Backstage Roles Part 1 of 3: Theatrical Properties (Props)

(I realized that I havn't yet finished the musical characters series yet, but please bear with me, I want to give some credit to those we don't always see.)

Theatrical Properties (henceforth referred to as Props) is an important part of any performance. Props can be important in advancing the story in some shows (Once Upon A Mattress relies heavily on props)  or just aids to the show (Finians Rainbow the only major props are a pot of gold and a guitar). Yet this position always needs to be filled. It is near essential to put on a show. Props masters have to coordinate themselves with costume and set designers, as well as the director and possibly music director if it is an in use instrument.

It's no easy task and I will be undertaking it myself in a production of Is He Dead? by Mark Twain, where the biggest and hardest prop is a full sized coffin.

Musical Charcters Part 4 of 6: Josh Baskin

Josh Baskin is the main character in the musical adaption of the movie Big. At the start of the show Josh is a 12-year-old boy living in a New Jersey Suburb. He has feelings of self conciseness whenever the girl he has a crush on, 13-year-old Cynthia Benson is near. He and his friends have no idea what is happening to them and their parents don't either, this feeling is expressed in the song "Can't Wait".

Josh's friend Billy later tells him the he has heard the Cynthia things he's "cute". Josh begins to worry what to say to Cynthia as Billy explains everything will go fine at the carnival that night, this dialog is heard in the song "Talk to Her".

At that carnival that night, Josh makes a fool of himself when he learns that Cynthia has an older boyfriend. He also is embarrassed in front of the roller coaster when the operator tells him he is to short to ride. Billy tries to talk to him but Josh speeds away on his skateboard to the abandoned warehouse.

At the warehouse, Josh finds an old arcade game called Zoltar Speaks it prompts him to put in a coin and make a wish. Josh does this makes his wish, a wish to be big. Zoltar replies "Your wish is granted" as Josh leaves to go home.

The next morning Josh realizes something is wrong ("This Isn't Me"). The machine has granted his wish and he is now a 30-year-old man. He realizes the machine has granted his wish and is scared and confused because, though he has the body of a 30-year-old, his mind is still that of a 12-year-old boy.

Josh than comes downstairs and scares his mother and runs off to the school and tries to get Billy to help him. Billy only believes it's Josh when they perform their secret had shake.

Without a plan, Billy and Josh take a bus to New York City after school. Billy wants to stay by Josh but has to catch the next bus home. Josh and Billy agree to meet at FAO Schwartz the next day. After Billy leaves, Josh gets frightened and has trouble falling asleep ("I Want to go Home").

The next day Josh goes to FAO Schwartz and is amazed by the multitude of kids having fun with toys ("The Time of Your Life"). Billy hasn't arrived so Josh kills time by walking around the store and starts to chat with an elderly man. It turns out that the man is Mr. Macmillan the CEO of Macmillan toys, he had come to the store to try and find out why so many companies are beating Macmillan toys in sales. Josh replies that Macmillan toys "Don't allow kids to have fun,". Instead of being angered by this comment Macmillan is intrigued by what Josh has to say about what makes a toy fun. They end up having a great time playing on a giant piano and he hires Josh as his assistant on the spot.


Later at a meeting at the Macmillan company, the vice-presidents are presenting their holiday toy ideas to Josh and Mr. Macmillan. Josh shoots all the ideas that are presented down which enrages the vice-presidents ("Josh's Welcome"). One of the vice-presidents, Paul is also upset over his relationship with another vice-president, Susan, suddenly ending.

Susan is working late that night when she realizes her feelings for Josh because he is so different from Paul. ("Here We Go Again").

Will Josh ever return to normal? Find out by either watching the musical of Big or the movie, staring Tom Hanks (While devoid of music it still is a quality film)

Musical Characters part 3 of 6: Kenickie Murdock

Kenickie is the second in command of the T-Birds in the musical Grease.

Early on is the musical he is made fun of for his purchase of a new (used) car that is as described a "hunk-of-junk". He than describes how he and the gang of greasers are gonna fix the car up and pick up chicks.

here are some of the lyrics to the song "Greased Lightin'"

(Kenickie)
We'll get some overhead lifters, and four barrel quads, oh yeah
(T-Birds)
Keep talkin', whoah keep talkin'
(Kenickie)
Fuel injection cut off, and chrome plated rods, oh yeah
(T-Birds)
I'll get the money, I'll see you get the money
(Kenickie)
With a four-speed on the floor, they'll be waitin' at the door

As you see he gets the guys pumped up for this car.

