After Bruce, who?
After Bruce, who?
goodlead
Stand-by Joined: 3/30/18
#1After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/27/18 at 8:11pm
Little as I like the idea, Springsteen's Broadway success may inspire other pop acts to take their chance on solo concert runs on Broadway. We already have an excess of jukebox musicals; the next step is to jettison the book and simply perform the songs.. Do you think this might happen, and who are the likely perpetrators?
#2After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/27/18 at 8:12pm
Bring Celine Dion’s Las Vegas show to New York and give that water act the tony award it deserves
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Updated On: 8/27/18 at 08:12 PM
Dollypop
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#4After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/27/18 at 8:30pm
I think Bruce is sui generis, both in terms of what he does on stage and his stature. (I also am horrified that you imply he is a "pop act." Seriously?
There is precedent for bands that sell our stadiums and arenas doing stints in Broadway houses. Not really something that has caught on.
#5After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/27/18 at 8:49pm
goodlead said: "Little as I like the idea, Springsteen's Broadway success may inspire other pop acts to take their chance on solo concert runs on Broadway. We already have an excess of jukebox musicals; the next step is to jettison the book and simply perform the songs.. Do you think this might happen, and who are the likely perpetrators?"
I could see Billy Joel filling in for Bruce for a few weeks.
Jersey? Long Island? Similar tough New York-ish area accents.
Not sure which ex-wife could fill in for Patti. But I would love to see Billy Joel play the Springsteen songbook. And maybe have Bruce do a MSG concert of Billy Joel songs. These guys are amazing.
And then I’d love for Lady Gaga to fill in for Bruce or Joel.
#7After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/27/18 at 10:35pm
Springsteen is more than a pop act doing an MTV Unplugged gig, he’s second only to Dylan in terms of the songwriter/performer/poet divide. He’s a singer and a raconteur, famous for his storytelling in song and in extended onstage monologues.
Put nearly anyone else in a show like that, and it’s just a small concert venue: it’s Springsteen’s already well-known singing/storytelling hybrid, expanded into a full one-man show, that makes Springsteen on Broadway work. The only other people I could see pulling it off are Pete Townshend, who is a legend but not at the solo prestige level of Springsteen, Tom Waits, who is too niche to sell, and Sir Paul McCartney, who just simply wouldn’t do it.
BroadwayConcierge
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/24/15
#8After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/27/18 at 10:38pm
haterobics said: "Usually Caitlin follows a Bruce."
Omfg. Dying.
#9After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/27/18 at 11:18pm
I can think of a few people who have the “storyteller” appeal that has helped Bruce be so successful on Broadway. Problem is, I doubt any of them would do it because of desire, advancing age, or movement toward retirement:
—Paul Simon
—Neil Young
—Carole King
—Stevie Nicks
I can’t see any of them being to pull in the money Bruce has or do a residency that long.
SomethingPeculiar
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/15/14
#10After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/27/18 at 11:36pm
A concert act is probably the only way Streisand would return to Broadway. (And even then, it probably wouldn't have the stripped-down intimacy of Bruce's show. Not many people could pull that off.)
Maybe we'll see Bette Midler back on Broadway in a one-woman concert production a few years from now.
#11After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/28/18 at 12:14am
Interesting list of the few possibilities. I think they essentially prove the point: wrap your head around sitting in a theatre listening to any of them doing what Bruce does. Have you ever heard Paul Simon the poignant raconteur? I think Bette does her brand of this very well, but do you really think this is in her future? Someday Gaga will do it.
#12After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/28/18 at 10:25am
The only person who I would put in a similar league as Springsteen is Dylan, and there's no way he'd do a Broadway residency.
(it's also worth noting that Springsteen's show isn't really a Springsteen concert, either. It's very different and its own animal).
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
Updated On: 8/28/18 at 10:25 AM
John Adams
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/1/13
#13After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/28/18 at 10:56am
HogansHero said: "I also am horrified that you imply he is a 'pop act.' Seriously?"
That was my immediate reaction, too.
I'm not a Springsteen fan; I've never collected any of his recordings. Still, he's a legend and I see little difference between bio-musicals like Jersey Boys, Beautiful, etc. (which I do not categorize as 'jukebox' musicals) and his show. ...Well, except for the obvious fact that he's still around to perform his own story! 
If I had my 'druthers, I'd prefer that Cher had taken that road.
OneSingularSensation2
Chorus Member Joined: 3/29/18
#14After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/28/18 at 11:48am
IMHO, I think most likely is someone who's already written a memoir. It's clear that Bruce has done years of reflecting on his life (in therapy and out). Having that source material with which to craft a show like this is huge. I haven't seen it (no lottery win yet/would rather pay $200 to see him rock out on tour somewhere). But, I have seen some clips, and everything I've seen echoes what he already put in his book. (It is 500+ pages after all...) As some others have mentioned, he also seems to be the kind of person who enjoys telling stories.
I'm not going to quibble over the "pop act" label - true, he's a rocker, but perhaps goodlead simply meant that he's a popular act. I will, however, disagree with "Little as I like the idea" - I love the idea. I'd hear out the argument that these acts belong in theaters elsewhere/not on the Great White Way, but I think they're a fabulous opportunity for musical artists to engage with fans in an intimate space. I see both Gaga and Taylor Swift doing this in a few decades - personally, I'd love if Adele ever wanted to. Maybe Elton post farewell tour? Not sure why Billy Joel would want to as long as he can sell out MSG.
#15After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/28/18 at 12:04pm
It's a fusion of concert, autobiography and Ted Talk, and I think it only works as well as it does because Springsteen is somewhat... for lack of a better word, "literary." He's renowned as a performer and a rock star, but his lyrics (particularly before and after his eighties pop period) are as much free-form post-Beat poetry as they are simply song-words.
