Superbia...?

[brdwaybaby17]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 9:31am

I was recently reading Tick, Tick... Boom! and wondering about this show. Was that the actual title of Jonathan Larson's workshop? If so, has the show just disappeared. I think it would be really interesting to read it... Someone mentioned that they thought it was RENT, but that wouldn't work with the context of the show... let me know if you know anything... Thanks!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 9:33am

I want to say that Superbia was another show that Jonathan was working on, and that he never finished. I think "Come to Your Senses" may actually be part of it, as well as part of Tick, Tick....BOOM! I know it's been brought up why we've never seen a production of it, and I think I remember someone saying that not nearly enough of it was complete.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong...

[brdwaybaby17]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 9:38am

Someone should finish it... that's what they did with tick, tick boom... but even if it wasn't done, I would just like to read part of it... see if he took any characters and put them in rent or storylines or songs... ya know... hmmm

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 9:39am

Well, I think Tick, Tick... BOOM! was farther along, and that there were several versions of it; enough there to actually put together and finish, which apparently wasn't the case with Superbia. I'd love to see some of it as well, though.

[GirlfriendFromCanada]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 10:07am

From what I've heard, Superbia was a very complicated production. Jonathan's visions for it were huge. Unless I'm not remembering correctly, I think it had a large set, large cast, large everything. Or am I thinking of a different show?

Either way, I think TTB was definitely further along than Superbia ever was. Not to mention, it's a fairly simple show in a lot of ways. In order to bring Superbia to light, it would probably require a lot of rewriting and whatnot. But who knows, it could happen.

[Racetrack]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 10:28am

Like you said it was a huge production and the amount of actors needed for an off-broadway show was too many, etc etc etc. It would have been interesting to see I agree.

[Racetrack]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 10:28am

Like you said it was a huge production and the amount of actors needed for an off-broadway show was too many, etc etc etc. It would have been interesting to see I agree.

[BWayBoy88]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 4:00pm

I'm not positive about this, but wasnt that the show that was based on a book that he couldnt get the rights to?

[Menken Fan]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 4:09pm

This was an excerpt from a Variety article about TTB a few years ago.

His earlier work "Superbia," a large-cast epic-scale musical, had gone unproduced except for a concert version at the Village Gate and a few readings around town. "But Jonathan soon realized it was just as difficult to get a rock monologue produced as a full-scale musical," says Leacock, producer on "Superbia."
Updated On: 12/13/04 at 04:09 PM

[Jwei123]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 4:11pm

Superbia was a compilation of Jonathan's earlier work, and yes, the plans feel through because his visions for it were quite large. However, once he decided to leave the project and start on others, like TTB and RENT, he took some ideas/ songs from it, which ones, I'm not sure.
It would really be interesting to read it. I read a copy of TTB awhile back, when it was a one man show (I think it was called Boho Days back then, but I'm not sure...), and it was excellent.

[BroadwayDiva]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 4:11pm

If I remember correctly, Superbia was kind of a rip-off of George Orwell's 1984 (the 1984 rights weren't available, so he altered the story or something like that). The concept was that people's limbs were removed to fit into 32 inch TV boxes or something like that.... "Come to Your Senses" was part of it.

Updated On: 12/13/04 at 04:11 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 5:44pm

Wow. I'd love to find out more about this. 1984 is one of my all-time favorite books. It always sounded like there wasn't much out there.

Updated On: 12/13/04 at 05:44 PM

[FabalaCohen]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 6:27pm

That's the premise of Superbia?! Ook...

I've been looking for info on this for about a year, ever since I read an article about Jonathon in the local paper (ttb was touring- did NOT see it, as I had no idea it existed. Budding young Renthead).

[BWayBoy88]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 7:32pm

Jwei123-tick tick boom was originally called 30/90.

[MyNameInLights]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 9:45pm

TAKEN FROM THE RENT BIBLE!

