Next month the York Theatre Company, in New York City, presents The Musical of Musicals (a Musical!):
June, an ingénue who can’t pay the rent, is threatened by her evil landlord. Will the handsome leading man come to her rescue? In an evening of variations on a theme, this basic plot is musicalized the way Rodgers and Hammerstein might have envisioned it, taking place in Kansas in August, complete with a Dream Ballet. The story is then done in the style of Stephen Sondheim, featuring the landlord as a tortured, artistic genius who slashes the throats of his tenants in revenge because they don’t appreciate his art. When presented in the style of Jerry Herman, the story becomes a splashy star vehicle, while the Andrew Lloyd Webber version is a rock musical, with borrowed themes from Puccini. The story is re-told one last time in the style of Kander and Ebb, set in a speakeasy in Chicago.
Ha, sounds like fun. In other theater news, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick will reprise their original roles in The Producers on Broadway from Dec. 30, 2003 to Apr. 4, 2004. Tickets go on sale Nov. 16, and the return should spark some renewed interest after a reported slump in ticket sales.
One reply on “Meta-theater”
That musical sounds fantastic! Looks like I might have to visit NYC after all…