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Musical
Musique: Lionel Bart • Paroles: Lionel Bart • Livret: Frank Norman • Production originale: 5 versions mentionnées
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Genèse: Fart of a new wave of British musicals (Expresso Bongo, The Crooked Mile) dealing with the more sordid aspects of London life, Fings Ain't Wot They Used t'Be was celebrated for its realistic depiction of such Soho institutions as brasses (prostitutes), ponces (pimps), and spielers (gambling dens). Author Frank Norman, a former member of Soho’s underworld, originally wrote the story as a play without music and sent the first draft to Joan Littlewood of the Theatre Workshop. Miss Littlewood then called in Lionel Bart, who had previously written only lyrics, and the three turned it into a musical. It was first presented at the Theatre Royal, Stratford, Feb. 17, 1959, with the cast improvising much of the dialogue and situations. Its Guys-and-Dollsish story is concerned with Fred Cochran, who runs a grubby spieler, and his ambition to become a bigshot again. After winning a huge bet on a horse race, Fred has his place redecorated, but the opening-night party is ruined when Fred is beaten up for failing to pay off the police. Eventually he marries his longtime girlfriend, Lily. During run, Glynn Edwards was succeeded by Bryan Pringle, James Booth by Maurice Kaufmann.
Résumé: Fred Cochran, the hero, is a down-at-heel gangster, trying to make a comeback. Lil Smith is his loyal moll, a tart with a heart of gold, who longs for respectability and keeps a marriage licence ready for her lucky day. Fred's shpieler (gambling den) provides a refuge for the failures of the underworld: Paddy the gambler, Tosher the ponce with his girls Betty and Rosey, and Redhot, a sad little burglar who never manages to get warm. They all look to Fred for a living and when he wins on the horses it seems the gang may be back in business. Fred redecorates his place, all "contempery" and at the opening the Horrible Percey Fortesque comes to gamble and a rival leader, Meatface, is beaten in a razor fight. The play ends with a wedding - Lil and Fred are giving up crime to go straight; handing over the shpieler to the constable on the beat who has long wanted to go crooked!
Création: 17/2/1959 - Theatre Royal Stratford East (Londres) - représ.
Musical
Musique: Lionel Bart • Paroles: Lionel Bart • Livret: Lionel Bart • Production originale: 18 versions mentionnées
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Genèse: Original London production Oliver! premiered in the West End at the New Theatre (now the Noël Coward Theatre) on 30 June 1960 and ran for 2,618 performances. Directed by Peter Coe, the choreographer was Malcolm Clare and costumes and scenery were by Sean Kenny. The original cast featured Ron Moody as Fagin, Georgia Brown as Nancy, and Barry Humphries in the supporting comic role as Mr. Sowerberry, the undertaker. Keith Hamshere (the original Oliver) is now a Hollywood still photographer (Star Wars etc.); Martin Horsey (the original Dodger) works as an actor/director and is the author of the play L'Chaim. The cast also included Tony Robinson as one of the Workhouse boys/Fagin's Gang, and John Bluthal (now best known as The Vicar of Dibley's Frank Pickle) as Fagin. Former professional boxer Danny Sewell ( brother of television actor George Sewell ) was the original Bill Sikes, and remained in the role ( including the original Broadway & US touring productions ) for the best part of six years. Danny Sewell's main competitor at audition for the role of Sikes was Michael Caine, who later stated he "cried for a week" after failing to secure the part. The part of Nancy was originally written for Alma Cogan, who despite being unable to commit to the production, steered a great many producers to invest in it.[citation needed] Original Broadway production The musical previewed in the U.S. beginning in Los Angeles with Edwin Lester's L.A (and San Francisco) Civic Light Opera Association, as a 1962 national tour. The Sean Kenny sets were duplicated. The sets built in London, were shipped by sea and delivered to the Port of San Pedro, with the actual stage brick wall London mural painted as a scenic backing. Sean Kenny's design concept eliminated a house curtain exposing the turntable stage set, the open lighting pipes rigged with lamp fixtures, electric cables, and an open loft to the arriving audience. The turntable, scenic set and elements duplicated the original garish stylistic "wood grained" painted finish. With lighting, the set was intended to take on each specific color mood and change atmosphere. Edwin Lester hated the set's paint job, ordering his scenic shop manager Phil Raiguel to send scenic artists to glaze down the red, green, blue, yellow, orange grain finish. During the companies rehearsal prior to that evenings' 8 pm premiere audience, the two scenic artists (Wally Reid and Hub Braden) glazed over the scenery while the cast rehearsed on the turntable stair platform and bridge units. The scenic artists continued painting/glazing while the cast took their meal break prior to the overture. As the audience was seated, the open-to-view stage set painting