Later at the dance Kenickie drops his blind date Chi-Chi for Rizzio and Danny ends up with Chi-Chi.

After a partying later, Rizzio drops the bomb that she believe she is pregnant.

In the end it turns out she's not and they all live happily ever after.


Also, Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog "It's a Brand New Day"

You may have seen my post of musical characters part 2, well here is the song the defines Dr. Horrible's new attitude. Give it a listen! You might find something you enjoy.

P.S. Neil Patrick Harris rocks

Musical Characters part 2 of 6: Billy (Dr. Horrible)

Dr. Horrible is a the main character and antihero from the hit musical movie Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog He is an aspiring supervillian applying to become a member of the Evil League of Evil. At the start of the story he is a non-violent person who has a yet-to-be-completed "freeze ray" that he hopes will give him entrance into the ELE. He longs for a girl he knows from the laundromat named Penny. He hopes that he will be able to find the ways the impress her (My Freeze Ray). His gets called by the ELE saying that he just has to pull of an evil deed to gain entrance, Dr. Horrible hopes to finish his freeze ray than use it to gain entrance. To complete his freeze ray he needs something called Wonderflunium to finish it. He ops to steal the element but is interrupted by his arch nemesis Captain Hammer. A chase ensues with the van nearly hitting Penny, Dr. Horrible stops it but Penny believes Captain Hammer did. He takes the Wonderflumnium and escapes.



In the second act it opens on Dr. Horrible saying he is going to freeze the mayor of the city today on his blog. He is later thwarted by Captain Hammer and the LAPD (Who evidently watch his blog) Bad Horse reprimands him and says that the only way he will gain entrance to the ELE is to assassinate someone. Dr. Horrible is conflicted on who to kill and if he even wants to kill. Slowly though Dr. Horrible becomes friends with Penny who knows him by in alter-ego Billy. One day at the laundromat as Billy and Penny enjoy a snack and a talk Captain Hammer drops by and he and Billy pretend not to know each other, but as soon as Penny leaves Hammer taunts Dr. Horrible about his obvious crush on Penny. Captain Hammer is enjoyed by the fact that he gets to take what Horrible wants most in the world, Penny's love. It soon becomes evident that Hammer doesn't really care about her and Horrible decides that he, Doctor Horrible will kill Captain Hammer (Brand New Day) and begins to build a death ray.

For the end of Dr. Horrible's story watch the movie it's split into three acts and has quite the ending

Musicals characters part 1 of 6: Billy Bigelow

Billy Bigelow is the antihero from Carousel. 

At the opening of the show he is a carousel operator. One day Julie and her friend come to ride the carousel and Billy puts his arm around Julie, this causes him to be fired from his job as the carousel operator. He later marries Julie and conceives a child with her. Both Billy and Julie having been fired from their jobs so he struggles to find a way to make money. He dreams about the son he will have in his song Soliloquy as he goes through the song (Which is 7:57 long!) he realizes he could have a girl and decides that a girl deserves the best the money can buy. He decides to go with his friend Jigger who is a criminal sailor to rob Julies former boss, David Bascombe.

Julie tries to convince Billy not to attempt the robbery but Billy commits the robbery anyway. It turns out Mr.Bascombe has already deposited the money and is instead carrying a gun. Billy that runs and kills himself.

That is a brief synopses of Billy's life. For the rest of his story see Carousel on stage or on screen. 

Favorite Lyrics from Jersey Boys, West Side Story, Next To Normal, and Sweeny Todd.

Jersey Boys
Big Man In Town

Each day as I grow older,
The nights are getting colder.
Some day the sun will shine on me.
Money, I don't have any:
I'm down to my last penny,
But, darling, don't cry over me:


West Side Story
 Gee, Officer Krupke

Dear kindly Sergeant Krupke,
You gotta understand,
It's just our bringin' up-ke
That gets us out of hand.
Our mothers all are junkies,
Our fathers all are drunks.
Golly Moses, natcherly we're punks!

Next To Normal
I've Been


Will it work, this cure?
There's no way to be sure.
But I'm weary to the bone
And whenever she goes flying
I keep my feet right on the ground.

Sweeny Todd
A Little Priest


Try the friar,
Fried, it's drier!
TODD:
No, the clergy is really
Too coarse and too mealy!
LOVETT:
Then actor,
That's compacter!
TODD:
Yes, and always arrives overdone!
I'll come again when you have JUDGE on the menu!

Enjoy!

Jersey Boys

The musical Jersey Boys is about the group The Four Seasons. It is a jukebox musical but is one of those that actually has a plot. It has many memorable songs in it, some by The Four Seasons, some not.

