Casey Nicholaw To Helm New ANIMAL HOUSE Musical w/ Barenaked Ladies Score

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 1:48pm

Toga Toga Toga

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 1:50pm

Ugh. Never been a fan of that movie.

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 1:53pm

I'm curious how this will work. It seems like "pick the most inappropriate collaboration" contest, but it may have some spark of brilliance to it in the end.

I loved ANIMAL HOUSE, but it's a John Belushi vehicle first, and an ensemble comedy second. Ask anyone what they remember most, and it'll be Belushi. And I also love BNL, but their music is so decidedly Nineties funny-alternive, I can't picture them doing a throwback score.

And finally, one can't help but pray that they license "Shout." Animal House without "Shout" would be like Young Frankenstein without "Puttin' On The Ritz."

[Overkill]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 2:14pm

OH MY GOD. I'M BEYOND EXCITED. Not so much because it's Animal House - I saw it once and was like "meh" - But a BARENAKED LADIES score on Broadway! Ugh. So much happiness. BNL is my all time favorite band, and I think their funny-alternative feel will work perfectly for this. I can't wait to hear the score. I wonder if Steven Page will be coming back to help?

All that being said... I kinda wish we'd just get a BNL jukebox musical... like American Idiot for Green Day. Maybe write a show around their album GORDON or STUNT. Just a thought. :)

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 2:20pm

Seriously? If I had a gun to my head MAYBE I could name three of their songs.

[Overkill]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 2:25pm

I have everything they've ever recorded. They're THAT band for me. lol I mean, I admit that some of their songs tend to blend, but when you have 12 albums - not including the live albums, demos, eps, etc. - and you've been performing them for over 20 years, it's gonna blend a bit. But I've never had so much fun at a concert than I have at BNL concerts. Free food, fun banter, dancing, catchy songs you can dance to and sing along with, and then some really great heartfelt stuff - the guys know how to put on a show, and I really think that is going to come across in the score and make the show worth creating. Because, really... do we NEED another movie-based musical with a bland score written by respected Broadway composers? (*cough*catchmeifyoucan*cough*) Getting a funny, well known, alternative rock band whose music is already narrative is such a smart move. Once again. Excited. :)

Updated On: 3/5/12 at 02:25 PM

[maxximumvolume2]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 4:09pm

So Josh Gad probably gets involved with this at some point in the Belushi role, yeah?

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 4:17pm

Dan Fogler is my bet.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 4:39pm

Personally, ANIMAL HOUSE is one of my favorite comedies and while there's no question that John Belushi was the break-out star of the film, I think it has a solid story that could make a great musical comedy.

Now we'll see what they do with it. I have nothing against BNL.

[Owen22]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 5:09pm

Oh yay. Once again pop writers writing a high profile theatre score.

As if, I once again comment, writing a theatre score ISN'T a specific talent.

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 6:17pm

It's not as if it hasn't been done well- just that the successes aren't as notable as the flawed or failed attempts.

Boy George's work on TABOO was considered much better than the show it was in. David Yazbek was an indie songwriter turned theatre darling.

AMERICAN IDIOT may have been met with mixed reviews from board members, but critically the show did fairly well. SPRING AWAKENING can hardly be called a traditional musical, but as a play with music, Duncan Sheik's songs fit well enough. The only trouble is that, as he goes on writing musicals, he can't seem to make the jump from "play with music" to "integrated musical."

Although, I will cite the counterargument I've seen in a few other threads, that most acclaimed musicals from the beginning to today have incorporated significantly more jazz and opera influence, combined with some measure of each, than rock or modern pop influence. Since these forms allow for more fluidity of expression and less reliance on conventional structures, songwriting tropes and time signature and chord conventions, they allow a greater dramatic range and can be altered to match the character and situation, while rock songs and pop songs can only be toyed with so much before they lose the genre. Updated On: 3/5/12 at 06:17 PM

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 7:29pm

I have everything they've ever recorded. They're THAT band for me. lol I mean, I admit that some of their songs tend to blend, but when you have 12 albums - not including the live albums, demos, eps, etc. - and you've been performing them for over 20 years, it's gonna blend a bit. But I've never had so much fun at a concert than I have at BNL concerts. Free food, fun banter, dancing, catchy songs you can dance to and sing along with, and then some really great heartfelt stuff - the guys know how to put on a show, and I really think that is going to come across in the score and make the show worth creating. Because, really... do we NEED another movie-based musical with a bland score written by respected Broadway composers? (*cough*catchmeifyoucan*cough*) Getting a funny, well known, alternative rock band whose music is already narrative is such a smart move. Once again. Excited. :)

As someone who has had this idea in my head for years, I gotta agree. This is THE perfect job for them.

[bethyd]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 8:06pm

This isn't BNL's first musical score. They were highly praised for their work doing the score for a Canadian production of Shakespeare's "As You Like It" a few years ago.

From Shakespeare to Animal House, if anyone can handle that leap successfully these guys can.

I too am a long-time fan of their work, and think this is a great thing. I'm not crazy about the Animal House movie, but if anyone can pull it off, these guys can.

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/90670-Heigh-Ho-Pop-Group-Barenaked-Ladies-Will-Score-Shakespeares-As-You-Like-It

[Owen22]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 8:07pm

I will give you Yazbek, but I guarantee you he booked "Fully Monty" on the strength of his song writing (and Guettel's recommendation) and not because he was a "name" pop writer.

As much as I love the score to "Spring Awakening" all it really is is a collection of (wonderful) pop songs that only tangentially refer to character and plotting. Don't get me wrong, I love how the score is used, but I'm pretty sure that won't be the case in "Animal House".

If Steven Page was still writing for Barenaked Ladies I'd actually be inclined to think this group might be able to write some credible theatre songs (a lot of those early songs were full of character and adroit storytelling). But the quality of the songwriting has diminished a thousandfold since he left the group.

[bethyd]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 8:22pm

I do agree that Steven Page's style of songwriting would fit a Broadway show much better than the other guys. But Ed Robertson's sense of humor will lend itself well to the Animal House comedy. His songs were always cleverly humorous, whereas Page was more dramatic.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 10:41pm

I admit, I sorta have an unfair hate-on for BNL. When they first made it big (at least here in Canada), my faf played them *way* too much, and I've always found them kinda smug and not as clever as they think they are. Still, I'm willing to give them a chance, and the subject seems like it could work with them. Owen knows my thoughts on pop composers doing theatre thanks to the Tales of the City thread, but I'm curious Darque--do you really think that musical theatre owes a lot more to jazz than to pop music? Because--as a big pop music fan and a somewhat big jazz fan, I really don't hear it.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 10:44pm

I think this will be tough. It's a Broadway show, so it's not going to be all patter songs and ensemble stuff. There's going to have to be some heart to it and some ballads, and I just don't know if we care that much about the characters to hear them breakdown in a ballad.

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 11:07pm

That counter argument is not my opinion per se- it is rather one I have seen come up in many similar debates, and one that holds water when argued.

[Jon]

Posted: 3/6/12 at 12:10pm

To me, the biggest problem is coming up with a finale to match the homecoming parade of the movie. i mean, you can't really put the Death Mobile on stage.