Tag Archives: broadway

Film versus Broadway, Birthday Edition: Mamma Mia!, Kinky Boots, and The King and I

19 Aug

Back in February I wrote about Broadway shows that I have recently seen and their film and music companions. I decided to write another installment to talk about two shows I’ve recently seen because the tickets to these shows were birthday presents for my mother and a friend, respectively. Also, my own birthday is coming and I wanted to write about which show I would like to receive tickets for as a gift. 🙂

IMG_3847

Mamma Mia!

mamma-mia

Mamma Mia!, a jukebox musical featuring selections from ABBA’s catalog, follows Sophie as she tries to learn who her father is before her wedding without her mother Donna finding out. Tickets to this show were my birthday gift to my mother. While we missed the opening songs of the show, on account of traffic from President Obama’s motorcade in Times Square traveling to see Hamilton that day, we still a fun time. Audience members are invited to dance at the end of the show!

Mamma Mia! ends its Broadway run on September 12, 2015 and will be the eighth longest running show. If you can’t make it to the live show, you can borrow the film adaptation from 2008 that stars Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. For a time that was my niece’s favorite movie when she was six years old, which proves that ABBA’s music appeals to new generations! My favorite numbers are “Waterloo” (because how many love songs name-check the Emperor Napoleon?) and “Lay All Your Love On Me.” Mom’s favorite song is “Voulez-Vous”, and my niece loved “Mamma Mia!”

Hoopla Digital has the soundtracks to both the film and the musical to stream. The DVD and CDs of the film and Original Cast Recording soundtracks are available to borrow from BCCLS libraries as well. If you need more of an ABBA fix, their greatest hits album Gold is available to borrow and to stream in Hoopla. There is also Muriel’s Wedding, a 1994 Australian film where ABBA’s music is prominently featured.

Kinky Boots

kinky-boots

Seeing Kinky Boots was a birthday present for a friend, and thankfully our arrival was not delayed by the President’s motorcade. This Tony Award-winning show, which was brought to Broadway by Harvey Fierstein with music and lyrics written by Cyndi Lauper, is about how Charlie Price tries to save his family’s failing men’s shoes business by teaming up with a drag queen named Lola to produce quality “kinky boots” for drag performers.

Acceptance and tolerance, plus friendship, family, and loyalty, are major themes of the show. And of course, sexy shoes are featured. There is even a song called “Sex Is In the Heel”.

The source material is a 2005 British movie of the same name, which I found to be darker than the musical. Cyndi Lauper’s music definitely brings levity to the story. If you love Cyndi Lauper as much as I do (She’s So Unusual was the first cassette tape I owned!) then you will adore this show, as her style shines through in the music. The closing song, “Raise You Up”, will do just that.

The original film is available to borrow from BCCLS libraries, and the film’s soundtrack can be streamed on Hoopla. The Broadway Cast soundtrack is available to borrow as well. My favorite Cyndi Lauper album She’s So Unusual can be borrowed too.

The King and I

king-and-i

Ok, I haven’t seen this Tony Award-winning revival that stars Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe. Yet.

The King and I is based on the book, Anna and the King of Siam, tells the story of Anna, a British woman who travels with her young son to Siam (now known as Thailand) to teach the children of the King, and her life in the King’s court in a culture that vastly differs from hers.

The King and I is one Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musicals. I’ve seen Oklahoma! at the Paper Mill Playhouse and South Pacific in a recent Broadway revival that starred Kelli O’Hara, but The King and I holds a special place in my heart. As a kid I participated in a production of this show, and remember every single song. “Shall We Dance” and “Whistle A Happy Tune” are the perhaps the best known, but I always liked the show-within-the-show of Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe that had a Buddhist twist.

You can borrow the 1956 film adaptation, which stars Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner, at BCCLS libraries; the film soundtrack is Hoopla. The Broadway soundtracks (original cast and current cast) can be streamed on Hoopla Digital.

As mentioned in the first paragraph, my birthday is approaching … so here’s my appeal:

Dear friends and family,

Should you be reading this post, which I will share on my personal social media networks for you to see, a ticket to The King and I would be a very welcome birthday present*!

