From Stage to Screen: Now Discussing; "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"

Never seen it on the stage, but the movie is good, if too long. The cliche is that Julie Andrews was a great guttersnipe, but it has always seemed highly unlikely to me; she'd be starchy in a porn film. Hepburn is rather good as the flower girl, and dull as the lady. She doesn't sing, but since Marni Nixon has exactly the sort of canned soprano that Andrews does, not much is lost.

Fave song: "I Could Have Danced All Night"

 

Which makes it all the juicier that Julie Andrews beat out Audrey Hepburn for the Best Actress Oscar that year, for Mary Poppins.

 

It wasn't juicy, it was a damned shame.

 

Next up:

Legally Blonde

Yes, oh yes, my friends, the new classic Reese Witherspoon comedy has hit Broadway.

When Sorority Girl Elle Woods is dumped by her perfect boyfriend, she resolves to drop her Beverly Hills lifestyle and head for Harvard Law to win him back...but can a pretty, bubbly blond prove her classmates wrong and become a decent lawyer? And is Warner Huntington III...really worth it?

The Broadway.com Preview video

 

Hmmm...because the clip wasn't synchronized, it was a bit hard to tell about the music; but the the material and the staging looked promising.

 

Going back to our original stage-to-screen theme, our next one is

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hedwig, born a boy named Hansel in East Berlin, fell in love with an American G.I. and underwent a sex-change operation in order to marry him and flee to the West. Unfortunately, nothing worked out quite as it was supposed to - she's left with, well...one Angry Inch.

Years later, Hedwig is leading her rock band on a tour of the U.S., telling her life story through a series of concerts at Bilgewater Inn seafood restaurants. Her tour dates coincide with those of arena-rock star Tommy Gnosis, a wide-eyed boy who once loved Hedwig... but then left with all her songs.

The original play was written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell, who also starred. He reprised all three roles for the film version.

 

Is this a musical, or is that a stupid question?

 

It's a musical.

I've only seen the movie, but I love it to death.

 

Everyone I know has seen this movie and tells me that I HAVE to see it asap. Of course, I still haven't. Lazy me.

 

Fiddler on the Roof has a wonderful success story. The show focuses on one man's issues within his own family and faith. From that alone the show won universal appeal. Everyone can relate with Tevye's struggle. There on stage or screen we can see another adult who has choices to make everyday. That is a lot of stress and the musical expresses the sentiments wonderfully.

The show most recently underwent a revival on Broadway, led by Aflred Molina as Tevye.

 

I've seen the movie. The original Teyve was Zero Mostel, who I can't believe was a success in the role; he seems all wrong.

Topol was very good, IMO.

 

Oh, Topol was easily the best part of the movie. My sister and I used to watch "If I were a rich man" over and over again, just to see him wave his arms around.

 

He was damned good, I thought. But the movie seemed terribly long, and after the wedding, there isn't a decent song.

 

Next up:

The Music Man

Professor Harold Hill likes a challenge and when the other salesmen on the train west tell him that Iowa is the biggest test of all of sales ability, he gets off at River City. We know it's the 20th century there, only because of a reference in one of the songs to Gary, Indiana. Marian the librarian doesn't buy the professor's line but he convinces many of his other potential customers that the new pool table that has just been placed in the billiard parlor could mean "trouble in River City." How to keep the youngsters "moral after school?" Form a boys marching band.

The show opened on December 19, 1957 at the Majestic Theatre, where it remained for nearly three years before transferring to The Broadway Theatre to complete its 1,375-performance run. The original cast included Robert Preston (who went on to reprise his role in the 1962 screen adaptation) as Harold Hill, Barbara Cook as Marian, and Eddie Hodges as Winthrop, with Pert Kelton, David Burns, and Iggie Wolfington in supporting roles. Eddie Albert replaced Preston later in the run.

Since then the musical has undergone many incarnations, from stage revivals to the award-winning 1962 film, and most recently in a 2003 made for TV film starring Matthew Broderick as Hill.

In all honesty, I'm not the biggest fan of this one. To me it seems to be to cheesy for it's own good. Although it has a few enjoyable scenes--namely the opener with all the salesmen on the train, as well as the pick-a-little, talk-a-little ladies impressions of Grecian Urns.

 

Haven't seen it on the stage. The movie is very long, very literal, and has only a few good scenes. Preston is good, though.

