Le monde des musicals

Musical (1998)

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Musique: Frank Wildhorn •
Paroles: Frank Wildhorn • Gregory Boyd •
Livret: Jack Murphy •
Production à la création:

"Lorsque l’homme s’habitue à voir les autres porter les chaînes de l’esclavage, c’est qu’il accepte lui-même un jour de les porter." Abraham Lincoln

Ce musical ne peut être résumé, puisqu'il est une suite de chansons autour d'un thème : la guerre de Sécession.

A new adaptation of The Civil War, titled For The Glory: The Civil War Musical at Gettysburg, was specially prepared for the newly restored Majestic Theater in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

"Civil War" n'a pas un livret traditionnel de musical mais prend plutôt une forme libre qui donne toute liberté à Frank Wildhorn pour exprimer son talent. Le spectacle rerend des lettres, des journaux, dex documents historiques et la poésie de Walt Whitman avec pour seul fil rouge l'exploration de cette "Civil War", que nous francophone appelons la guerre de Sécession, qui a coûté la vie à 620.000 Américains. On suit ainis les événements depuis le début de la guerre à Fort Sumpter jusqu'à sa conclusion sanglante. "Civil War" ne se concentre pas seulement sur les questions de l'unité de la nation et de l'abolition d'esclavage, mais aussi sur l'impact de la guerre sur les familles. Le musical comprend de magnifiques chansons comme "Sons of Dixie" où de jeunes recrues, s'attendant à une victoire rapide, rêvent de défilés de victoire en leur honneur et de l'admiration des femmes dont il va résulter. Une autre merveille est "Tell My Father" dans laquelle un soldat mort s'adresse à son frère qui combat dans le camps opposé. Sans oublier "Judgement Day" où deux capitaines se demandent sils font une chose juste…

1 Civil War (The) s'intéresse à un événement historique important: Guerre de Sécession américaine.

The project for THE CIVIL WAR began in 1995. Frank Wildhorn and Gregory Boyd had just put together the national tour of JEKYLL & HYDE. The Alley Theatre, which premiered the show before it's Broadway run, was preparing to celebrate it's 50th Anniversary. The team wanted to create a new piece to commemorate. Jack Murphy signed on to collaborate and the unusual structure of THE CIVIL WAR was born.

With this new project, the team wanted to create an untraditonal 'thematic' musical event with a distinctively American voice and with an emphasis on traditional story-telling. THE CIVIL WAR is a musical event borrowing techniques from rock music, concert performance, oratorios and song-cycles. It wasn't structured with conventional narrative, but rather as an emotional landscape grounded in universal feelings as expressed by the people who lived this extraordinary event. The writers were inspired by the words of Walt Whitman, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. They were also inspired by the life (as documented through letters, photographs, and journals) of the real Hannah Ropes, Mary Chestnut, 2nd Virginia Infantryman Henry Kyd Douglas, and Henry H. Pearson of the 6th New Hampshire company.

A studio cast album was released in 1999 by Atlantic Records, and included Linda Eder, Maya Angelou, James Garner, Hootie & the Blowfish, Travis Tritt, Dr. John, and Betty Buckley. The musical had its world premiere at the Alley Theatre, Houston, Texas, on September 16, 1998, where co-author Boyd is the Artistic Director. The production was supervised by Gregory Boyd, with musical staging by George Faison and staging by Nick Corley. The cast featured Linda Eder (Hanna Hopes), Beth Leavel (Mrs. Lydia Bixby/Violet), Jesse Lenat (Autolycus Fell), Capathia Jenkins (Hope Jackson), Matt Bogart (Pvt. Nathaniel Taylor) and Michael Lanning (Capt. Emmet Lochran).

The musical premiered on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on April 22, 1999 and closed on June 13, 1999, running for 61 performances and 35 previews. Directed by Jerry Zaks with musical staging by Luis Perez, the cast featured Leavel as Mabel/Mrs. Bixby, Bogart as Private Sam Taylor, and Leo Burmester as Autolycus Fell.

The musical toured in the United States, starting in January 2000 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The original cast of 28 had been reduced to 15. "Rather than playing individual characters, they all play everyman - a soldier, a wife, a nurse, a girlfriend, a slave." Stephen Rayne directed, with a cast that included Larry Gatlin alternating with John Schneider, and BeBe Winans.

The Civil War was one of the productions produced at the newly-renovated Ford's Theatre (Washington, DC), running from March 27, 2009 through May 24. Directed by Jeff Calhoun, the 16-member cast featured Jarrod Emick, Eleasha Gamble, Michael Lanning, and Timothy Shew, with the recorded voice of Hal Holbrook as Lincoln. The production is conceived in a concert setting.

In 2006, a new version of the musical opened at the Majestic Theatre in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Called For the Glory: The Civil War Musical in Gettysburg, it featured two new songs and a new structure.

Acte I
A House Divided – The Citizens
Freedom's Child – Frederick Douglass and Abolitionists
By The Sword / Sons of Dixie – The Armies
Tell My Father – Private Sam Taylor
The Peculiar Institution – The Enslaved
If Prayin' Were Horses – Clayton Toler and Bessie Toler
Greenback – Autolycus Fell, Mabel and Violet
Missing You (My Bill) – Sarah McEwen
Judgment Day – Captain Billy Pierce, Captain Emmett Lochran, Private Sam Taylor and The Armies
Father, How Long? – Clayton Toler
Someday – Harriet Jackson, Bessie Toler and Others
I'll Never Pass This Way Again – Corporal Henry Stewart
How Many Devils? – The Armies

Acte II
Virginia – Captain Billy Pierce
Candle in the Window – Harriet Jackson
Oh! Be Joyful! – Autolycus Fell, Sergeant Byron Richardson, Private Conrad Bock and Private Elmore Hotchkiss
The Hospital – Mrs. Bixby, Nurse, Union Soldiers and Clayton Toler
If Prayin' Were Horses (Reprise) – Clayton Toler and Bessie Toler
River Jordan – Benjamin Reynolds and Others
Sarah – Corporal William McEwen
The Honor of Your Name – Sarah McEwen
Greenback (Reprise) – Autolycus Fell and Violet
Northbound Train – Captain Emmett Lochran
Last Waltz for Dixie – Captain Billy Pierce and Confederate Soldiers
The Glory – Captain Emmett Lochran, Frederick Douglass, Benjamin Reynolds and Full Company

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