continued, with the two scenic artists still painting and glazing as the musical was performed; continuing during the intermission, through the second act performance, actually taking curtain calls with the company! Remaining on stage afterwards, the two continued their glazing throughout the night, finishing the set's repainting the following day at noon. Reviews noted the brilliant stage direction included "two London house painters" atmosphere performance, later questioning where and why the house painters had been eliminated after the show's opening night .] "Oliver" premiered on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre on January 6, 1963, "minus the two house painters". It closed on November 14, 1964, after 774 performances. The cast featured child actor Bruce Prochnik in the title role alongside Georgia Brown, reprising her West End role as Nancy, and Clive Revill, replacing Ron Moody, as Fagin. The national tour featured Michael Goodman as The Artful Dodger, but on Broadway the role was played by future Monkee Davy Jones. The Broadway production was a critical success and received ten Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical, Best Actress in a Musical and Best Featured Actor in a Musical. It won the awards for Best Scenic Design, Best Original Score and Best Music Direction. The Broadway production was revived shortly after the original production closed. The revival opened in 1965 and was directed by Peter Coe. It ran at the Martin Beck Theatre for 64 performances. It featured Victor Stiles as Oliver, Robin Ramsay as Fagin, Maura K. Wedge as Nancy, Joey Baio as The Artful Dodger, Dominic Chianese as Mr. Sowerberry, Alan Crofoot as Mr. Bumble, Danny Sewell as Bill Sikes, Bram Nossen as Mr. Brownlow, and Dodi Protero as Mrs. Bedwin. Georgia Brown, Davy Jones, Bruce Prochnik, Alice Playten, and Clive Revill appeared performing two musical numbers ("I'd Do Anything" and the Act II reprise of "As Long As He Needs Me") from Oliver! on The Ed Sullivan Show on the evening of February 9, 1964, the same evening that the Beatles made their first U.S. television appearance on that show. 1977 London revival Cameron Mackintosh revived Oliver! in London for the first time in 1977. It played at the Albery Theatre (the renamed New Theatre; now the Noël Coward Theatre), starring Roy Hudd as Fagin, which ran for over two years. This production was totally faithful to the 1960 original version, using Sean Kenny's set. Indeed, the original production's sepia background painted on the rear stage wall was still extant. 1983 London and Broadway revivals Mackintosh was asked to revive the show yet again in 1983 for a limited five-week Christmas season at the Aldwych Theatre, directed by Peter Coe. Ron Moody returned as Fagin, with Jackie Marks as Nancy, Linal Haft as Bill Sikes, Meg Johnson as Mrs Corney, Peter Bayliss as Mr Bumble, and Geoffrey Toone as Mr Brownlow. Oliver was played by Anthony Pearson, and the Artful Dodger by David Garlick. The original Sean Kenny sets were used. The last professional production to use Sean Kenny's original stage design was at the Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch, Essex, in 1986. This production starred Victor Spinetti as Fagin. The 1983 London revival of Oliver! transferred to Broadway in 1984. It opened at The Mark Hellinger Theater and ran from April 29, 1984 through May 13, 1984, for 17 performances and 13 previews. Ron Moody reprised the role of Fagin and Patti LuPone played Nancy. David Garlick reprised his West End performance as The Artful Dodger, the first British youngster to appear on Broadway since Davy Jones, creating the Equity Exchange Program in the process. The original creative staff were used for this production, including director Peter Coe. LuPone, in her memoirs, said that the production should have run longer, noting that this production utilized the original sets, costumes, blocking (staging), and direction, and commented: "Hmm...maybe 'that' was the problem". Moody was nominated for a Tony Award despite the short run. The show only received one negative review; it was from Frank Rich of the New York Times, who called the production "likely to hold the attention of only the youngest and most obedient children" and "just dull." It prompted one of the main backers to pull out. The positive reviews were quoted in the ad for the show, including a Clive Barnes quote: "'Oliver!' Is glorious food for Broadway". LuPone had asked the show's Musical Director to change her keys because they were too low for her, but was told she could not. She wrote that she "had major battles with the musical director", one concerning the term "vamp"; "he never waited for me to finish my dialogue." 