the morning line - Boneau/Bryan

THE MORNING LINE
DATE:
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
FROM:
Emily Meagher, Michelle Farabaugh
Carina Conti
PAGES:
18, including this page
December 16, 2014
She’s a Lumberjack, She’s O.K., and She’s in ‘Messiah’
‘Not the Messiah (He’s a Very Naughty Boy),’ by Eric Idle
By Alexis Soloski
The Acts of the Apostles contains very few lumberjacks. Dead parrots are thin on the ground of Corinthians.
And only an extremely flamboyant translator would render certain lines in the Gospel of Matthew as “wink,
wink, nudge, nudge.”
For biblical flourishes like these, you have to consult the (possibly apocryphal) Book of Brian.
And that’s what thousands did on Monday night, filling Carnegie Hall for the merrily sacrilegious “Not the
Messiah (He’s a Very Naughty Boy),” a comic oratorio based on Monty Python’s 1979 film, “Life of Brian.” A
concert that flies off the Handel, the work features a libretto by the Python Eric Idle and music by Mr. Idle’s
“Monty Python’s Spamalot” collaborator John Du Prez. It enlisted the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Collegiate
Chorale and soloists drawn from, as Mr. Idle said, “the finest talents apparently unemployed on Broadway.”
Using Handel’s “Messiah” as a template for “Life of Brian” seems as brilliant as it is obvious. A chorus like
“All We Like Sheep” is practically Python-esque already. But “Not the Messiah” is only glancingly baroque;
Mr. Idle refers to the style as “baroque ‘n’ roll.” An all-you-can-eat buffet of musical influence and pastiche, it
draws from pop, doo-wop, folk, flamenco, Gilbert and Sullivan, mariachi music and Bob Dylan at his
mumbliest.
You can still hear jolly old George Frideric at times, particularly in the first part, “Apocalypso Now,” in which
Mr. Idle’s transgender lumberjack narrator, Mrs. Betty Parkinson, recalls how she discovered the Book of
Brian, a tome “that was to change my life: and eventually my sex.” Some puzzling theology follows — sixheaded beasts and 16-breasted gorgons figure big. But then unto us a child is born (well, unto a nubile Jew
named Mandy, Mary’s neighbor), and the piece is off and away.
Fans of the film may be delighted and frustrated by how much of that script Mr. Idle crams in and how much he
leaves out. The Roman legate with the unpublishable name makes a late and welcome appearance; the
grammatically correct graffiti and the suicide squad don’t. Still, there are compensations.
Victoria Clark, who recently played a nun in “Sister Act” on Broadway, made a nicely unvirginal Mandy.
Lauren Worsham, late of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder,” lent her glossy soprano to Brian’s
sweetheart. Marc Kudisch’s pleasantly unctuous bass fulfilled many a role, while the Metropolitan Opera
newbie William Ferguson portrayed Brian with a sweetly impish tenor. Mr. Idle sang, too. (The program
describes his voice as “baritone-ish.”) Both the chorale and the orchestra, directed and conducted with bopping
flair by Ted Sperling, got in on the fun — bickering, whistling, donning hard hats and sombreros.
Total Daily Circulation – 1,897,890
Total Sunday Circulation – 2,391,986
Monthly Online Readership – 30,000,000
At the risk of inviting the wrath of “Brian” devotees (Brianians? Brianists? Brews?), I should say that “Not the
Messiah” sometimes feels more minor than it should, the lyrics only moderately clever, the musical jokes too
easy. And yet, if the oratorio were to rise again after its two-night stint, not even a Judas would grumble.
December 16, 2014
Musical 'Something Rotten!' heading to Broadway
By Mark Kennedy
William Shakespeare is heading back to Broadway - but this time he'll be mocked
in a musical.
Tony-winning producer Kevin McCollum said Tuesday that the sweet and goofy
new show "Something Rotten!" will play the St. James Theatre in March. Tony
winner Casey Nicholaw will direct and choreograph the musical.
The comedy is set during the Renaissance and portrays Shakespeare as an
arrogant, rock star playwright. Two brothers desperate to write a hit show in his
shadow stumble on the notion of writing the world's first musical. There's plenty
of tap dancing, clever rhyming and fortune-telling.
"It takes place in 1595 but it's also about today and theater-going and
entertainment and celebrity and status and economics and success and joy and the
crucible of creativity," said McCollum.
The musical has music and lyrics by the brothers Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick. Wayne Kirkpatrick
is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter of such tunes as "Change the World" for Eric Clapton and "Wrapped
Up In You" by Garth Brooks. His brother helped write such films as "Chicken Run" and "The Smurfs 2."
The show's book is by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell, an author known for the books "The Man Who
Forgot His Wife" and "The Best a Man Can Get." The new musical will mark the trio's first Broadway show.
"It's got good-old-fashioned entertainment in a fresh package," said Nicholaw, whose credits include "Aladdin"
and "The Book of Mormon." "It feels kind of contemporary and the music sounds contemporary. I love it. I'm
so excited I get to share it with people."
A previously planned stop in Seattle to get the show ready for Broadway has been dropped. "We developed it
much faster together than we even thought possible," said McCollum. The theater became available when "Side
Show" announced it would close early at the St. James.
