NYTimes.com: "Rock is mostly retro on Broadway, where the jukebox musical has taken up firm residence. The notable exception is “American Idiot,” which received a heady injection of pop excitement this month with the return of Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong to the role of St. Jimmy. (Of course, rumor has it there’s a score for some new show by a rock band called U2, but I haven’t heard a lick of it yet. Some distant day, perhaps.)
Now comes word that Melissa Etheridge will slather on the eye makeup and take over Mr. Armstrong’s role during a week of “American Idiot” performances beginning Feb. 1.
4 comments:
I think that this article is very interesting. Not knowing the show, I have a hard time imagining the role that Lady Gaga, Joan Jett, and Melissa Etheridge could all play. It seems like the casting director wanted to just use any strong rocker woman that he could find. I also think, the fact that all of these women are playing a man means that it must be a very versatile role. Also being compared to the acid queen means that it must be a very weird role. I agree with the author that celebrities should not be cast in shows just to bring in profits. But I think that if it brings people to see shows that normally wouldn't then I am all in favor.
There's something promising and useful about rock stars taking the stage and I don't mean marketing or commericial appeal. I can't imagine ticket sales or big paychecks are any motivation for casting rock stars. Will that many people really line up to see Billie Joe or Melissa Etheridge in American Idiot? Probably not, the people who want to see that show will want to see that show. Sure a handful of people will want to see it more. But the promise is the cross-breeding of genres: rock and musical theatre.
The article mentions Bowie (who had made quite an impression within the cinema, Labyrinth anyone?) Sure Bowie hasn't tread the boards since Elephant Man but he has tried. His album Diamond Dogs, which spawned the immortal 'Rebel, Rebel' was built from songs Bowie wrote for a musical version of Orwell's 1984 (which never happened.) Imagine what the Thin White Duke could've done to Broadway. I would love to see more rock artists working within Broadway and working as writers and composers. U2 worked on Spiderman, makes sense: epic hero done by an epic band. Imagine a Lady Gaga musical? Pop meets Glam meets Futurism. I think Bowie would audition for that.
St. Jimmy is one of those weird roles that could really be played a lot of ways. Unfortunately, the one thing that is common across them is a basis of rage (basically, heroin personified). I just don't think Melissa Etheridge could strum that up. This brings up the age old question of Hollywood/rock stars "falling back" on Broadway. It's really interesting to see the dichotomy between the newest up-and-comers (read: every American Idol runnerup) and the more established performers (like Etheridge or Catherine Zeta-Jones in Little Night Music) who end up on Broadway. Do we discount these shows because the star is usually just marketing fodder? That's probably not fair. But when I hear pairings like this one (and some of the odd choices for others - Josh Strickland from American Idol originating the role of Tarzan?), it feels like the show's stretching to find some foothold on the market, whether or not the performer is actually the best fit.
I submitted my comment before I saw yours, Matt, and I totally echo your thoughts on a Lady Gaga musical. It would be a pretty wild ride, and David Bowie probably would find his way in there too. :D
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