honor of the book’s 30th Anniversary. Join us for this free event at the @BarnesandNoble on Broadway and 82nd St next Wednesday, January 17 at 7pm. No reservation required!

[inception]

Posted: 1/10/24 at 12:47pm

ChiDoc said: "
Very excited about a JRB premiere in my city! Date-wise, this seems to be replacing the previously announcedFemale Troubles."

When do they usually make the rest if their season announcements? February?

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 1/10/24 at 1:49pm

Midnight is part of this season. So there's no "rest of their season" to announce. They usually announce their upcoming season anywhere from January to April

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 3/16/24 at 7:22pm

Single tickets are on sale. Use code GARDEN for early access.

https://www.goodmantheatre.org/

Updated On: 3/16/24 at 07:22 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/16/24 at 7:36pm

I wasn’t planning on two trips to Chicago this year but i have to see this one. Very very excited for it. 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 3/25/24 at 12:08pm

First casting announced: J. Harrison Ghee, Sierra Boggess, Tom Hewitt