Here is a partial list of songs.
_____________________
Sherry
Dawn
Big Man In Town
Earth Angel
 My Eyes Adored You
My Mothers Eyes
Short Shorts
....And many others!



Jersey Boys is one of my favorite musicals and I believe everyone should give it a listen. It's a worth while show with some funny lines and a great plot.

Rent "What You Own" OBC (Original Broadway Cast)

One of my favorite musicals is Rent. "What You Own" is by far my favorite song from it. I hope you all enjoy it, I believe it has one of the best messages of any song in a musical and so true to today's society.

Song Lyrics Of The Week 10-15-10

Here is a great song from the musical Assassins by Stephen Sondheim. The lyrics are to the song "The Balled of Czolgosz".

BALLADEER]
Czolgosz,
Working man,
Born in the middle of Michigan,
Woke with a thought
And away he ran
To the Pan-American Exposition
In Buffalo,
In Buffalo.

Saw of a sudden
How things were run,
Said, "Time's a-wasting
It's nineteen-one.
Some men have everything
And some have none,
So rise and shine-
In the U.S.A.
You can work your way
To the head of the line!"

[ATTENDANT]
Single line, ladies and gentlemen. Line forms here
to meet the President of the United States. Single
line to shake hands with President William McKinley.

[BALLADEER]
Czolgosz,
Quiet man,
Worked out a quiet
And simple plan,
Strolled of a morning
All spick and span,
To the Temple Of Music
By the Tower Of Light
At the Pan-American Exposition
In Buffalo,
In Buffalo.

Saw Bill McKinley there
In the sun.
Heard Bill McKinley say,
"Folks, have fun!
Some men have everything
And some have none,
But that's just fine:
in the U.S.A.
You can work your way
To the head of the line!"

[CROWD]
Big Bill-!

[BALLADEER]
-Gave 'em a thrill.

[CROWD]
Big Bill-!

[BALLADEER]
-Sold 'em a bill.

[CROWD]
Big Bill-!

[BALLADEER]
-Who'd want to kill
A man of good will
Like-?

[CROWD]
Big Bill!

[FAIRGOER #1]
Doesn't the President look Marvelous?
So round and prosperous!

[FAIRGOER #2]
Do you know what his favorite dish is?
It was in the paer. Beef.

[FAIRGOER #3]
I'm told that in his spare time he enjoys
collecting coins!

[BALLADEER]
Czolgosz,
Angry man,
Said, "I will do what
A poor man can.
Yes, and there's nowhere
More fitting than
In the Temple Of Music
By the Tower Of Light
Between the Fountain Of Abundance
And the Court of Lilies
At the great Pan-American Exposition
In Buffalo,
In Buffalo.

Wrapped him a handkerchief
"round his gun,
Said, "Nothin' wrong about
What I done.
Some men have everything
And some have none-
That's by design.
The idea wasn't mine alone,
But mine,
And that's the sign:

In the U.S.A.
You can have your say,
You can set you goals
And seize the day,
You've been given the freedom
To work your way
To the head of the line-
To the head of the line!

Thank you to stlyrics.com for filling in the blanks in my lyrics.

Musicals That Expressing Thoughts On Issues

Musicals are an art form that often takes the political views from the person who writes the book or lyrics. They can mirror modern issues or issues from the past.

Fiddler on the Roof is a musicals based in Russia in 1905. It centers around the Jewish customs of the time. Tevye is the poor milkman of his town of Anatevka. It has many undertones about the Jewish being forced away from their homes and the violence inflicted on them by the Russians. It also has themes of religion and the world as they know it changing. The "Fiddler" is a metaphor to the Jewish having to balance their lives and one slip might end everything.

But on a different note, Kiss Me Kate a musical by Cole Porter had themes about woman's rights especially shown in the song "I Hate Men" and "I Am Ashamed The Women Are So Simple".

Also on a similar but different note, West Side Story takes on the idea of racism and equality. This is shown by the hated of the love between Tony and Maria. It also tackles the idea of when girls become women with the song "I Feel Pretty". Also with the song "America" it takes the idea that some people are happy with immigration and others are not. Also this show shows gang violence and police brutality. Ending the murder of three young men in the show, it shows the consequences of the gang life they all thought was "fun".

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street shows the evils of men that can happen when something bad happens to them. It also shows Benjamin Barkers (who is now using the name Sweeney Todd) as his quest to get revenge.