There's a lot of acts that could do a good "MTV Unplugged" style show, but you need someone like Bruce or the aforementioned Bob Dylan who is "literary" as well as an entertainer to make it a show in this vein.
KFC1991
Stand-by Joined: 7/10/18
#16After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/28/18 at 12:13pmI see that several have mentioned Gaga being good at this. She has an upcoming Vegas residency called Lady Gaga: Jazz and Piano that I suspect will be in a similar vein (though in a giant hall that lacks the Kerr's intimacy).
#17After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/28/18 at 12:19pm
If she didn't already have Beautiful I could easily see Carole King taking up a Broadway run, either alone or with James Taylor.
If she wasn't already spread so thin, and had the time to do a sit down stripped down show, I could see Dolly Parton being an amazing stripped down Broadway concert. She is arguably the best female song writer of the 20th century, and has some amazingly heartwarming stories to tell. The problem is shes already realized this, and is instead of doing a Broadway "unplugged", shes doing multiple books and TV movies. I honestly wonder why we haven't heard anything about her jukebox musical or autobiographical musical since 9 to 5.
smidge
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/06
#18After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/28/18 at 1:08pmI thought of Dolly too because of her talent and larger than life personality. Her story has been told often but she may be able to shape her material into something fresh for the stage. Country artists would adapt well to this format because of the strong storytelling aspects of their music. Garth Brooks is a strong possibility and would do well in sales.
theaterdarling
Stand-by Joined: 9/4/17
#19After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/28/18 at 1:18pm
darquegk said: "It's a fusion of concert, autobiography and Ted Talk, and I think it only works as well as it does because Springsteen is somewhat... for lack of a better word, "literary." He's renowned as a performer and a rock star, but his lyrics (particularly before and after his eighties pop period) are as much free-form post-Beat poetry as they are simply song-words.
There's a lot of acts that could do a good "MTV Unplugged" style show, but you need someone like Bruce or the aforementioned Bob Dylan who is "literary" as well as an entertainer to make it a show in this vein."
I agree that it needs the "literary" quotient for it to distinguish it from "MTV Unplugged" (or worse yet, VH1's "Behind the Music"
and I think only Paul Simon fits that bill after Dylan and Springsteen. He has not written an autobiography but did authorize and heavily participate in providing material for Hilburn biography released this year and I'm sure could provide a lot of inspiration for a stage narrative. I'm sure there is no shortage of people who could help create a unique book.
You don't need a "Patti," like Bruce. (Though, certainly, the late great, Carrie Fisher would have made for a great cameo and she could have likely written that "s**t out of that cameo). Yeah, I know Edie has her own chops, but she not ever part of Paul's musical life like Patti was of Bruce's. Show needs to be a similar vibe to Bruce, but not a carbon copy.
A small segment might appropriately deal with his unfortunate Broadway experience with "The Capeman." It might be an interesting to come full circle and make peace with the negative experience on a Broadway stage.
He farewell tour ends in September and his (last?) album is released in Septmeber as well so perhaps he is looking for a project. Maybe seeing how well it worked for Bruce, he would consider it-not as long as Bruce - an 8 week (Bruce's initial booking) or 16 week run would seem sufficient. One of the few who would be deserving of this self-guided retrospective. I'd pay to see that.
Lady Gaga? really? - don't think she has the "literary" sensibility so important to this as darquegk articulates, but more importantly, can we at least wait and not even consider this until she is in her 60s so it is determined wither work evolves, stands the test of time and remains worthy of a look back? Not every artist who qualifies for Las Vegas residency is worthy of the Springsteen on Broadway treatment. In fact it is those who you would never consider residency in Las Vegas (Neil Young, for instance) who seem much more compelling.
#20After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/28/18 at 1:41pm
In a couple decades- and if she maintains her voice- I think Adele would be a good candidate for something like this, too.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
Broadway Fan2
Chorus Member Joined: 3/14/18
#21After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/28/18 at 2:53pm
Could Bruce change from limited run to a permanent one? Or is that too risky?
Updated On: 8/28/18 at 02:53 PM
#22After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/28/18 at 8:13pm
I immediately thought of Dolly Parton when I read the OP. She could pull this off successfully. Carly Simon is another great songstress of the 20th Century, but I don't think she can carry something such as this (maybe a jukebox musical for her would be ideal).
SomethingPeculiar
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/15/14
#23After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/28/18 at 8:51pm
Broadway Fan2 said: "Could Bruce change from limited run to a permanent one? Or is that too risky?"
He's basically done that already. His initial run that started last October was 8 weeks, but he kept extending it. Now his final show is scheduled for December 15 (with the filmed version dropping on Netflix that night).
You might say he's BORN TO...extend his limited...RUN.
Broadway Fan2
Chorus Member Joined: 3/14/18
#24After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/28/18 at 9:22pm
SomethingPeculiar said: "Broadway Fan2 said: "Could Bruce change from limited run to a permanent one? Or is that too risky?"
He's basically done that already. His initial run that started last October was 8 weeks, but he kept extending it. Now his final show is scheduled for December 15 (with the filmed version dropping on Netflix that night).
You might say he's BORN TO...extend his limited...RUN."
Lol. Oh Bruce, that one. He's a HUNGRY HEART for GLORY DAYS.
#25After Bruce, who?
Posted: 8/28/18 at 11:27pm
How 'bout trump? He's already a joke so he might as well make legitimate money at it, especially where the audience can throw cabbages, tomatoes, and other garden items like they did in the old days.
