Lestat (musical)
| Musical dates | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Lestat |
| Original language: | English |
| Music: | Elton John |
| Book: | Anne Rice |
| Premiere: | December 17, 2005 |
| Place of premiere: | Curran Theater in San Francisco |
| Playing time: | 2 hours 45 minutes (San Francisco) 2 hours 30 minutes (Broadway) |
| Place and time of the action: | France, United States in the 18th and 19th centuries |
| Roles / people | |
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Lestat is an English-language musical by Elton John and Bernie Taupin , based on Anne Rice's vampire novels Conversation with a Vampire and The Prince of Darkness . The musical premiered on December 17, 2005 under the direction of Robert Jess Roths in San Francisco at the Curran Theater and ran until January 29, 2006 in the city. Lestat was shown at the Palace Theater in New York City from March 25 to May 28, 2006 .
Musical backgrounds
After two years of preparation, Lestat premiered on December 17, 2005 in San Francisco at the Curran Theater . The musical was to be shown here until January 29, 2006, to later switch to New York's Broadway . The title role of the vampire Lestat took Hugh Panaro . In addition, were Carolee Carmello as Gabrielle, Jack Noseworthy as Armand, Jim Stanek as Louis, Roderick Hill as Nicolas, Michael Genet as Marius and Allison Fischer seen as Claudia. Anne Rice provided the template for the musical with her vampire novels Conversation with a Vampire and The Prince of Darkness . The music was written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin . With $ 4.3 million in revenue, Lestat had the most successful musical premiere of all time in San Francisco and even beat Wicked . However, the first reviews were largely negative. Due to the bad reviews, drastic changes were made until the Broadway launch. Elton John stated in an interview that over 80% of the musical had been changed. Among other things, Drew Sarich took over the role of the vampire Armand in January 2006 , replacing Jack Noseworthy . In addition, the original production had more elaborate stage effects and higher production costs. In addition, images were projected into the background in the original production to illustrate Lestat's story. In the new version, the stories are even more distant from the novel and the plot about Enkil, Akasha and the origin of the vampires has been deleted. In addition, new songs have been added and others replaced. But even after the $ 10 million musical was changed, the reviews were negative. The audience numbers fell significantly after the well-attended preview performances. In the end, only 53 percent of the available spaces were sold. The last demonstration was shown on Sunday, May 28, 2006.
Well-known actors
| occupation | |
|---|---|
| Lestat de Lioncourt | Hugh Panaro |
| Gabrielle de Lioncourt | Carolee Carmello |
| Louis de Pointe du Lac | Jim Stanek |
| Nicolas | Roderick Hill |
| Armand | Jack Noseworthy (San Francisco) / Drew Sarich (San Francisco / New York) |
| Claudia | Allison Fisher |
| Magnus | Joseph Dellger |
| Marius | Michael Genet |
Prologue
The vampire Lestat de Lioncourt sits down at a laptop to write down his story.
first act
Lestat is an outsider in his family, so his mother, Gabrielle, urges him to leave the family and escape his oppressive life. Lestat and his childhood friend leave the village and move to Paris. There they work in a theater. A short time later, Lestat is made a vampire by the powerful vampire Magnus, whereupon Magnus takes his own life. Lestat is now in a moral dilemma, on the one hand he doesn't want to kill, on the other hand he has to do it in order to survive. As a vampire, Lestat suffers from loneliness. However, he does not turn his friend Nicolas into a vampire because he loves him. When Lestat's terminally ill mother, Gabrielle, comes to Paris and asks Lestat to turn her into a vampire, he complies with her request. Lestat and Gabrielle eventually meet Armand, who leads a vampire clan. Armand takes Nicolas as bait to entice Lestat and Gabrielle. Lestat frees Nicolas and introduces Armand's vampire clan to a different way of life. These previously lived hidden in the Parisian underground to escape the wrath of God. Since Lestat wants to help the vampire clan live among mortals, Lestat leaves the theater to them. Finally, Nicolas convinces Lestat to make him a vampire. However, Nicolas cannot cope with life as a vampire. When Lestat leaves Paris to visit Armand's creator Marius, he asks Armand's vampire clan to take care of Nicolas. So Lestat finally sets off on the journey with Gabrielle. He hopes Marius can show him how to survive immortality. A little later he learned of Nicolas suicide through a letter from Armand. Gabrielle wants to live a life far from mortals. She leaves Lestat to live in the nature of Africa. Lestat suffers greatly from the loss of both. He eventually retreats underground. Years later he is freed by Marius.