1994 London revival Cameron Mackintosh produced another revival of the show which opened at the London Palladium in the West End on 8 December 1994. The production team included a young Sam Mendes as director, with Anthony Ward as designer, Matthew Bourne as choreographer, Martin Koch as music supervisor and William David Brohn as orchestrator. The cast included Jonathan Pryce (after much persuasion) as Fagin, Sally Dexter as Nancy, Miles Anderson as Bill Sikes, James Villiers as Mr. Brownlow, James Saxon as Mr. Bumble, Jenny Galloway as Widow Corney, David Delve as Mr. Sowerberry and Julia Deakin as Mrs. Sowerberry. The role of Oliver was played by numerous child actors during the run of four years, including Gregory Bradley, James Daley, Andrew James Michel, Jon Lee and Tom Fletcher, while the Artful Dodger was played by Adam Searles, Paul Bailey and Bronson Webb. The role of Bet was played by Danielle McCormack, Rosalind James and Francesca Jackson. The musical closed on 21 February 1998. The role of Fagin was later played by many notable British actors and comedians including George Layton, Russ Abbot, Jim Dale and Robert Lindsay (who won an Olivier Award for his performance in 1997). Bill Sikes was later portrayed by Steven Hartley and Joe McGann, and Nancy by Sonia Swaby, Claire Moore and Ruthie Henshall. The show was a lavish affair and moved from its original intimate melodramatic feel to a more cinematic and symphonic feel that would accommodate an audience familiar with the 1968 motion picture. This production featured brand new music and lyrics written by Lionel Bart, and also additional dialogue not featured in the original script, added by Bart and Sam Mendes. Other updated elements include the addition of a prologue, in which the audience is witness to Oliver’s harrowing birth. The dialogue was homage to both the 1948 and 1968 film versions of the story which were in turn based on the original novel. New music arrangements and dance sequences were added to various songs, most notably "Consider Yourself" and "Who Will Buy?". Tempos for some of the musical numbers were altered (notably "It's a Fine Life", "I'd Do Anything" and "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two"), while other incidental numbers were drastically rewritten, including the London Bridge chase sequence. Interestingly, a new intermediate scene was added just after "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two", in which Bill Sikes enters the Thieves’ Kitchen and “negotiates” with Fagin. 2009 London revival A production heavily based upon the 1994 Palladium production opened in London’s West End on 14 January 2009. Produced once again by Cameron Mackintosh, this revival was directed by Shakespeare expert Rupert Goold and choreographed/co-directed by Matthew Bourne. Anthony Ward repeated his acclaimed scenic and costume designs while William David Brohn joined the team as orchestrator, revising some of the musical arrangements. The new production opened to rave reviews at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, receiving positive feedback from critics throughout London. Designer Anthony Ward created a new cobblestone effect for the entire stage while the orchestrations were expanded with new dance arrangements given to Consider Yourself and Who Will Buy? as well as new curtain call/exit music. The prologue from the Palladium production was removed, and the show now opens as it originally did in 1960, with the workhouse children entering, singing Food Glorious Food. British comedian Rowan Atkinson played Fagin. He had played the role in a school production but had turned it down in the Palladium revival. Burn Gorman played Bill Sikes, making his West End musical debut. The leading roles of Nancy and Oliver were cast via the BBC reality television show series I'd Do Anything. Three actors shared the role of Oliver: Laurence Jeffcoate, Harry Stott and Gwion Wyn Jones. Robert Madge played The Artful Dodger. Jodie Prenger won the role of Nancy, shared with Australian Tamsin Carroll, who played two performances each week. Sarah Lark, a runner-up on I’d do Anything understudied the role. Royal Shakespeare Company actor Julian Glover played Mr. Brownlow with Julian Bleach as Mr. Sowerberry/Dr. Grimwig, Louise Gold as Mrs. Sowerberry, Julius D’Silva as Mr. Bumble and Wendy Ferguson as Widow Corney. The revival was nominated for three 2010 Olivier Awards: Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (Atkinson) and Best Theatre Choreography, but failed to win any. After the departure of the original Olivers, the role was passed on to Zac Hurst, Fanncesco Piancentini-Smith, Edward Cooke, Edward Holtom and Ethan Smith. Edward Holtom made a sad departure, one month before his scheduled leave and the date on his contract expired. No reason was given for this. When Rowan Atkinson fell ill in April 2009, Russ Abbot stepped in to the play the role. Abbot had starred in the 1997 Palladium run. In July 2009, British comedian Omid Djalili replaced him as Fagin, receiving positive reviews. In December 2009, Griff Rhys Jones took over as Fagin, with Steven Hartley as Bill Sikes. Hartley had played Sikes in the 1997 Palladium production. In March 2010, Kerry Ellis took over the role of Nancy, also receiving positive reviews. At the same time, Bleach, D’Silva and Ferguson were replaced by Jason Morell, Christian Patterson and Claire Machin, respectively. In June 2010, Russ Abbot took over as Fagan. Stephen Moore was a replacement for Mr. Brownlow. Ron Moody, the original Fagin, joined the cast at the end of the performance on 14 June 2010, in celebration of the show's 50th Anniversary. Griff Rhys Jones returned as Fagin in December 2010. The production closed on 8 January 2011.
