The first part of 2009 is a good time to be a Robyn Hitchcock fan. Not only is he on tour (I have my ticket to see him at the Union Chapel next week) his new album Goodnight Oslo is out the week after next. Early reviews are very positive. But perhaps the best news, especially for those Robyn fans that like musicals, is the news that Robyn is set to bring a famous Dirty Harry film to the stage!
According to the Guardian plans are reportedly afoot for the 1973 sequel to Dirty Harry to be turned into an all-singing, all-dancing production. It would follow in the footsteps of rather more comprehensible conversions such as Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and Billy Elliot.
The man responsible for taking Harry to the stage will be Robyn Hitchcock, who plans to produce the show alongside MTV executive Bill Flanagan. While perhaps best known for his surrealistic music, he also has a track record of collaboration with the film-maker Jonathan Demme, with whom he made the concert film Storefront Hitchcock.
Hitchcock claims his relationship with Magnum Force is a longstanding one. "It's a film that seemed to be on all the time when I was on tour," he said. "By the fifth time [I saw it], I became addicted to it. It's taken a very strange hold on my life."
There is currently no scheduled opening night for the Magnum Force musical, but thoughts are already turning to the big closing number. A descant chorus of "I know what you're thinking, have I fired six shots or only five?" may yet make it in.
I can’t wait!
Showing posts with label musical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label musical. Show all posts
02 February 2009
07 January 2008
Anne Frank – The Musical
It’s just not a story that I would ever have expected to get this sort of treatment but Anne Frank’s Diary has been turned into a musical which opens in Madrid next month. The Anne Frank Foundation, which guards the rights to the diary has given its support. "This production respects the message of tolerance, within the tragedy, that we want to keep alive. Being in Spanish, it can also help to take the message of Anne Frank to Latin America."
Rafael Alvero, who developed the musical project, said it was the culmination of a decade's efforts to gain the confidence of the foundation. He said the show would be inspirational, comparing Frank's life story to a tragic opera. "When I first came here they [the foundation] had this doubt, about how somebody can do a musical of a story like this," said Alvero. "The thing we want to do is ... through the music, to understand the story better," he said.
Isabella Castillo, a 13-year-old born in Cuba who has been chosen for the lead role.
Personally, the idea of turning the Anne Frank diary seems strange, but why not? It will certainly be no “Springtime for Hitler” or the Anne Frank Foundation would never have given it support. Whether the musical is any good or not is of course a totally different matter.
Rafael Alvero, who developed the musical project, said it was the culmination of a decade's efforts to gain the confidence of the foundation. He said the show would be inspirational, comparing Frank's life story to a tragic opera. "When I first came here they [the foundation] had this doubt, about how somebody can do a musical of a story like this," said Alvero. "The thing we want to do is ... through the music, to understand the story better," he said.
Isabella Castillo, a 13-year-old born in Cuba who has been chosen for the lead role.
Personally, the idea of turning the Anne Frank diary seems strange, but why not? It will certainly be no “Springtime for Hitler” or the Anne Frank Foundation would never have given it support. Whether the musical is any good or not is of course a totally different matter.
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