There was a musical. ELVIS: AN AMERICAN MUSICAL that toured and did a lengthy sit in Vegas in the late 80s. Broadway was the goal but not 100% sure it got there. Johnny Seaton starred, who later played Pharaoh opposite Donny Osmond in the Livent JOSEPH tour.
Elvis Presley a loser? Absolutely not. He served honorably in the United States Army for two years. He later performed a benefit concert in Honolulu to raise money (some $64,000) to help finance the building of the USS Arizona Memorial. He and his manager were not paid for the performance. He is a hero to many, especially to those with military backgrounds.
According to Baz Luhrmann, and stories in Variety, Entertainment Weekly, etc., Austin Butler did the singing for the younger Elvis. The original Presley recordings were done in mono, and not considered good enough quality for the movie. From 1968 on, Butler's singing is blended with Presley's. And the ''Elvis'' soundtrack credits 14 of the cuts to Butler. I read an interview with Lisa Marie Presley, who was blown away by Butler's vocals and didn't realize they were his, and not her father's. What's also remarkable is that prior to ''Elvis,'' Butler had never sung professionally. Kudos to his dedication and his vocal coaches. The Hollywood Critics Association just named him the Best Actor for the first half of this movie season.
As for ''All Shook Up,'' it was a 2005 Broadway jukebox musical that featured the Elvis song catalog, but it was NOT a musical bio of the King. Tony winner Joe DiPietro (''Memphis'' ) wrote a new book and adapted Shakespeare's ''Twelfth Night'' and set it in 1955 Midwest America. Cheyenne Jackson played Chad, a motorcycle-riding, guitar-strumming stranger who comes to town. Jenn Gambatese played Natalie, who disguised herself as ''Ed,'' to get close to him. Mistaken identities and comic chaos ensued, and DiPietro played with the racial and sexual mores of the '50s. At one point, Chad kisses ''Ed,'' and even entertains the notion that he might be gay. Jackson delivered a musical-comedy tour de force and got a Theatre World Award for his Broadway debut. ''All Shook Up'' was a fun show that ran over 200 performances at the barn of a theater called the Palace. (A few decades earlier, in 1978, Rick Saucedo, a Presley tribute artist, starred in his show, ''Elvis: The Legend Lives!,'' also at the Palace, and it ran for over 100 performances.)
I saw a veryyy fancy lab of the Elvis biomusical about two years ago, I think they said it was bring co-produced by Graceland and his estate. It was actually pretty good, it was Corey Mach as Elvis, he was fantastic
I saw a veryyy fancy lab of the Elvis biomusical about two years ago, I think they said it was bring co-produced by Graceland and his estate. It was actually pretty good, it was Corey Mach as Elvis, he was fantastic"
Can you tell us anything else about this lab?! Other characters/cast or who was on the creative team?
In our millions, in our billions, we are most powerful when we stand together. TW4C unwaveringly joins the worldwide masses, for we know our liberation is inseparably bound.
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I don’t can’t find the program from the presentation but I remember the other leads were James Moye and Cary Tedder. I think there were like 40-50 Elvis songs in it
In our millions, in our billions, we are most powerful when we stand together. TW4C unwaveringly joins the worldwide masses, for we know our liberation is inseparably bound.
Signed,
Theater Workers for a Ceasefire
https://theaterworkersforaceasefire.com/statement
I can't imagine "Elvis" show being interesting anymore because we all know the story from beginning to end and what could a show add that would compel us to see it. Majority of us have heard all his music for decades so I can't see how anybody could bring something "fresh" to a new show about Elvis.
Actually, I wondered what happened to "Backbeat" which was a musical about the Beatles before they became famous. I thought at one time it might be brought to Broadway. I thought it played in London for a while, not sure how well it was received by critics and audience.