In 1982 Larson began writing a musical based on George Orwell's 1984. When he was unable to get the rights from Orwell's estate, he converted some of the material into his own futuristic parable, Superbia, which opened with a satire of "We Are the World" popstar benefits and went on to offer a scathing critique of the mindles, conformist, totalitarian culture of a media-controlled society.

Victoria Leacock: He was terrified that there was this bottom-line mentality that was going to destry the planet and life as we know it. In Superbia everybody's going to be "delimbinated", which is the removal of the arms, legs and upper torso so that everyone's heads can be put in a box with a 32 inch color monitor.
The way he'd develop stuff is that he'd play it to you in his living room, with the speakers facing you and literally play you the whole musical. You weren't allowed to get up, walk around, ask questions, pee. It was dead serious. He develpoed a lot of Superbia that way.

Unfortunately Jonathan had trouble developing the show in more public venues. In 1988 he did win a Richard Rodgers Production Award, chaired by Stephen Sondheim, which paid for a staged reading at Playwrghts Horizon.

Victoria Leacock: That was a terrible production, By the time he did it, he didn't have the people and music he wanted, and they forced him to make changes he wasn't comfortable with. Then Sondheim came. At intermission, Sondheim said, "Nice work, I've got to be on Good Morning America tomorrow morning, so I'd better go." Jonathan was devastated.

Stephen Sondheim: I thought the show was interesting, and what he was trying to do was interesting. What was wrong with it had to do with the story and how the story was told. Some of the songs were good and some were not. He was still finding a voice, and I think he still would be, but he had a voice and that was the important thing.

Driven by his own belief in his work, and supported by Leacock, Larson continued to work on Superbia. In 1989 they produced the show as a rock concert at the Village Gate, a nightclub in Greenwich Village.

Victoria Leacock: It was free, and more than 200 people came. Everybody said it was fabulous. We were $2000 dollars in debt, and nothing came of it. So Jonathan gave up on Superbia. They were always saying it was too big, there were too many people in it, it was too expensive to do. So around that time, Jonathan decided to do his monologue.


...

I love the RENT book, and I love every single thing about Jonathan Larson. Hope that answered questions. By the way, if the Superbia music/script are still around, don't you think it could be produced now, in the age of multi-million dollar spectacles? I don't know. Food for thought.

[MyNameInLights]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 9:53pm

Please tell me I didn't type that all for nothing!

[Phantom2]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 9:54pm

Loved that part in TTB. Amy Spanger was a goddess singing COME TO YOUR SENSES.

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 9:52pm

I enjoyed Nicole Ruth Snelson singing it.

[MyNameInLights]

Posted: 12/13/04 at 9:57pm

I think it is a beautiful song. It bugs me so much that I'll never hear anymore of the music.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 12/14/04 at 2:10am

I think the premise is a bit silly (silly-satirical, that is) or horrifying for a song like "Come to your Senses" to fit in. But what do I know, I wasn't at the concert.

[Spence101287]

Posted: 2/12/05 at 9:38pm

This may have already been answered somewhere else, but I'm new here...is the music from Superbia out there in any form, bootlegged or something? I'd love to track down some more of the music from it, other than the one song in Tick Tick Boom. Thanks! Please be nice to the newbie!

[Feathah]

Posted: 2/12/05 at 9:48pm

Thanks for typing all that!
It would be fun to see it staged in a concert format again. Just to hear the music!

[timote316]

Posted: 2/12/05 at 10:46pm

Can I just say that I read though most of this thread, thinking I was having deja-vu because I remember this conversation. Only after MyNameInLights' post did I look at the date (thanks for typing that, btw!).

I think a concert of that would be a great idea. Maybe as part of a best of Jonathan Larson concert, featuring songs from Rent, ttB, and his other works?

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 2/28/05 at 6:15pm

That's an amazing idea. They should really do a Jonathan Larson concert! And include "Love Heals" from Sherie Rene's solo CD!

[IMsooHyprToday]

Posted: 2/28/05 at 6:43pm

thanks for typing that MyNameInLights