NYTimes.com: Drums lay down a fast, metronomic beat, while the electric guitar throbs on an open E, its lowest note. Then the band and the singers rush in, over a primal, Ramones-y chord progression: “I don’t wanna go to high high high school/I just wanna get high.” This is the anti-anthem favored by white punk-era teenagers at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, in the new musical adaptation of Jonathan Lethem’s novel “The Fortress of Solitude,” now in previews at the Public Theater.
1 comment:
It's a risky thing to base a piece of theatre around a soundtrack. I'd be interested in seeing how this one turns out. The problem with using a soundtrack as the through line for a play I think is actually described in the article when the composer talks about how music exists in our lives, connected to memory and states of being. These are necessarily different for everyone, and it's impossible to predict how the audience will react to what you're laying down. Call me old- fashioned, but I still buy into the idea of Classical Unity, where plot has to be first and foremost in the dramatic arts. I feel like sometimes with works based on popular music, the referential nature of the piece distracts or directs the plot in places it wouldn't otherwise need to go. I'm thinking here very specifically of the monstrous and bewilderingly popular piece of trash called American Idiot that has defiled many a stage since its ill-advised inception. The comparison probably isn't fair, especially since most of the article focuses on a discussion with the composer and therefore doesn't mention much about the plot. In think a piece that draws heavily from musical association must pay extra special attention to the other aspects of Drama to have a successful production. Looking forward to seeing a review of this show in the near future.
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