Throw Back Day- Radio Plays

Back in the day, radios not TV were a popular source of entertainment, and one type of entertainment were radio plays like The Devils Hand.

Technology has changed entertainment so much since than but is that such a good thing?

TV, computers, and video games now consume the lives of today's youth, getting rid of such simple pleasures as reading and watching plays or musicals.

Today's lives have become so complicated you can't stop and smell the roses. We all need to take some time today to think about the past and how our lives have changed since than.

Enjoy simpler forms of entertainment, read a book or listen to some radio today.

Thank you all who will do this.

Musical sequels

MUSICALS!

 Musicals rarely have sequels, but is that such a bad thing?

Most musical sequels are relatively plot-less that have sub-par musical trying to follow the originals success

Bye Bye Birdie which was a successful musical about Conrad Birdie (Elvis Presley) going into the army and fading into obscurity. Bring Back Birdie was the sequel about Albert getting Conrad back for a performance at the Grammys. Lets just say Conrad should have just disappeared, the show ran for only four performances.

That would be the only major example of a musical sequel. Most never make it to Broadway! But it proves that once a show dies it should stay dead (Except for revivals maybe....).

Musicals Based on Filmed

Musicals always have to have a base, and recently the base has often been Movies.
To quote Jeff Bowen in his musical [Title of Show]

Blank Paper: "More recently movies have been adapted into musicals"
Hunter: "So movies make good musicals!"
Blank Paper: "Well, they make musicals"

The first major movie-musical was Big. Based on a movie staring Tom Hanks, it hit Broadway in 1996.
It had an all original lyrics and music by Richard Eldridge Maltby, Jr

Since than many movies have become musicals. The most famous of which have always been Disney, Beauty and the Beast is longest running movie-musical.

But one of the most famous now is Hairspray which went from movie to movie-musical to musical-movie.

So it's inevitable that movies will become musicals. This weeks question is What movie should be made into a musical? I have taken some of the best selling movies of all time and put them on the list. Enjoy!

Jukebox musicals. A blessling or a curse?

Jukebox musicals have been popping up everywhere on Broadway these days, Rock of Ages, Million Dollar Quartet, American Idiot, Movin' Out, Jersey Boys, Lennon, and We Will Rock You. 


To answer that question we must first answer several other questions.

Q: What is a jukebox musical?
A: A mixture of songs that usually share a common element (Time period, artist, etc.) Usually connected by a loose plot or no plot at all.

Q: Who sees jukebox musicals?
A: The demographic shows that most jukebox musical goers and between the ages of 34-40 as of 2009.

Q: Why 34 to 40?
A: Simple, most jukebox musicals as of 2009 were music from the time they were growing up.

Q: What has been the most popular jukebox musical?
A: Jersey Boys has enjoyed the best ticket sales.
__________________________________________________________________________________
So are jukebox musicals a good thing? That's up for you to decide.
I think they can be both good and bad just like traditional ones. It depends on the music and the plot. Jersey Boys is one of my favorite musicals because I'm a fan of the Four Seasons.
I'm introducing a poll today. Vote on if you believe they are good for Broadway or not.

Next to Normal- The new wave of musicals

      Next to Normal is a unique musical which I fear will not stay unique for long. As a faster paced musical with a lot of plot twists it deviates from the standard musical fair. It's not a musical that has a strong opening number involved the entire cast, a down point in the middle, and an upbeat ending. This musical makes use of six cast members, four of which are major, two supporting. It is one of the darker musicals along the lines of Assassins, Carousel, and West Side Story.

     I saw a performance of it during my trip to New York. I must say it is one of the best musicals I have ever seen. Alice Ripley was a fierce Diana and I believe that she could be crazy. Kyle Dean Massey makes a good Gabe with his carefree attitude. I sadly didn't see the actual Dan, but if he's half as good as his understudy he must be one kick-butt singer.

Excerpt from Broadway.com's description of  Next to Normal

"This new musical centers on what appears to be a typical American family: Dad’s an architect; Mom rushes to pack lunches and pour cereal; their daughter and son are bright, wise-cracking teens. And yet their lives are anything but normal"

 In my opinion, Next to Normal   Is the first wave in a flood of a new style of musical. I fast paced Rock'n'roll style of musical without novelty songs. A darker more modern musical that has to do with the issues facing people today, not just the "I'm in love with the rival gang leaders sister," Musical. NO! It's a musical which shoves todays issues in your face and forces you to question if not change the way you though about it before

Musical Madness

Musicals are unique. Each individual show has it's own thing to bring to the stage. This blog will be dedicated to those musicals and all they are worth.