Friday, January 22, 2010
Performers Announced for 'Broadway Backwards'
Backstage: "Hosted by Florence Henderson, the event features performers singing familiar Broadway tunes written for the opposite gender but with all the lyrics, including the pronouns, unchanged. The show will be directed and choreographed by creator Robert Barley, with musical direction by Wayne Barker."
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6 comments:
We have a performance like this called "Miscast" at the camp where I work over the summer. There are certain performances that can be awkward as hell at times, but mostly it's just hilarious. I remember a particular instance where (and though this plays into stereotypes, it actually is true) a larger guy with a mid-baritone voice walks out in a purple flowery dress and a prop bird on his hand, and proceeds to sing "Green Finch and Linnet Bird" from Sweeney Todd in immaculate falsetto. The performance hit its climax when he sang a high note near the end and the bird dropped off his hand, hanging limp by its talons from his finger. He was the only one during the show to get a standing ovation.
I don't know if I necessarily like that the title calls the interesting casting as "Backwards", but I think that this is a great idea. I think that a lot of plays can be rejuvenated and can push the audience to view relationship dynamics in a different way but casting in an unconventional manner.
I disagree with Ariel. It is very risky to try to take well know plays or musicals, and change the relationships from heterosexual to homosexual, assuming that is what their eventual plan is. I have seen a production of West Side Story where the part of Tony was cast as a woman. The story line often comes off as confusing, and the lead seemed to play into stereotypes. I think new plays that push the typical boundaries about sexuality are more than appropriate, even essential to theater during this time, but trying to redo classic plays seems to be too difficult to do.
I agree with Ariel here. I don't think that the intent with this is to turn the relationships into homosexual ones. I feel like it is more about challenging the artists and revitalizing what the audience is used to and comfortable with.
I also agree with Ariel. I think that by removing the element of these songs that everyone has become comfortable with, it can really allow insight into the original work. A man singing a woman's song will make the audience really think about the original character beyond gender roles. Also, I think this is a great idea because depending on the actual performances, which I had hoped examples of would be included in the article, it could range from comic to very serious reactions as a result of the changes.
This could be a very interesting performance. While I have never seen a production like it, I can imagine that it could make quite an impact. When I first read the preview on the green page, I immediately thought that this was just some gimmick that someone was trying to get money. If it were actually such a thing, I would not be as accepting of it. However, the producer's clearly have a specific statement they are trying to make. In addition, beyond the political statement, there is also and artistic one that opens up not only the character to examination, but the music itself. Having songs sung in different ranges (or even just by different voice parts) sound very different and this difference is often very fun to play with.
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