Long-running Shows I Still Haven't Seen

If you follow this site regularly, you know that like most avid theater fans, I have, over the years, lamented missing certain shows. You can catch all of those I've discussed HERE. But it is rare that at any given time, there are so many longer running shows that I've somehow missed. Right now, there are four!

Long-running Shows I Still Haven't Seen

Three of the four shows below are jukebox musicals, and I am sure that that figures in to why I've so far missed them. But there are other reasons...

Hell's Kitchen

As this show is closing in just a few days, I suppose I could have waited and added it to my "One That Got Away" series, but I don't feel like I missed out on this one as much as others on that list. While I appreciate the work of Alicia Keys and can grasp why she is both popular and acclaimed, I'd never say she's been on the top of my playlist. But here is one show I can exactly pinpoint why I've avoided it. I found their Tony Awards performance to be a complete mess and truly off-putting. (Not to mention misleading to a public that probably thought they'd get to see Ms. Keys at the piano. She was not and never was.) And it wasn't a fluke of an off performance, either. I've felt exactly the same way every time I've seen something from it on other shows. If I regret anything, it's that I missed the debut performance of Tony-winner Maleah Joi Moon, and the other Tony-winning performance of Kecia Lewis, an actress I've long been a fan of for years.

Just In Time

The youngest of the shows here, it is still a possibility that I'll catch it. A big fan of Jeremy Jordan, it is maybe slightly more likely than the others on this list. Anyway, the most surprising thing to me about not seeing this one is that I am a huge Jonathan Groff follower. So why didn't I get to it by now? In this case, its a combination of not being a huge Bobby Darin fan, and economics. There is only so much money in my pocket earmarked for shows, and last season meant having to make hard choices. With a decidedly smaller field of new musicals to see, I might still make a splish splash to the Circle in the Square.

MJ

Of the four shows on this list, this is the one that is most personally surprising to me. As a child of the 80s, Michael Jackson was a giant part of my life. Thriller, Bad and Off the Wall are three albums I had in three formats - vinyl, cassette and CD - and I still listen to them somewhat regularly. I have seen several performances from the show on various programs and they are all consistently well-done and exciting. Yet, somehow, MJ has become the show that I keep putting off, thinking I'll get to it eventually. I hope I do, as I have heard mostly wonderful things about it from people whose opinions I respect, and I also hope this one doesn't make it to my other list!

The Great Gatsby

This show is based on my all-time favorite novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is one piece of literature that I read for pleasure, not intellectual stimulation alone. So you'd think I'd have seen this show several times, right? Except... well, it just looks (and sounds) too Disney-meets-80s-megamusical. The other recent musical version looked (and sounded) like something I'd much prefer - darker, sexier, more willing to hit those darker themes. And now, with Jeremy Jordan (and Eva Noblezada for a short while together) back for a while, it is more tempting. I also missed the national tour, when it debuted here in Baltimore, but that was definitely economic - the tickets here were more expensive than Broadway! I'm guessing I'll regret it, but I probably won't see this version. I'm holding out for Gatsby: An American Myth.

So, readers, am I missing out? If I had to pick one of these, which should I get tickets for? Let me know!  Jeff

Broadway Games: Jukebox Songs, Jukebox Shows

 For some, jukebox musicals are the bane of theater existence, for others, they are just fun diversions, a sort of musical comfort food. I prefer original scores in my new mew musicals, but I enjoy a well put together show no matter the score.

Today's game is all about those musicals with a score made up of preexisting songs. We will list three songs from the same show, and you name the show. Good luck!

Broadway Games:

Jukebox Songs, Jukebox Shows

1. "Conga," "Rhythm is Gonna Get You," "Turn the Beat Around"

2. "Under Attack," "Voulez-Vous," "Thank You For the Music"

3. "Splish Splash," "Who's Sorry Now," "Mack the Knife"

4. "In the Still of the Night," "My Girl," "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"

5. "Like a Rolling Stone," "Hurricane," "Duquesne Whistle"

6. "Baby One More Time," "Oops...I Did It Again," "Roar"

7. "Baby One More Time," "Oops...I Did It Again," "Toxic"

8. "Firework," "Chandelier," Roar"

9. "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me," "Uptown Girl," "Pressure"

10. "Ironic," "You Learn," "Head Over Feet"

11. "Kaleidoscope," "Empire State of Mind," "Girl on Fire"

12. "Beat It," "Human Nature," "Black or White"

13. "Beautiful," "Vacation," "Our Lips Are Sealed"

14. "(Simply) The Best," "Better Be Good to Me," "River Deep - Mountain High"

15. "The Beat Goes On," "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves," "Believe"

STOP SCROLLING!

