Preview 2004-2005: Pop Goes Broadway

No doubt about it, Mamma Mia! has a great deal to answer for. One might not have thought that creating an original story around the ABBA song catalogue would result in one of the most successful musical productions in theatrical history. But that appears to be what has happened. As a result, producers continue to look into finding ways to bring other pop catalogues to the stage, mostly in book shows rather than as straightforward song revues, a genre that may have run its course.

Mamma Mia! originated in London, and that's where several such follow-ups have already been tried. The songs of Queen became a West End hit as We Will Rock You, and while that show's producers are wisely avoiding Broadway, We Will Rock You already has a Madrid cast album, opens in Germany in December, and is set to play Las Vegas. The music of Rod Stewart was the basis for a current, unsuccessful London show called Tonight's the Night.

This season, it's Broadway's turn, and if it can't be said that the following productions represent a healthy trend for musical theatre, one suspects that this is more than just a momentary fluke. Indeed, hardly a week seems to pass without the announcement of another entry in the category. Of course, it remains to be seen if audiences will flock to hear familiar tunes if their surrounding setting isn't as cleverly devised as the one in Mamma Mia! Several flops might quickly put an end to the genre. But some of these shows may prove to be critic-proof. Looking over the forthcoming list, I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of them turns into a hit.

First up is Good Vibrations, which features the songs of the Beach Boys, fit into a new book by Richard Dresser. John Carrafa Urinetown, Dance of the Vampires is both director and choreographer, and the piece was recently presented by New York Stage and Film at Vassar College. David Larsen and Justin Guarini had the leads in this saga of teenagers who journey to the beaches of Southern California. Performances begin at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in December.

For the record, this is not the first attempt at a book musical built around the Beach Boys' catalogue. In 1985, Surf City, subtitled "The Beach Boys Musical," closed in previews at off-Broadway's Entermedia Theatre.

Then there's All Shook Up, a musical built around two dozen songs associated with Elvis Presley. Unlike previous entries in this genre, the songs are not the work of a single set of songwriters. But you can expect to hear such favorites as "Heartbreak Hotel," "Love Me Tender," "Don't Be Cruel," "Can't Help Falling in Love," and the title song.

This sounds like a better idea than attempting to bring these songs to the stage in the form of an Elvis-bio musical. There have been a couple of London attempts at something of that nature, with such shows as Elvis and Are You Lonesome Tonight?, and London is currently playing host to a stage version of a Presley film, Jailhouse Rock. The All Shook Up book is by Joe DiPietro, whose musicals include off-Broadway's I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change and The Thing About Men.

And what sort of story has DiPietro dreamed up to allow these Elvis songs to be heard? I'll simply quote from a press release: "Somewhere in middle America---one girl's dream and a surprise visit from a mysterious leather-jacketed, guitar-playing stranger will lead a small town to discover the magic of romance and the power of rock 'n' roll." Or to quote another source, the plot concerns "what happens in a loveless town when a magical jukebox and a lady-loving, leather-clad stranger arrive." The stranger is not meant to be Elvis, who mercifully is not a character in the show.

Commisioned by the Presley estate, All Shook Up has already had its first shakedown. Under the direction of Christopher Ashley, it played in May and June at Goodspeed Musical's Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Connecticut. The company included Jennifer Gambatese, Jonathan Hadary, Leah Hocking, Ashton Holmes, Nikki M. James, John Jellison, Alix Korey, Mark Price, Manley Pope, and Sharon Wilkins. There were no reviews, as that's the policy at Chester.

Next stop for All Shook Up is Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre, where The Producers was first seen. The new show will play there from December 21 to January 23, with a Broadway opening at the Palace Theatre announced for March 24. Taking over the leading role of Chad from Pope will be Tony winner Jarrod Emick, most recently seen in The Boy from Oz.

And Presley and Beach Boys songs aren't the only pop catalogues announced for Broadway this season. Those involved in Good Vibrations and All Shook Up have gone to pains to make it clear that their shows are not biographies of their musical subjects. But last season's catalogue show The Boy from Oz took the biographical approach, and so apparently will this season's Lennon, also announced for Broadway in March, following a run in San Francisco. This one will tell John Lennon's story while featuring his post-Beatles songs, including "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance." Director Don Scardino has written the script with Eric Overmyer.

For the record, it should be noted that another show on the same subject failed off-Broadway a couple of decades ago. It was also called Lennon, and it opened at the Entermedia Theatre in October 1982, lasting twenty-five performances. David Patrick Kelly played Younger John and Robert LuPone was Older John.

More recently announced than any of the above titles is Colour My World, a book musical built around the song catalogue of the rock band Chicago. Jeff Arch's script is said to be an original love story, and theatre composer Doug Katsaros is the musical director.

Soon, Hairspray's '60s girl group will no longer be joined on Broadway by the girl groups of Little Shop of Horrors and Caroline, or Change. But to make up for that loss, there's a possible Broadway production of Beehive, the 1986 off-Broadway show built around the music of '60s girl groups. Significantly, it appears that this song revue will for Broadway be equipped with a book by Jim Goeghan. Carrie choreographer Debbie Allen is to make her Broadway debut as director/choreographer with Beehive on Broadway.

No word of late about such other other pop musicals as Drive All Night, the Bruce Springsteen show. But speaking of popular singers, this may be as good a place as any to bring up Why Do Fools Fall in Love?, which has been announced for Broadway in the spring. Based on the 1998 film of the same title, this is the true story of doo-wop vocalist Frankie Lymon and the three wives who claimed his estate. The book is by Tina Andrews, who wrote the film, and this one has an original score by Andrews and Stanley Bennett Clay.

Fools will have its world premiere at the Pasadena Playhouse in October. The director-choreographer is Wayne Cilento, who's also handling the choreography for this spring's Broadway revival of Sweet Charity.

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