"Cat" was staged in Shanghai in September 2003 , it seemed to be synonymous with musicals. The newspaper screens on the streets and alleys were almost all of this 21-year-old "old cat" And fanaticism. People don’t know and don’t care about what is happening on Broadway, the center of the world musical that has already said goodbye to "Cats", and at this moment, there is just going crazy for another brand new musical. This is "Hairspray" (Hairspray).
Eight trophies dazzled the crew The
earliest news from the mainland reported that this musical was on June 9 this year. Because on June 8, "Hairspray" "crazyly plundered" 8 trophies in the "Tony Award", the highest award in the American theater industry, including best musical, best actor and actress, best play, and best Composer, best costume, best featured actor and best musical director, became the biggest winner of the 57th Tony Awards. Looking at the results of "Hairspray" in the first half of this year, this new play, which was officially staged at the NEIL SIMON THEATER on Broadway on August 15, 2002, almost grabbed all the awards in the American theater industry in 2002-- Drama Table Award, Drama League Award, New York Drama Critics Award, and Grammy Award for Best Musical.
The protagonist of "Hairspray" is Tracy Turnblad, a fat girl with curly hair in Baltimore, USA in 1962. She is kind-hearted and generous. I like dancing and singing, and I want to participate in the famous local dance TV show "Cowley Collins Show". Finally, one day she succeeded in becoming a candidate for the title of the "Miss Hairspray Contest" organized by the show and becoming a local celebrity, which triggered a series of stories with people around her.
As a new musical with strong nostalgia, it has received unanimous praise and sought after by the American musical theater industry, and is hoped to be a masterpiece to revitalize the sluggish American musical theater market. Even the opening ceremony of the Nasdaq in the US stock market on February 7 specially invited the three female protagonists of the play to host it. It is reported that the current box office of the show is quite outstanding, and the investment of 10.5 million US dollars has been recovered. Starting in September, it will start touring in major cities in the United States.
"Fire" caused by an alternative director
Unlike previous musicals such as "Madame Veron" and "Chicago" which were successfully adapted into films, "Hairspray" was adapted from a film of the same name in 1988. At that time, this independent production film produced by New Line Film Company did not have a special impact. The director of the film is the alternative director John Waters (John Waters). John was born into an upper-middle-class Catholic family and grew up in Baltimore. His childhood interest in car accidents and murders gave him an unusual personality. As a well-known independent film director in the 1970s and 1980s in the United States, most of his films went outside the mainstream. The "Pink Flamingo" shot in 1972 is his masterpiece. He often likes to set obese women and gender-reversed roles in films, and the same phenomenon occurs in "Hairspray." This film, released in 1988, is the closest to the mainstream style among more than a dozen films directed by John. It was adapted from Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Mayhan. Meehan)’s original work, using a lot of music in the play. It was with his help that "Hairspray" was able to find its own glory on the musical stage again 14 years later.
The creative team of the musical "Hairspray" is quite luxurious. The composition was completed by Marc Shaiman, who is a musician who composes music, lyrics, screenwriter, director and production. Mark has scored more than 50 films and has been nominated for 5 Oscar Film Awards, including "The Big Wife Club", "Sleepless in Seattle", "President of the United States", "Mind Drops" and the widely controversial animated film " South Park". When he entered the industry, he was the vocal choreographer for singer Bette Midler, and gradually became her musical director and production partner, bringing her the Grammy-winning work "Wind Beneath My Wings" (Wind Beneath My Wings) and "From A Distance." Musical director Jack O'Brien has been nominated for 5 Tony Awards, and finally won the best director award for the play this year. The musical of the same name that he directed in 2001 was adapted from the British film "Six Heroes of the Pig". One of Broadway's successful new works in recent years. The choreography design and the setting design are also performed by multiple Tony Award winners.
Two real women and one fake woman
"Hairspray" swept Broadway in less than a year and became a musical upstart. This is directly related to the three "women" in the lineup of the show. Margo Lion (Margo Lion) is one of the producers of "Hairspray". She has been engaged in musical production for 25 years. In her career as a producer with both good and bad, she successfully produced in 2001 and was highly praised. The musical "The Producer". According to her words, the completion of "The Producer" made her want to make a dramatic masterpiece, and what she wanted next was to create a brand-new blockbuster musical. Margot's enthusiasm for art can even make her willing to mortgage her real estate to obtain loans to rehearse musicals. In the spring of 2001, her enthusiasm finally found a new expression. When she first saw the amateur rehearsal of "Hairspray" in a New York theater workshop, she couldn't restrain her excitement. "I think it will be as popular as "Rent" (won 4 Tony Awards in 1996) because it is a work by John Waters. I want to keep its original flavor. This is not just for the New York theater. A play prepared by the workshop.”
Marissa Jaret Winokur (Marissa Jaret Winokur) is the heroine of the play, starring in the play, the fat girl Trish, who has big curly hair. She has starred in many popular films, including "American Beauty", "Horror Movie", "One Kiss", etc. She has also served as a guest guest on many well-known TV shows. She has played serial roles in "Dharma and Greg" and "Moesha." Her first Broadway work was the re-run of the classic "Grease" (Grease), and recently she also participated in the re-run of the famous 70s rock musical "Long Hair" in California. Marissa's performance has received unanimous praise from the critics. She presented the image of a kind, open-minded, old-fashioned and cute fat girl on the stage. She imitated the voice of a child and sang her humorous and humorous repertoire, which is unique among actresses.
Another highlight of the play is the "fake woman" role played by a real man-Edna, the mother of Tracey. Tony Award winner, writer and actor Harvey Fierstein (Harvey Fierstein) played this role, Harvey has created the famous play "Torch Song Trilogy" (Torch Song Trilogy). He has starred in "Independence Day", "White Lies", "Bullets Over Broadway" and "Sentimental Songs Trilogy" adapted from his own work. He has also guest-starred in many TV dramas, such as "Ellen", "The Simpsons", "Miami Sin", and "Cheers", which earned him an Emmy nomination. He won the Tony Award for the scriptwriting of the popular play "La Cage aux Folles". In the drama "Hairspray", he has to carry a fake body weighing 25 pounds every day, spend more than 4 hours putting on makeup, and play the obese and bloated star mother who pays attention to dressing up on stage 8 times a week. Harvey agreed to play Edna in reverse because this is not a supporting role. The reverse roles in John Waters' works have always had a lot of room for expression. The many passages he performed with a hoarse voice are all very important performances in the play.
The music of "Hairspray" is dominated by popular jazz songs, mostly in the style of traditional pop and pop rock, which is the kind of lively music suitable for all ages. Bright costumes, huge dance scenes, and nostalgic music all strive to create the popular atmosphere of the 1960s to attract current American middle-aged and older audiences. This is also one of the measures taken by the Broadway theater industry to rescue the downturn in the musical theater market. In the slogan of "Keep the drama for mothers", "Hairspray" came to the fore to inject vitality into the market. It is reported that the play will be staged in Baltimore from September 9th, and a new lineup will be launched. Newcomers up to 18 years old will play young roles in the play. Xinxian Film Company, one of the investors of the play, is also very interested in remaking the play into a movie after the musical has been staged for a period of time. The overseas tour of the play has also been in operation, and both the United Kingdom and Japan will be the first countries the crew will consider visiting. I hope to see this new Broadway work at the Shanghai Grand Theater soon, instead of always picking other people's "used goods" as treasures.
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