The answers are below!

1. "Conga," "Rhythm is Gonna Get You," "Turn the Beat Around" On Your Feet

2. "Under Attack," "Voulez-Vous," "Thank You For the Music" Mamma Mia!

3. "Splish Splash," "Who's Sorry Now," "Mack the Knife" Just In Time

4. "In the Still of the Night," "My Girl," "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" Ain't Too Proud

5. "Like a Rolling Stone," "Hurricane," "Duquesne Whistle" Girl From the North Country

6. "Baby One More Time," "Oops...I Did It Again," "Roar" & Juliet

7. "Baby One More Time," "Oops...I Did It Again," "Toxic" Once Upon a One More Time

8. "Firework," "Chandelier," Roar" Moulin Rouge!

9. "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me," "Uptown Girl," "Pressure" Movin' Out

10. "Ironic," "You Learn," "Head Over Feet" Jagged Little Pill

11. "Kaleidoscope," "Empire State of Mind," "Girl on Fire" Hell's Kitchen

12. "Beat It," "Human Nature," "Black or White" M.J.

13. "Beautiful," "Vacation," "Our Lips Are Sealed" Head Over Heels

14. "(Simply) The Best," "Better Be Good to Me," "River Deep - Mountain High" Tina

15. "The Beat Goes On," "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves," "Believe" The Cher Show

40 Years of Broadway: Big Trends: The Rise of the Jukebox Musical

40 Years of Broadway: Big Trends: 

The Rise of the Jukebox Musical 

Historically, musical revues and follies type show were once the bread and butter of Broadway. They were what we'd call the jukebox musicals of their era. Back then, and just like now, they were made up of popular songs. The difference is that back in the day, popular songs were Broadway songs. Over the past 40 years, the Main Stem has seen a sharp, seemingly overpowering, rise in jukebox musicals - shows whose scores consistently entirely of previously released songs.

Under the umbrella of this style of musical, there are several sub-genres. Below are examples of significant titles in each. As with all shows, some were great successes, others were fast flops. Some were award-winners, others met with disdain. Several were popular without critical acclaim. It's the hope of all producers that their show will become a phenomenon. Will their jukebox musical be the next Mamma Mia! or will it be the next Escape to Margaritaville?

Musicals Based on Movies Using Their Soundtracks For Songs

Many shows based on movies come to Broadway with original scores, largely because those movies were already musicals! But several movie-based shows have come in using their hugely successful soundtracks for their stage scores. (This is one reason that there needs to be a distinction between soundtracks and cast recordings.)

• Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, Tarzan, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, Frozen: Disney On Broadway
• Moulin Rouge!
• Saturday Night Fever
• Xanadu

Musicals Based on Complete Rock Albums

Back in the day composers like Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice would create concept albums recorded with the idea of a full musical production soon after. Think Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita and Chess. 

Most recently, there were three rock albums used to create musicals with cohesive stories and using their tracks. To varying degrees, they were created with an inkling toward story, but not necessarily a Broadway staging. All three were successful in their own way, each award-winning and with respectable runs and national tours.

• The Who's Tommy The Who
• American Idiot Green Day
• Jagged Little Pill Alanis Morissette

Dance Musicals

Choreographers have been creating dance shows and ballets based on song catalogs. Broadway has seen its share of them, as well - Bob Fosse, Susan Stroman and Twyla Tharp are a few who have created whole shows with dancers doing their thing pop music. Here are a few such shows from the past four decades. Some were long-running hits (one is a Best Musical!). Others were short-lived. All were daring.

• Twyla Tharp: Movin' Out, The Times They Are A-Changing, Come Fly Away
• Susan Stroman: Contact
• Bob Fosse: Dancin' (revival)

Musical Revues

The grand tradition of the Broadway Musical Revue continues even today. These shows are a variety of song and dance numbers, united by a period of music or by the collective works of an artist. While they may have an umbrella feature to give them context, revues have no real story. The recent past has had its share of this style of musical, with the usual success and failure rate.

• Jazz and Blues: After Midnight, Black and Blue
• Composers/Lyricists: Smokey Joe's Cafe - Lieber and Stoller, Swinging on a Star - Johnny Burke, Sondheim on Sondheim - Stephen Sondheim
• Director Retrospectives: Jerome Robbins' Broadway - Jerome Robbins, Prince of Broadway - Hal Prince, Fosse - Bob Fosse

Musical Biographies - "The Bio-Musical"

You'd think that musicals based on world-renowned pop artists, using their songs to tell their life stories would be a slam-dunk every time. Turns out that's not always the case. Those with the most compelling stories, the most creatively told are the ones most successful. Bio-musicals need to be more interesting than an impersonator giving a reasonable facsimile of fondly remembered songs. For better or worse, here are a dozen such shows that had their time on Broadway:

• Neil Diamond: A Beautiful Noise
• Florence Greenberg: Baby It's You!
• Carole King: Beautiful
• Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons: Jersey Boys
• John Lennon: Lennon
• Michael Jackson: MJ
• Barry Gordy: Motown: The Musical
• Gloria and Emilio Estefan: On Your Feet!
• Donna Summer: Summer
• Peter Allen: The Boy From Oz
• Cher: The Cher Show
• Tina Turner: Tina

Musical Songbooks and Eras with Original Stories

With the early 80s success of My One and Only and its use of the Gershwin's songbook, Broadway saw a great influx of such shows, including two more using the same songbook. With the international super-success of Mamma Mia!, a new wave hit the Rialto (and continues even today) with a variety of artists lending their catalogs to new stories, ideas and themes. The usual applies: generally, the most creative and well-developed shows rose to the top.

• Max Martin: & Juliet
• George & Ira Gershwin: Crazy For You, Nice Work If You Can Get It
• The Disco Era: Disaster!
• Jimmy Buffett: Escape to Margaritaville
• Bob Dylan: Girl From the North Country
• The Beach Boys: Good Vibrations
• The Go-Go's: Head Over Heels
• ABBA: Mamma Mia!
• Britney Spears: Once Upon a One More Time
• The 80s Hair Band Era: Rock of Ages

Contest Question #18:

Of all the contributors to the above jukebox musicals, which one is a Nobel Laureate?

What exactly is a Jukebox musical?

No other term in theatre has lately been the subject of both disdain and pleasure than "the jukebox musical." Like most such terms, several subsets seem to get lumped into one thing.

Is it

A. a musical that uses a set of songs by an artist to tell an original story?

B. a musical that uses a set of songs to tell the artist's story?

C. a musical that uses a set of familiar songs to create a unique piece of theatre made that much easier to digest because the songs are a known quantity?

I'm thinking all of the above, because I can give examples for each that I've heard the "j" word associated with each.

I guess this topic even came to my head as I was contemplating the announcement that a musical based on the career of Run DMC was in development. That, in turn, made me think of likely Broadway-bound American Idiot. Which made me smile... I remember the kids who listened to Run DMC when I was in school, and see the same type of kid loving Green Day. Boy, did they have a lot of unkind things to say about those of us who enjoyed drama club and show tunes! Little do they know... they are singing show tunes now themselves! But I digress...

Looks like the RunDMC musical will fall under type B, just like Jersey Boys. Not having seen it, I'm going to guess that American Idiot will be a combination of A and C.

Other type A's include the mega-hit Mamma Mia! (ABBA), the mega-flop Good Vibrations (The Beach Boys). How about the fan-it/critical flop, We Will Rock You (Queen)?

Bs include The Boy from Oz (the Peter Allen story) and will likely include the British import Thriller (the Michael Jackson story), not to be confused with the show in the works based on the songs on the same-titled album. Hmm...subset D - Thriller, American Idiot?



Of course, this begs the question: are musical revues jukebox musicals? Putting It Together (Stephen Sondheim) seems to fit A and C, while the forthcoming Sondheim on Sondheim seems to fit B and C.

And what about dance shows? There are the hits Movin' Out (dance theatre set to the songs of Billy Joel) and Fosse (dance theatre set to the works of Bob Fosse) or the flop The Times They Are a-Changin' (dance theatre set to the songs of Bob Dylan). I guess they are C?

And what about movie musicals turned into stage shows? After all, they use sets of previously known music to create a musical. (At least all of the Disney shows so far have relied on both the known songs from their films and always add several new ones.) Hit: Xanadu Flop: Singin' in the Rain. Where will Dirty Dancing fit in?

The more I think about it, the more confused I get! :-)

Jeff