No casting was announced for "Something Rotten!" but an industry presentation this fall starred Brian d'Arcy
James and John Cariani as the brothers, Christian Borle as Shakespeare, Brad Oscar as Nostradamus and Beth
Leavel as the wife of one of the brothers.
Previews begin March 23 with an opening set for April 22. To celebrate the year the show is set, the show is
charging only $15.95 for every seat for the first three shows. Tickets go on sale Friday.
Another Shakespeare is waiting in the wings - a stage adaptation of "Shakespeare in Love" has been a hit in
London and plans are underway for a transfer to New York.
December 16, 2014
‘Something Rotten!’ Heats Up Broadway’s New Musical Race
By Gordon Cox
“Something Rotten!,” the new musical
comedy directed by “The Book of
Mormon” and “Aladdin” helmer Casey
Nicholaw (pictured, above) and produced
by Kevin McCollum (“Motown,” “Avenue
Q”), has locked in a Broadway run that
starts previews in March.
The addition brings one more contender to
a Broadway season of new musicals that
started off slow in the fall but picks up in
2015, with “Something Rotten!” joining a
springtime lineup already set to
include “Finding Neverland,” “Fun
Home,” “Honeymoon in Vegas,” “An American in Paris” and “Doctor Zhivago.” Along with the Sting musical
“The Last Ship,” the only other new Broadway musical to open this season was the short-lived “Holler If Ya Hear
Me.”
“Something Rotten!” will skip the pre-Broadway tryout run the show had initially scheduled for April at the 5th
Avenue Theater in Seattle, having gained some behind-the-scenes buzz in New York thanks to a series of
developmental workshops and industry readings. The well-reviewed but sales-challenged revival of “Side Show,”
which opened in November, will make way for “Something Rotten!” when it shutters at the St. James Theater Jan.
4.
Comedy “Something Rotten!” centers on two Elizabethan-age brothers who, resentful of working in the shadow
of bardic rockstar Shakespeare, follow a soothsayer’s advice and invent musical theater. Country and pop
songwriter Wayne Kirkpatrick and his brother Karey Kirkpatrick — a screenwriter whose output has included
“Chicken Run” and “Smurfs 2″ — pen the music and lyrics, with book by Karey Kirkpatrick and UK novelistscreenwriter John O’Farrell.
No casting for the Broadway staging has yet been set. Actors to have been involved in prior readings include
Christian Borle, Brian D’Arcy James, Beth Leavel and Will Chase.
“Something Rotten!” aims to combat the marketing obstacle of an unfamiliar title by offering $15.95 tickets for all
seats at its three initial preview performances. The show starts previews March 23 ahead of an April 22 opening at
the St. James.
Total Weekly Circulation – 30,857
Monthly Online Readership – 2,600,000
December 16, 2014
'Something Rotten!' Bound for Broadway
By David Rooney
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Rotten! to Broadway
comes.
Seizing on a plum vacancy created by the swift closing of Side
Show at the St. James Theatre on Jan. 4, producer Kevin
McCollum has announced the next tenant at that prime
Broadway venue.
A world-premiere musical comedy that imagines the birth of
musical comedy, Something Rotten! will begin previews March
23 at the St. James, with an official opening set for April 22. Casey Nicholaw, co-director of the massive
Broadway hit The Book of Mormon as well as Disney's Aladdin, will stage and choreograph the production.
Set in England in the 1590s, the show follows the desperate efforts of writing team Nick and Nigel Bottom to
compete in a theatrical market dominated by the Bard. When a fortuneteller sees a future spectacle driven by the
revolutionary concept of singing, dancing and acting at the same time, the brothers set out to produce the
world's very first musical.
Mirroring its story, Something Rotten! comes from the pen of sibling composers Wayne and Karey
Kirkpatrick, who teamed on the music and lyrics. Karey Kirkpatrick co-wrote the book with bestselling British
comic author John O'Farrell, whose books include An Utterly Impartial History of Britain. O'Farrell is also
known for his satirical columns in The Guardian and for his TV writing, including the 1980s cult comedy
series, Spitting Image.
As a songwriter, Wayne Kirkpatrick's work has been recorded by Amy Grant, Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Tim
McGraw, Trisha Yearwood, Joe Cocker and Eric Clapton, whose version of Kirkpatrick's "Change the
World" won the 1997 Grammy Award for Song of the Year.
Karey Kirkpatrick's screenwriting credits including Chicken Run, James and the Giant Peach, Charlotte's Web
and The Spiderwick Chronicles. He directed the Eddie Murphy comedy Imagine That and co-directed the 2006
animated feature Over the Hedge.
Lead producer McCollum's strong track record with original musicals includes Rent, Avenue Q and In the
Heights. He and Nicholaw previously teamed on another musical about musicals, The Drowsy Chaperone.
McCollum's upcoming Broadway projects also include the transfer of off-Broadway hit Hand to God, which
opens April 7 at the Booth Theatre.
Casting for Something Rotten! is to be announced.
Total Weekly Circulation – 70,000
Monthly Online Readership – 12,000,000