 

Up next:

On the Town

Three sailors - Gabey, Chip and Ozzie - let loose on a 24-hour pass in New York and the Big Apple will never be the same! Gabey falls head over heels for "Miss Turnstiles of the Month" (he thinks she's a high society deb when she's really a 'cooch dancer at Coney Island); innocent Chip gets highjacked (literally) by a lady cab driver; and Ozzie becomes the object of interest of a gorgeous anthropologist who thinks he's the perfect example of a "prehistoric man".

Before purchasing the film rights to the musical, M-G-M had assigned George Abbott, the director of the stage show, to direct the film version. However, Louis B. Mayer and other studio executives disliked the stage show when they saw it and regretted their involvement in the property. By November 1945, the studio had assigned Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen to direct the film, and contracted Betty Comden and Adolph Green to rewrite the book with much of Leonard Bernstein's original score discarded. The film features only four songs from the original musical, those composed by Leonard Bernstein, and six that were created especially for the screen. This was also the first musical to be shot on location.

 

I've seen pictures of the stage show, so I know it was quite different. The movie has a lot of energy, but you have to believe Frank Sinatra is a shy guy with women. Yeah, riiiight.

 

Next up:

Sweeney Todd

Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a musical with a book by Hugh Wheeler and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Based on the 19th century legend of Sweeney Todd, and specifically upon the 1973 play by Christopher Bond, it "tells the tale" of Todd, the former Benjamin Barker, who returns from the penal colonies in Australia where he has spent fifteen years on false charges. When he learns from Mrs. Lovett, whose meat pies are the worst in London, that his wife poisoned herself after being raped by Judge Turpin, and his daughter is the ward of Judge Turpin, who imprisoned him, he vows revenge. The two become conspirators in a dark plot that results in mass murder, booming business for Lovett's shop, and ultimately tragedy.

A feature film adaptation of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd began principal production on February 5, 2007. Tim Burton directs from a screenplay by John Logan. It stars Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd, Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin, Sacha Baron Cohen as Signor Adolfo Pirelli, and Laura Michelle Kelly as the Beggar Woman. Additional cast includes Anthony Stewart Head and Timothy Spall. The Dreamworks/Warner Bros. production is slated for release on December 21, 2007.

I'm actually excited about this one. Love Johnny Depp, love Tim Burton, love Sondheim. It certainly has potential!

 

Haven't seen the play, but it was very successful. The movie does sound hugely interesting.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing Johnny Depp take on the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Can't say I'm too surprised Tim Burton's GF got Mrs. Lovett...but I'd have rather seen someone like Meryl Streep or Glenn Close in the role, and Helena Bonham Carter as the Beggar Woman(a small but crucial role). Onstage, Mrs. Lovett is supposed to be older than Sweeney, but oh well.

Can she even sing? Johnny must be able to in some way, since I heard he sang before Sondheim himself.

Casting of Mrs. Lovett aside(I don't hate it, but I'm not excited about it), I'm looking forward to the film version. I've never seen the show, but I have the Original Broadway Cast Recording and the score is fabulous. If you don't have it, try to get your hands on a copy. Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou are great fun as Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney(respectively), especially in "A Little Priest".

 

Next up, one of my personal favorites...

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

What do a Transylvanian transvestite, a cryogenically-preserved motorbiker and a Frankenstein's monster wearing golden underpants all have in common? They're all crucial parts of Rocky Horror Picture Show, the comedy cult classic which is at once hysterical, indispensable and truly disturbing. Innocent young lovers Brad and Janet (Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon) are stranded when their car breaks down, so they are forced to seek refuge in the castle of the bizarre Dr. Frankenfurter (Tim Curry), who is having a gathering of some kind...

What ensues is an unforgettable night of music and madness where, like a circus act, you never know what's going to come next. Adding to the madness is the narration of the soporific Professor, who, in omnipotence, recounts the whole story from the comfort of his genteel study. Of course, there are pre-designed spots for audience participation - from being doused with spray bottles to throwing popcorn at the screen to getting up from your seat and dancing along to the incomparable "Time Warp". By the end of the night, fantasies will be realities, men will be women and everything will be explained - or will it?!?!?

Originally premiering onstage as "The Rocky Horror Show," this cult classic was written by Richard O'Brian, who also originated the role of the butler Riff-Raff. The film version has gone on to become the paragon of cult film, with "audience participation" screenings cropping up worldwide.

 

While TRHPS is fun to watch on its own, it's MORE fun to watch with other people...

 

My favorite Halloween pastime is to go to a midnight screening in a corset and fishnets, so I can scream at the screen and throw stuff. They do it monthly at Universal Citiwalk here!!

 

Good G-d... can I come watch?

 

*sigh* Pictures on my myspace...