The first Manhattan production of Rockabye Hamlet since 1976 is going up at The Player's Theatre in less than a month!!
It's 1582... and something is wrong, nee rotten, in Denmark. A murdered king, his adulterous wife, and his vengeful son meet at a crossroads in this classic Shakespearean tale of psychosis, envy, and revenge. Cliff Jones' musical vision of The Bard's masterwork finally makes its way back to Manhattan after a 38-year absence.
Bizarre Noir Theatre Company Presents...
Rockabye Hamlet A Rock Opera
Music and Lyrics by Cliff Jones
Starring (in alphabetical order): Jane Aquilina, John Cencio Burgos, Sean Driscoll, Justin Habben, Sarah Hill, Nancy Ellen Reinstein, Jovier Q. Sanchez, Jillian Schiralli, Siobhan Stevenson, Camellia Tatara, and Ian Wehrle.
Matt Chiasson on Piano Jack Quint on Guitar
Choreography by: Sarah Hill Directed by: P. William Pinto
July 17, 18, and 19 at 8pm Tickets $20
The Steve and Marie Sgouros Theatre 115 MacDougal Street New York, NY 10012
Just a month after the first NYC revival played in Astoria, now we have a "first Manhattan revival" right on its heels.
1977-2013: 0 productions of ROCKABYE HAMLET Summer 2014: 2 productions.
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
My friends and I saw the Astoria version in May and we're just as excited to see this upcoming production at Player's. This score needs to be heard!! It will also be nice to see a completely different take on the material.
1977-2013: 0 productions of ROCKABYE HAMLET Summer 2014: 2 productions.
I'm by no means a fan of the show, but that is demonstrably false. In 1981, a revised version under another title played the West Coast (specifically, L.A.), was nominated for 12 Drama-Logues and won 7.
Then there are the more recent attempts to get the show up again, including a tour of Canadian schools in 2003, and a semi-pro 2008 workshop in Toronto, evidence of which can be found on this very board: https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=972968.
Two of the songs are on the SHAKESPEARE ON BROADWAY album produced by Bruce Kimmel - would be great to have the entire score!
2016 These Paper Bullets (1/02) Our Mother's Brief Affair (1/06), Dragon Boat Racing (1/08), Howard - reading (1/28), Shear Madness (2/10), Fun Home (2/17), Women Without Men (2/18), Trip Of Love (2/21), The First Gentleman -reading (2/22), Southern Comfort (2/23), The Robber Bridegroom (2/24), She Loves Me (3/11), Shuffle Along (4/12), Shear Madness (4/14), Dear Evan Hansen (4/16), American Psycho (4/23), Tuck Everlasting (5/10), Indian Summer (5/15), Peer Gynt (5/18), Broadway's Rising Stars (7/11), Trip of Love (7/27), CATS (7/31), The Layover (8/17), An Act Of God (8/31), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (8/24), Heisenberg (10/12), Fiddler On The Roof (11/02), Othello (11/23), Dear Evan Hansen (11/26), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (12/21) 2017 In Transit (2/01), Groundhog Day (4/04), Ring Twice For Miranda (4/07), Church And State (4/10), The Lucky One (4/19), Ernest Shackleton Loves Me (5/16), Building The Wall (5/19), Indecent (6/01), Six Degrees of Separation (6/09), Marvin's Room (6/28), A Doll's House Pt 2 (7/25) Curvy Widow (8/01)
I'm well aware other productions have played around the world, I should have clarified I was trying to count NYC productions, which was my initial sentence.
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
I'm incredibly proud to be a part of this production of Rockabye Hamlet. The music is amazing, and we have some fabulous talent in this production. Despite the original production being so over-the-top, the music stood on its own two feet. With Cliff Jones' permission, we're doing a composite of past versions of Rockabye - removing the music that doesn't work and keeping other music that did. Any way we can "shill" this production, get great music and fresh new talent out there, and keep off-off Broadway alive rather than feeding into this current Broadway corporate mold of money at any cost (Addams Family, anyone?), is fine by me.
The Astoria cast was bright, energetic, and put a tremendous amount of love and care into their production. And they did it on a shoestring. They had a really great, supportive crowd. We are putting that same amount of love and consideration into our production, and rather than be so quick to judge us for attempting to put our work out there while we're also operating on a shoestring, why don't you come and see it to see what we're doing differently than previous incarnations of the show? You would be helping us out, supporting small theater and even if you didn't like it, it's only $20.
Being told that we're shilling this production is fairly judgmental. We're not trying to swindle anyone, and $20 a ticket is hardly thievery. That being said - trying to do what you love is a sensitive topic, so you'll forgive me if I'm a little touchy about it.
Shilling is not necessarily judgmental about the quality of the show, voce... it's judgmental about the conduct of the new person on the board. Shilling is not likely to win many fans.
There are plenty of great shows that have had shills on the board. Quality of the show does not equal quality of the shill, or vice versa.
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
What folks, including me, are offended by are the fakes who claim to have just seen, or heard about a production and "isn't it exciting", "it was so amazing", blah blah blah...it's so transparent, even when you haven't just joined to shill.
If anyone comes on this board to announce their production and asks for people to check it out, they will see a lot of support on this board, and will actually sell tickets.
"Carson has combined his passion for helping children with his love for one of Cincinnati's favorite past times - cornhole - to create a unique and exciting event perfect for a corporate outing, entertaining clients or family fun."
With Cliff Jones' permission, we're doing a composite of past versions of Rockabye - removing the music that doesn't work and keeping other music that did.
Isn't that kind of what Cliff has done in all of the revised versions lately presented?
My post came across snottier than intended. There certainly isn't anything wrong with shilling but being upfront is good form. "I'm involved in this exciting project and want to tell you about it." And as I said, I really do you wish you every success with it.