Yahoo! News: "Seattle audiences will see the U.S. premiere of the musical Obama on My Mind - a comic look behind the scenes of an Obama campaign office in small-town America - Oct. 15-Nov. 15.
A resident cast of Equity and non-Equity players will perform the show at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center in Seattle. Opening is Oct. 23."
15 comments:
I read the title for this article, and I just thought, "Are you serious, the newest musical hitting the blog this week is a parody of Obama's election?" I get it, we respond artistically to what's happening in our lives, and Obama's election was monumental, but it just seems a little much. Obama and his campaign team really drove their message into the ground, everyone in the nation relates the phrase "Yes We Can" to his campaign. I just see this show, and can't take it seriously. Which is probably the point. I'm starting to get tired of these musicals that are retelling movies, or just parodies of events that have happened. Where are the new works that can really create a new world, a new story for the public to latch on to? Theater is a way for the audience to escape the reality of the world, why do we have shows that keep reminding us of the world that we're trying to forget for two and a half hours out of our day?
I agree with Liz, when will there be a new original idea on Broadway! While I'm glad Obama is our president, I feel a musical about his campaign is not the greatest, especially if it is a parody. I can't imagine how audience are going to respond to a show like this. It should be interesting to see the reaction from the audiences.
This show will either be hilarious or painful to watch. It's not your typical musical premise, and these days that's almost enough to get you to go out and see a show with all the "This Was a Movie in the Eighties and Now it's on Stage with Songs!" musicals out there. Even though it's not an original story, for a lot of people Obama's election was one of the most important events of their lifetime, and it makes sense that they would want to experience a light-hearted, humorous show reliving it.
This concept is slightly unsettling to me. When a play/movie is made about a current political power is serves only two purposes - propaganda, or criticism. I'm not sure which idea this play is aiming for, but I hate propaganda plays. I want to learn the facts of a politician for myself, not be brainwashed by a musical. I just really hope this is not a "Obama is the best thing to ever happen to America" musical. I've heard that many times, let me hear about something or see something i don't know. If this play is a satire or parody is could be interesting, but the whole matter is very iffy to me.
The idea of this show is a little ridiculous. However, I don't know if its going to be as bad as the comments above seem to think it will be. I don't know about you, but in MOST of the musicals I've heard about, when you try to explain the plot, it sounds silly and uninteresting. Take guys and dolls, there is no substance in most of the actually plot, but when you add humor and music one has quite an entertaining show. If this script has good writers, it could change the whole outcome of the performance. Who knows, it could surprise you.
While Obama's election was a very important event in the course of the United State's history, that doesn't mean we need to retell it in the form of a musical. The point of theater is to draw from what this event caused, and create a new story reflecting the issues we still face. There's no need to relive the campaign, especially considering it just happened. At least give it a little more retrospect. I doubt we can see all the effects upon society from Obama's election just almost one year later. Writers seem to be falling back on movies or parodies, like Liz mentioned. Inspiration would be fine, but why watch the whole thing over again.
I want to say I'm surprised by this musical but in reality, I've been waiting for it. Not that I want to see it. When Kyle Beltran graduated last year and I saw him singing at showcase I said 'When they do a musical about Obama, Kyle will star." In a world where Spider Man can have a musical, why on earth wouldn't Obama? It's the same thing, the rise of a hero. Who doesn't want to see that? Better yet, what producer isn't asking the same question?
I can see how this would get more "legitimacy" than other shows hitting the market recently because of the mere fact that it was conceived by an African American living abroad. However, I think that they shouldn't be too quick too call things like this legitimate because of how it was conceived. Even still, I think that it has potential for success because of the public's opinion for the President.
This show is pretty interesting, especially as someone who knew a lot of people who worked on the campaign for Obama, and yes, while it isn't the most original premise, I think it's interesting to people who don't know what goes on in the inner working of the political machine, and I think it should be a good play to see. I realize we can't judge things just as they've happened, but still looking back at the event sometimes can offer a good perspective.
When I read the title, I though it was just some funny title created to talk about theatre and politics or something. However, when I found out that it was legit, I could not believe it. While I do believe that Obama's presidency is important, I do not believe that theatre is the best forum to celebrate it. As it is a parody, it will either be the funniest thing ever, or it will be horrible and offensive. While I hope the former is true, I am afraid that the later will be what comes to be.
Even though, as others have mentioned, it may not be the best premise for a show it will certainly be interesting. What I think we have to realize is that it is not a retelling of Obama's experience, it is the retelling of the experience that many people across the nation shared, campaigning. While not every experience was exactly the same it will still be a show that a lot of people will be able to relate to and possibly understand the inside joke of the show. I just hope that if the show does find success that it does not go on to become the facts of the Obama campaign experience, because I am sure that there will be many falsehoods in the show.
This play is another example of what worries me some about the political world as a whole these days. President Obama has become an enormous pop culture icon, and well, it's getting a little ridiculous in my view. Ariel and Mr. Stein both talked about how the election was a monumental moment in history and how the cross over of politics into everything these day is getting a little out of control, but on top of all that, I'm just getting a little tired of every entertainment outlet doing something about President Obama. This is at least the third play of similar plot to come out in the last year or so and some new ideas need to start getting implemented before this really gets out of hand.
I think that this show could have the potential to be...decent. I myself think that the idea of it is a little ridiculous, but at the same time, if you compare it to some of the other shows that are out there, what makes this any worse? I do agree that it is unoriginal, but if you are going to cut out all the shows that are unoriginal, then there would be so many productions shutting down. So we either let things go as they are, or revamp the entire selection of shows. I do think it is about time something new and unheard comes along, but just because this is not one of them, does not mean that it won't be a decent show. Like Sylvianne said, if the script has good writers, it could definitely surprise you.
i thought that it was just a joke and more reel untie i read the article and it proves that the us is obama crazy and just wonts to know about every ting about him. but this is a new cool idea that have never been atempetd. i feel that this will be a show that will spread the U.S and then i will probly die in a few years but it will be good until then. so it is a cool show idea.
As much as I agree with everyone before me, at LEAST this show is something new and original. While the content is not, and I question the artistic value of doing such a production, at least this show is not just taking a movie and turning it into a show. I'm anxious to hear about how the show is received since it is about a current president; although, there have been many satires of bush during his presidency. I still just wish new content would be created sometime soon...
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