ROMAN HOLIDAY on Broadway?

[North2009]

Posted: 6/15/12 at 1:35pm

This is from the Minneapolis newspaper today:

...Blake always has hoped to get "Roman Holiday" into New York. He feels the work he and Miller-Stephany have done gets him much closer to that goal. He said there is interest and financing, but he wants to find the right medium-sized Broadway house.

"We have every intention of moving into New York," Blake said. "I've talked to [Broadway powers] the Nederlanders; they're interested in it. I think Jimmy [Nederlander] Junior is coming out to see it. It's just a matter of timing right now and finding the right theater."

ROMAN HOLIDAY opens tonight at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis.
Am seeing this on 3 July - will report back with thoughts. And song list.


Updated On: 6/15/12 at 01:35 PM

[NewYorkPulse24]

Posted: 6/15/12 at 4:39pm

I was expecting it to be a Nicki Minaj musical...

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 6/27/12 at 3:44am

Has anyone seen this? I'm also wondering about a song list.

[North2009]

Posted: 6/27/12 at 9:31am

Am seeing it on 3 July - will then post song list.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/27/12 at 9:46am

I wonder how well this will work. Aside from a wonderful love story, so much of Roman Holiday is ... a Roman holiday.

It worked well on film because we got to follow Audrey and Gregory (and Eddie snapping pictures) around Rome as they fell in love. A mini travelogue. Not sure how well that would translate on stage.

I'm sure the beginning and the end could work fine if done well. It's the middle that could be a potential letdown.

Updated On: 6/27/12 at 09:46 AM

[newintown]

Posted: 6/27/12 at 9:53am

It could work for those who never saw the movie, but I can't imagine finding a young leading lady today with any of the magic Audrey Hepburn had by the bushel.

[massofmen]

Posted: 6/27/12 at 11:13am

this would be a HUGE disaster. IT was a great movie because YOU GOT TO SEE ROME!!!!! also everyone who saw the movie is going to remember Audrey Hepburn. Awful idea to move this.

[Renart]

Posted: 6/27/12 at 11:41am

I saw this at the Guthrie on Sunday afternoon. It was...okay. The program is in the back of my wife's car so I can't give the song list right now but I'll report back later. I can say that most of them are more obscure works from the Cole Porter catalog. If you're devoted to the film you probably won't like it but one could say that about any musical made from outside source material. I didn't have a problem with the Audrey Hepburn comparison issue. I'm rewatching the movie right now to clarify for myself what changes were made in the story. I suspect that there were some unnecessary changes made. They did the Vespa scene with rear projection but it was a disappointingly slow slide show rather than a fast moving film, which would have been a nice homage to the original movie if they had done it. I'll post the song list as soon as I get a chance.

[massofmen]

Posted: 6/27/12 at 11:52am

again..bad bad bad idea

[Renart]

Posted: 6/27/12 at 11:38pm

FYI

Act One
Overture
Once Upon a Time (Princess)
I'm Throwing a Ball Tonight (Joe, Ensemble)
Experiment (Countess, Princess)
Why Shouldn't I? (Princess)
You Do Something to Me (Joe, Ensemble)
Let's Be Buddies (Joe, Princess)
Look What I Found (Joe, Princess, Ensemble)
Wouldn't It Be Fun? (Irving, Princess, Joe)
Most Gentlemen Don't Like Love (Francesca, Princess)
Ridin' High (Joe, Princess, Ensemble)

Act Two
Entr'acte
A Picture of Me Without You (Joe, Princess, Irving)
Use Your Imagination (Princess, Joe)
Just One of Those Things (Francesca, Male Quartet)
Easy to Love (Joe)
Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye (Princess, Joe)
I Sleep Easier Now (Countess)
Night and Day (Joe)
Experiment (Princess)

Stephanie Rothenberg did a very good job as the Princess. I thought the one who suffered most by comparison was Edward Watts as Joe Bradley. He's got a fine voice, but he's no Gregory Peck.

I've now rewatched the movie (which I hadn't seen in probably 20 years) and now know which changes they made. I expect stage versions to have to edit, but I wish they wouldn't create plot elements that weren't even remotely in the film. It feels like they made the changes just so they could fit in another song. Since the songwriter is dead, they couldn't ask for a new song to fit the plot, so they changed the plot to fit the songs.

[newintown]

Posted: 6/28/12 at 6:46am

Ugh. Another musical with old songs (that have only the vaguest connection to the story or characters) plugged into a beloved old story. I know it's cheap to do, and you can count on pleasing the hordes who can't stand to hear a song they don't know, but come on. It's tired.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/28/12 at 7:11am

Does the show take place in the '20s and '30s? Cole Porter's Depression Era tunes? Really?

As a film, Roman Holiday always struck me as a distinctly modern setting (for its day), and definitely Roman/Italian. Nothing about it said "retro song catalog" and certainly not "American music." I would think using Porter tunes would sap the Italian flavor right out of it.

Updated On: 6/28/12 at 07:11 AM

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 6/28/12 at 8:26am

Yesterday I saw the movie at MOMA. The first time I've seen it with an audience and on a big screen.

There is no reason this soulful romance, with its gentle lyrical structure, the magic of Rome, the unsurpassed glamor and intelligence of its stars, and, most importantly, its constant stream of moments, both small and large, which already "sing" more than they ever could with the addition of a song, should be musicalized.

[newintown]

Posted: 6/28/12 at 8:39am

Except there are a LOT of sparrows out there who want a free ride on the back of an eagle.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 6/29/12 at 3:41am

To be kinda honest, I can sort of see this musical done with musical by Adam Gettel

[rjm516]

Posted: 6/29/12 at 9:16am

Yeah, that would be an idea. It's always better to have original music that might actually fit the story, right? And Guettel, how beautifully he captures Italy and romance. But alas, I guess we're stuck with a forced fit. What a waste of potentially good source material (at least for the excitement factor).

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 6/29/12 at 11:51am

^I agree. It isn't that this couldn't prove to be a good musical in the right hands, but a jukebox show with music not even from the period the film is set sounds awful to me. Someone like AG might be able to strike the right tone though.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/29/12 at 11:58am

I would have preferred it if it were period-appropriate jukebox stuff. Maybe most of those pop songs are too cliche now (Mambo Italiano, That's Amore, etc.)

I realize that the goal with a jukebox show is to license from one source (aka, one composer), otherwise the royalties are just too steep to pay out.

In the end, the jukebox idea is unfortunate for a property like this. Guettel could have done it if he stayed more "modern" (like he did in his incidental music in Piazza).

Who knows? We'll get "Anything Goes In Rome" instead.

Updated On: 6/29/12 at 11:58 AM