-Written by Kerry Weinstein, Reference Librarian

*Tickets to Hamilton are welcome, too. President Obama has good cultural taste, based upon his summer reading choices and Spotify playlist, so I trust his theater picks.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Film versus Broadway: Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Cabaret, and Once

18 Feb

IMG_2610

I had the opportunity to see three Broadway shows in the past few months: Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Cabaret, and Once. After seeing the live shows, I watched the film adaptations, or the origin film in the case of Once, to relive the music, the stories, and the characters. While the films can’t recreate the experience of live theater, I enjoyed them all. All three films are available to borrow from BCCLS libraries. I also include catalog links to the soundtracks if you’re more interested in the music.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

hedwig

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (both film and stage show versions) is primarily a story about of a lover scorned, with a killer rock and roll score. The action follows Hedwig (born Hansel), a transgender woman from East Berlin, as she follows her former lover, rock star Tommy Gnosis, on his American tour. Hedwig, who has her own band called The Angry Inch, is responsible for many of Tommy’s hits and is angry she never received credit. Love, finding your “other half”, power, and gender are other themes explored in Hedwig.

The music is mostly the same in both versions, but the film has some plot differences. Hedwig and her band perform in a fictional chain restaurant called Bilgewater’s as she follows Tommy’s tour. Character actress Andrea Martin (author of a Funny Lady Memoir called Lady Parts) plays Hedwig’s manager, a role that does not exist in the stage show.

The film was released in 2001 and has some references that may seem dated now. Yitzhak, Hedwig’s husband and a member of The Angry Inch who has aspirations of his own, quits to perform in a touring production of Rent. These details in no way will diminish a viewer’s enjoyment of the film. Just try not to sing along to “Wig In a Box”, which Hedwig invites the viewer to do as the lyrics of the song appear on the screen. This film is so much fun to watch.

John Cameron Mitchell, who played Hedwig in the film, is currently starring in the stage show. How cool would it be to see him on stage, then watch the film?

Cabaret

cabaret

Cabaret is set in 1931 Berlin, when the Nazi party was gaining power. The action is centered at the Kit Kat Club, a sexy but seedy place where the Emcee (Joel Grey) is the host and Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) is the headliner. Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli both won Oscars for their roles in the movie, and Bob Fosse won for Best Director. However, the movie could not beat The Godfather for Best Picture that year.

To me, Liza Minnelli is the ultimate Sally Bowles. My first exposure to this show was hearing a recording of “Cabaret” sung by Minnelli on a CD compilation of great Broadway songs called Ultimate Broadway. I was enthralled and persuaded my parents to let me see the 1990s Broadway revival at Studio 54, which starred Gina Gershon as Sally Bowles and Alan Cumming as the Emcee.

Seeing the musical reminded me how dark the story is, and the movie definitely captured that tone. There is just a sense of foreboding throughout the film, and the final image confirms that dread. Listening to the song “Cabaret” on its own makes the show seem lighthearted and fun, with upbeat chords and lyrics like “Life is cabaret old chum, so come to the cabaret!” But that performance comes toward the end of the film, when Sally sings it in desperation to save the career she wants and has sacrificed for. Perhaps Cabaret feels ominous because history documents the results of the Nazi regime.

Cabaret is soon ending its run on Broadway, but the movie and soundtracks are available.

Once

once

Once is an anomaly here. The stage show, which made its Broadway debut in 2012 and ended its run this past January, was adapted from the 2007 Irish film. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova star as Guy and Girl, respectively, who connect over music and spend a creative week together writing and recording original songs. The film was a hit and won a Best Original Song Academy Award for “Falling Slowly” in 2007. While “Falling Slowly” is certainly a gorgeous composition, I have to say “Gold” is my favorite song from both versions.

Girl meets Guy as he is singing on the street. They chat, and he tells her that he fixes vacuums for a living. She announces that her vacuum “doesn’t suck” and the next day she brings the vacuum to him for repair. The vacuum becomes a comic gag, as Girl drags it along with her as she and Guy go for lunch, ride the bus, and get to know each other.

The movie feels more like a musical performed in the theater, as the songs the characters sing express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. In “Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy”, Guy explains to Girl how his ex-girlfriend broke his heart and left him behind. Girl is estranged from her husband, with whom she has a young daughter. This pair has so much in common and there is definitely chemistry, which their music captures.

I saw one of the last performances on New Year’s Day, and was glad to experience this show (and hear “Gold”) live.

What are your favorite Broadway shows or film adaptations of musicals?

-Written by Kerry Weinstein, Reference Librarian

Tags: , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →