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Musical
Musique: Andrew Lloyd Webber • Paroles: Jim Steinman • Livret: Gale Edwards • Patrica Knop • Production originale: 8 versions mentionnées
Dispo: Résumé Synopsis Commentaire Génèse Liste chansons
Genèse: 1996/1997 – Création à Washington et annulation à Broadway Whistle Down the Wind a été créé au National Theatre à Washington, le 12 décembre 1996, avec Davis Gaines (l'Homme) et Irene Molloy (Swallow). La presse a été très majoritairement négative (voire très négative). L'ouverture à Broadway qui avait été prévue pour le 17 Avril 1997, a d’ailleurs été annulée. On peut considérer que c'est majoritairement la mise en scène de Harold Prince qui a conduit à son échec. Cependant, il a une énorme quantité de publicité préalable, en raison de l'état de Steinman comme un auteur-compositeur populaire américaine et la façon étrange la combinaison de Steinman et Lloyd Webber semblait basée sur des travaux antérieurs de Steinman. 1998 Concept album et London Cast Recording Un album concept a été produit comprenant 12 chansons du spectacle, chantées par des stars comme Tom Jones, Boy George, Tina Arena, Donny Osmond, les Everly Brothers, Boyzone, Meat Loaf et Bonnie Tyler. In addition to this roster of popular recording artists and the gospel choir Sounds of Blackness, West End theatre stars Elaine Paige and Michael Ball and up-and-coming singer-actress Lottie Mayor, scheduled to play Swallow in the reworked West End version, appeared on the album. A double album cast recording, produced by Lloyd Webber and Nigel Wright, was released the same year featuring the original cast of the West End production. Notable songs from the show include "Whistle Down the Wind," "A Kiss is a Terrible Thing to Waste," "When Children Rule the World," and "No Matter What." The last of these was released as a single by Boyzone and had unprecedented success: it went platinum, was voted the UK's Record of the Year for 1998, and hit No. 1 in 18 countries, becoming the most successful single produced from a musical in history. 1998 – Re-création à Londres A reworked, and more successful, West End production opened at the Aldwych Theatre on 1 July 1998, starring Marcus Lovett as The Man and Lottie Mayor as Swallow, running for 1,044 performances and closing in January 2001. This production was darker than the Washington, D.C. production, and was revised and directed by Gale Edwards, a director who had previously collaborated with Lloyd Webber on an updated production of Jesus Christ Superstar. More than half of the crew also came from Superstar to Whistle. 2001 - UK tour puis West End revival In 2001, Bill Kenwright produced and directed his own production of Whistle Down the Wind for a UK tour, starring Tim Rogers as The Man and Katie Rowley Jones as Swallow. He was granted a considerable amount of creative freedom as director, authorised by Andrew Lloyd Webber to make significant changes to the dramatic structure of the musical, including replacing the running parable of Annie and Charlie Christmas told to the children by The Man with a lighter-toned number called "The Gang" (lyrics by Don Black). This version was simpler in design and more focused on the human story than the spectacular visuals of the Aldwych production. The show toured the UK a number of times with several cast changes between 2001 to 2004. At the request of Lloyd Webber, Kenwright brought his production of Whistle Down the Wind to the Palace Theatre, London in March 2006, where it played a limited run until August, filling the gap between the closure of another Lloyd Webber musical, The Woman in White and the opening of the Monty Python musical Spamalot. Tim Rogers reprised his acclaimed performance of The Man, and Claire Marlowe, another veteran of the UK tour, reprised the role of Swallow. The critical opinion was mixed, ranging from Michael Billington's 2 star review in The Guardian[1] to Benedict Nightingale's 4 star review in The Times,[2] but virtually all of the national papers agreed that this version was an improvement on Gale Edwards's Aldwych production.
Résumé: Un groupe d'enfants menés par la jeune Swallow, découvrent dans une grange, un homme évanoui, blessé aux mains et au torse. Pour les enfants, cela ne fait pas de doute, il s'agit de Jésus de retour sur Terre pour les sauver. Ils décident de garder le secret et de le soigner, alors que les adultes de la petite ville recherchent activement un dangereux tueur évadé.
Création: 12/12/1996 - National Theatre (Washington) - représ.