Le monde des musicals

Genèse: The original United Artists motion picture Chitty Chitty Bang Bang first hit the cinema screens in 1968 and has been a firm family classic ever since. Based on a story by Ian Fleming, the movie began life as a personal dream of James Bond producer, Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli. As with all his film projects, “Cubby” Broccoli surrounded himself with the very best British talent available to ensure the success of Chitty, which at the time was publicised as the largest and most expensive musical ever filmed in England. The director, Ken Hughes, who had also adapted the screenplay with prolific children’s author Roald Dahl, led the British film crew. The Sherman brothers, fresh from major success with the Disney Studios, provided the score and songs, earning an Oscar nomination in the process. “Cubby” Broccoli’s original plans for the enchanting tale of the magical car always included a possible stage version but not until 2002 and the advance of stage technology could the dream become a reality. The producers of the London stage musical, headed by the Broccoli family. Were confident that the technology existed to fly a tonne and a half of machinery with actors inside, that the musical flew onto the London stage. It opened at the London Palladium) to rave reviews on Tuesday 16th April 2002. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) broke every box office record at the famous London theatre. It was the longest running show at the Palladium, beating Oliver! and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. During its three and a half year run, the family musical exceeded £70 million in box office revenue. The London Palladium) production originally capitalised at £6.2 million and cost approximately one third of a million pounds a week to run in order to pay for the huge cast of actors, children and dogs, not to mention stage management, technicians and musicians. The Chitty stage car holds the Guinness World Record for being the most expensive prop in the history of British Theatre. Chitty has at its heart two fundamental human desires….the desire to fly and the desire to protect one’s children, told through a magical journey. It is the story of love and adventure, of good and evil and of a family in search of something missing – all brought together by a fantasmagorical car! Original London production) The musical premiered in the West End at the London Palladium on April 16, 2002 with six new songs by the Sherman Brothers who wrote the original Academy Award-nominated title and song score as well. The West End production, directed by Adrian Noble with musical staging and choreography by Gillian Lynne, closed in September 2005. It was the longest running show ever at the London Palladium, taking in over £70 million in its three and a half year run. Original Broadway production ) The Broadway production opened on April 28, 2005 at the Foxwoods Theatre (then the Hilton Theatre) in New York City, garnering good reviews only for the lavish sets. Ben Brantley in the New York Times noted that the show "naggingly recalls the cold, futurist milieus of movies like 'Modern Times' and 'Metropolis,' in which machines rule the universe" and featured songs that sounded "not unlike what you might hear in sing-along hour in a pre-K class". The production was again directed by Adrian Noble with choreography by Gillian Lynne and starred Raúl Esparza (Caractacus Potts), Erin Dilly (Truly Scrumptious), Philip Bosco (Grandpa Potts), Marc Kudisch (Baron Bomburst), Jan Maxwell (Baroness Bomburst) and Henry Hodges (Jeremy Potts). The Broadway production closed on December 31, 2005 after 34 previews and 285 regular performances, losing its entire financial investment.

Résumé: The story of the adventures of Chitty, the magical car as it sails the seas and flies through the air . Chitty's eccentric inventor, Caractacus Potts and his enchanting children Jemima and Jeremy, join the truly scrumptious Truly Scrumptious and batty Grandpa Potts to outwit the dastardly Baron and the evil Child Catcher .

Création: 16/4/2002 - Palladium Theatre (Londres) - représ.

Genèse: The Wizard of Oz was first turned into a musical extravaganza by Baum himself. A loose adaptation of his 1900 novel (there is no Wicked Witch or Toto, and there are some new characters), it first played in Chicago in 1902 and was a success on Broadway the following year. It then toured for nine years. The 1939 film adaptation bore a closer resemblance to the storyline of Baum's original novel than most previous versions. It was a strong success, winning the Academy Awards for best song and best score, and continues to be broadcast perennially. Among the many musical theatre adaptations of The Wizard of Oz, two previous ones have used the songs from the film. In 1945, the St. Louis Municipal Opera (MUNY) created a version with a script adapted by Frank Gabrielson from the novel, but it is influenced in some respects by the motion picture screenplay. It uses most of the songs from the film. This was followed, in 1987, by a Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) adaptation designed to more closely recreate the film version. The book by John Kane closely follows the film's screenplay, and it and uses nearly all of the film's music. Both the MUNY and RSC adaptations were successes and have been revived numerous times in the U.S. and UK. The Wizard of Oz is Andrew Lloyd Webber's 18th musical. Tim Rice first collaborated with Lloyd Webber in 1965, together writing The Likes of Us. Their next piece was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, followed by two more concept albums that became hit musicals, Jesus Christ Superstar (1971) and Evita (1978). Except for a special collaboration for Queen Elizabeth's 60th birthday celebration, the musical Cricket in 1986, after Evita, each man turned to other collaborators to produce further well-known musical theatre works. The Wizard of Oz was Rice and Lloyd Webber's first production together in the West End in over three decades. To create the new musical, Lloyd Webber and director Jeremy Sams adapted the 1939 film's screenplay, and Rice and Lloyd Webber added several new songs to the film's score. In July 2010, Lloyd Webber told the Daily Mail, "The fact is that The Wizard of Oz has never really worked in the theatre. The film has one or two holes where in the theatre you need a song. For example, there's nothing for either of the two witches to sing." "Tim and I are doing quite a specific thing, because we know what's missing." Productions After previews beginning 7 February, the musical opened in the West End, at the London Palladium, on 1 March 2011. The role of Dorothy was originally played by Danielle Hope, who was selected through the reality television show Over the Rainbow, and the title role of the Wizard was created by Michael Crawford. Over the Rainbow runner-up Sophie Evans performed the role of Dorothy on Tuesday evenings and when Hope was ill or on holiday. Hannah Waddingham originated the role of the Wicked Witch of the West leaving the cast on September 2011, when her understudy, Marianne Benedict assumed the role. Hope and Crawford left the production on 5 February 2012. Evans replaced Hope in the role of Dorothy full-time beginning 7 February 2012, and Russell Grant took over as The Wizard a week later, for 14-weeks. Des O'Connor played The Wizard from May 2012 until the production closed. The musical was produced by Lloyd Webber and Bill Kenwright, with direction by Jeremy Sams, choreography by Arlene Phillips and sets and costumes by Robert Jones. It took in pre-opening sales of £10 million. The production celebrated its 500th performance on 9 May 2012 and closed on 2 September 2012. An autumn 2012 reality TV show, Over the Rainbow, hosted by Daryn Jones, searched for a Canadian girl to play the role of Dorothy in a forthcoming Toronto staging by Mirvish Productions. On 5 November 2012, viewers chose Danielle Wade, a 20-year-old University of Windsor acting major, to play the role of Dorothy, with Stephanie La Rochelle as 1st runner up. The production premiered on 20 December 2012 at the Ed Mirvish Theatre with an official opening night on 13 January 2013. The cast also includes Cedric Smith as Professor Marvel/the Wizard, Lisa Horner as Miss Gulch/The Wicked Witch of the West, Mike Jackson as the Hickory/Tin Man, Lee MacDougall as the Zeke/Cowardly Lion, Jamie McKnight as Hunk/the Scarecrow and Robin Evan Willis as Glinda. The production is then expected to begin touring North America in autumn 2013 with the original Canadian cast.

Résumé:

Création: 1/3/2011 - Palladium Theatre (Londres) - représ.