Résumé:
Création: 30/6/1960 - Noel Coward Theatre (Londres) - représ.
Musical
Musique: Lionel Bart • Paroles: Lionel Bart • Livret: Joan Maitland • Lionel Bart • Production originale: 1 version mentionnée
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Compared to Oliver! This show is now virtually unknown but was originally described by one critic ‘a breathtaking theatrical adventure which restores spectacle to British musicals on a huge imaginative scale’.
Genèse: Blitz! opened in London 8 May 1962 at the Adelphi Theatre, while Bart's enormous West End success Oliver! was still running at the New Theatre; at that time Oliver! had not yet been produced on Broadway. Blitz ran for 568 performances. It never ran on Broadway: between its scale and the fact that New Yorkers could hardly be expected to share Londoners' nostalgia for the period, it proved "unexportable". Bart wrote the music and lyrics, and had directed the original London production himself; Joan Maitland contributed to the libretto. Sean Kenny designed the elaborate sets, which included representations of Victoria Station, Petticoat Lane, and the Bank underground station, not to mention London on fire during an air raid. Four revolving house units and an enormous, mobile overhead bridge carried on two shifting towers made it, at the time, the most expensive West End musical ever produced. Noël Coward called it "twice as loud and twice as long as the real thing." The song "The Day After Tomorrow" was specially written by Bart for Vera Lynn. Lynn had been a star at the time of the German bombing attacks; in the play, the characters listen to Lynn sing it on the radio while they shelter underground. Lynn did not actually appear onstage during the production, but she recorded the song for it, and the production used her recording on the "radio". The play also makes use of a recording of a Winston Churchill radio speech. The role of Mrs. Blitztein was played by Amelia Bayntun in the original cast; it was her only role in a stage musical. The cast included a large number of children. There is a scene in which the children are to be evacuated from London; they cheerfully sing "We’re Going To The Country", while their mothers try to put on a cheerful face. The children's chorus "Mums and Dads" was a "showstopper"[6] that drew much radio play. The musical was never seen for many years, largely because the original scores went missing during Bart's turbulent years. It was reassembled in Australia by 19 year old Andrew Jarrett, a Bart devotee, with orchestrations by Kevin Hocking, Jack Westmore and Stephen Smith. So impressed was Bart, that he came out of obscurity and travelled to Australia for Jarrett's triumphant production in 1985. The Royal Shakespeare Company's intended 1990 revival (for the fiftieth anniversary of the Blitz) never happened, although the National Youth Theatre did revive it in London's West End at the Playhouse Theatre in September 1990 with Jarrett imported as Music Director. This production was directed by Edward Wilson and choreographed by David Toguri, with the role of Mrs. Blitzstein played by Jessica Stephenson (now Hynes), (now an established UK screen actor). According to the review in The Guardian "Edward Wilson's production for the NYT is necessarily more modest and contains some beautiful, slate-grey designs from Brian Lee: his backdrop of a soaring-arched Victorian railway terminus is stunning. David Toguri's musical staging shows his customary flair, camouflaging the cast's vocal weaknesses by bringing out their physical athleticism. And Jessica Stevenson as the mob-capped Mrs Blitzstein admirably conveys truculent working-class defiance." Benedict Nightingale wrote in his review: "But the strongest performance comes from Jessica Stevenson as a Jewish matriarch able to sing a silly song about baking cakes being the answer to all ills, yet remain quietly dignified throughout. Here is an apprentice actress to encourage."[8] This production became the basis for a touring Northern Stage Company revival starring Diane Langton as Mrs. Blitztein. A revival production of Blitz was put on at the Queens Theatre in Hornchurch in 2000 including members of the Queens Theatre's own youth groups playing many characters alongside the resident cast.
