Variety: "While the shakeup at 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,' has been well-publicized, the rest of the Broadway lineup has also brought on a slew of new creatives to shore up Gotham tuners including 'Sister Act,' 'Catch Me if You Can,' 'Wonderland' and 'Priscilla Queen of the Desert.'
Although not all productions officially acknowledge the late additions, it's generally understood that Brian Yorkey had a hand in the book of 'Catch Me if You Can' while director Scott Ellis and writer Rupert Holmes are in the mix for 'Wonderland.'
3 comments:
I think it's a good thing that some of those shows are getting "show doctors" since they really need it, especially Catch Me If You Can. And on the other hand, it's really interesting to note that a show like The Book of Mormon didn't go through that many changes (or that's what I've been reading?) from the time it had its first previews to when the show was frozen for the critics. It sounds like the press (for Spider-Man) are trying to indicate that bringing in a new member of the creative team means that a show is in trouble. But the previews are crucial weeks for the creative team to really figure out the problems.
I had heard, as I am sure so has everyone, about the show doctor for Spiderman the Musical, but I had no idea of the wide spread use of show doctors. However when I think about it, everyone brings other people in to help improve the show, just on Broadway they are bigger news, create hiatuses and are paid. It is always important to bring in new people. A fresh perspective can point out big problems, even if they aren't problems you want to hear. It also makes sense that this is so rampant at this time of year, what with the Tony's coming soon.
"The helmer describes stepping into a show as a process of taming chaos, re-establishing clear individual duties for each collaborator and coming up with nuts-and-bolts solutions to creative problem points." - Good advice for all anyone who is a manager in the arts.
Film/TV shoots have a staff of writers on set for rewriting scenes on the fly but I think that theatrical productions have a lot more emotional investment in individual projects.
Post a Comment