Résumé: The story centers on the relationship between a Jewish family, the Blitzteins, and a Cockney family, the Lockes, in 1940s London as the city takes a pounding from Hitler’s bombs. At first Mrs. Blitztein and Alfie Locke work at adjacent food stalls – and can’t stand each other. But when their children fall in love with each other and Hitler’s bombing intensifies, Mrs. Blitztein and Alfie are able to bury the hatchet and become friends.
Création: 8/5/1962 - Adelphi Theatre (Londres) - représ.
Musical
Musique: Lionel Bart • Paroles: Lionel Bart • Livret: Alun Owen • Production originale: 1 version mentionnée
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Genèse:
Résumé: This hard-hitting story of life in Liverpool's dock-land centres on Patrick Casey, son of the legendary union-martyr, initially reluctant but finally proud, to assume his father's mantle, and Maggie May Duffy, young and vibrant, who abandons 'the game' for Casey, only to believe she has lost him to his union dreams. Around them is a gallery of strongly-drawn characters: Willie Morgan, the corrupt demagogue, Cogger the 'fixer' and traitor, Old Dooley, remembering past union struggles, Norah the toadying publican, all caught up in a fast-moving drama with a tragic climax, and filled with the strong, earthy songs for which Lionel Bart is renowned.
Création: 22/9/1964 - Adelphi Theatre (Londres) - représ.
Musical
Musique: Lionel Bart • Paroles: Lionel Bart • Livret: Lionel Bart • Production originale: 2 versions mentionnées
Dispo: Génèse Liste chansons
Genèse: The cast included the strongest players from Littlewood's Theatre Workshop (a theatre group noted for their director, Joan Littlewood - many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company), including Ronnie Corbett, Barbara Windsor and James Booth. But Twang!! ran into difficulty from the start. The script was weak, especially the part of Robin Hood, which was badly underwritten. When Booth expressed his concerns, he was repeatedly assured that the part would be expanded to a starring role. Littlewood demanded a rewrite, but constant, confusing revisions failed to improve the script. Littlewood, the choreographer Paddy Stone, the designer Oliver Messel, and the writers failed to work together.[3] Rehearsals were disorganised and fraught with tension; Bart was drinking; Littlewood threatened to walk out. At a rehearsal, Littlewood accused Bart of failing to fulfill his creative responsibilities because he was too strung-out on LSD. Bart, in turn, accused Littlewood of ruining the piece. A Birmingham tryout was scheduled and cancelled. A Manchester preview opened on 3 November 1965 at the Palace Theatre with a script that was unfinished. Word of the disaster leaked to the tabloids. Littlewood quit the company, and a script doctor, American Burt Shevelove, was brought in to fix the script and score, leading to more confusing changes, but nothing helped.[6] The scenes had no relation to the songs, and Twang!! transferred to London preceded by continued bad press. The show opened in disarray at London's Shaftesbury Theatre on 20 December 1965. Still, Bart thought he could save the show. On opening night, the musical director, Ken Moule, collapsed of exhaustion and still had failed to orchestrate the second act. Two songs were cut in the hours before the curtain rose, and the piece was played for camp, even adding some transvestism. The house lights kept going up and down throughout the performance, and vicious arguments were overheard backstage. Twang!! garnered scornful and derisive reviews. The critics noted the lack of heroics and the pseudo-pantomime delivery, although there were some effective musical sequences, including a scene around a gallows that became a morris dance around a maypole. Windsor also came in for some praise. The show had been intended as a romp that poked fun at the Crusades, the attitude of the Church and the human flaw of wanting to turn an outlaw into a hero. Orkin believed the show failed because they failed to establish the exact butt of that satire; it was too vague and inconsequential. Bart lost his personal fortune in Twang!!. He was devastated by the failure of the show. So was Booth, who made no money for a year while preparing for Twang!!. For Ronnie Corbett, however, the failure of Twang!! was a lucky break – it meant he was free to participate in The Frost Report, his breakthrough in television.
Résumé:
Création: 20/12/1965 - Shaftesbury Theatre (Londres) - représ.