Second act
Marius heals Lestat by giving him a drink of his mighty old blood and serves as his mentor. However, Marius Lestat does not give the answers he is looking for. Instead, he explains to Lestat that he should lead a full human life that allows him to come to terms with his existence as a vampire. When Lestat meets the young man Louis, Lestat immediately turns him into a vampire. Louis reminds Lestat of Nicolas. Because of the necessary killing, Louis feels guilty and remorseful. Lestat tries to ease his pain by turning the young girl Claudia into a vampire. Claudia makes Louis happy and the small vampire family lives happily together for thirty years. As Claudia grows up, she realizes that always has to live in a child's body. She gets angry with Lestat and plans to murder him. She drugs Lestat and cuts his throat. She didn't realize that vampires don't die the same way humans do. To protect Claudia from Lestat's anger, Louis burns the house while Lestat lies on the floor begging for help. Lestat survives seriously injured. Three years later, Lestat finally has the strength to return to Europe. He regrets the mistakes he's made and talks about it with Armand. Armand hides the fact that Claudia and Louis are in his theater. Armand lays a trap and takes the unsuspecting Lestat to a performance in which Lestat sees Claudia and Louis starring in a vampire play. Despite the protests of Lestat, Claudia is charged with the attempted murder of a vampire (Lestat) and sentenced to death. Louis is devastated by the loss of his child. He is leaving Lestat forever. Armand admits to Lestat that he is staging Claudia's death to get revenge for Lestat's interference with his vampire clan. Lestat reciprocates by explaining to Armand that Marius has nothing but contempt for him and regrets having made him a vampire. Armand throws Lestat furiously over the roof terrace. Marius visits Lestat for the second time and takes him to his sanctuary in Greece. Lestat explains to Marius that he has come to terms with his life as a vampire. He knows that he has to face eternity alone. He vows never to vampire anyone again and never to kill an innocent man again. Satisfied that Lestat has found his own moral path, Marius tells him about a hidden vault. There he hides the first vampires Enkil and Akasha. They are thousands of years old and look like living statues. Lestat kisses Akasha on the lips and Akasha offers him a drink from her. Through their powerful, holy blood, Lestat learns that he is connected to all vampires over time. He will never be alone as all he loved and lost are forever united with him. Lestat is finally feeling peace. Eventually, tired of living in the shadows, Lestat decides to break the most sacred law of all vampires ... tell his story to the world.
Songs
- first act
- From the Dead - Lestat
- Beautiful Boy - Gabrielle
- In Paris - Ensemble (Parisian)
- Nicolas' song - Nicolas
- The Thirst - Lestat
- Right Before My Eyes - Lestat
- Make Me As You Are - Gabrielle, Lestat
- To Live Like This - Armand, Lestat, Ensemble (Vampire)
- Morality Play - Laurent, Armand, Ensemble (Vampire)
- The Crimson Kiss - Gabrielle
- Right Before My Eyes (Reprise) - Lestat
- Second act
- Welcome to the New World - Ensemble (New Orleans resident)
- Embrace It - Louis, Lestat
- I Want More - Claudia
- I'll Never Have That Chance - Claudia
- Sail Me Away - Lestat
- To Kill Your Kind - Armand, Ensemble (Vampire)
- Embrace It (reprise) - Louis
- After All This Time - Armand
- Sail Me Away (Reprise) - Lestat
- The Crimson Kiss (Reprise) / Finale - Gabrielle, Lestat
characters
- Lestat de Lioncourt : Lestat is the protagonist of the musical. He is a young man (mid-20s) who belongs to the French nobility. He is made a vampire by Magnus.
- Magnus : Magnus is an old powerful vampire. He is the creator of Lestat.
- Gabrielle de Lioncourt : Gabrielle is Lestat's mother. She has a good relationship with her son Lestat and helps him escape from his home village. When she becomes fatally ill, Lestat turns Gabrielle into a vampire at her request.
- Nicolas : Nicolas is Lestat's childhood friend. Nicolas moves to Paris with him.
- Armand : Armand is the leader of a vampire group in Paris. He and his vampires believe that if they live among mortals, they will incur God's wrath. Therefore, they withdraw to the Parisian underground. When Lestat shows the vampires another life, Armand doesn't like it. He seeks revenge.
- Louis de Pointe du Lac : Louis is a young man who falls into a kind of depression after the death of his brother. Lestat makes him a vampire. However, Louis has a remorse because he has to kill people and finds it difficult to cope with life as a vampire.
- Claudia : Claudia is still a little girl when Lestat turned her into a vampire. She is growing up spiritually but is still trapped in a child's body. Hence, she is angry with her creator Lestat. He shouldn't have transformed her too soon
- Marius : Marius is an old, powerful vampire. He is the creator of Armand and the keeper of the ancient vampires Akasha and Enkil.
reception
Awards and nominations
Nominations
- 2006: Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance of Gabrielle ( Carolee Carmello )
- 2006: Best Costume Design of a Musical (Susan Hilferty)
- 2006 Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Carolee Carmello)
Reviews
San Francisco
Chad Jones judged the musical to be a mess. This is due in particular to the production style of director Robert Jess Roth. In addition, the music is based on " Les Misérables ", " Phantom of the Opera " and " Jekyll & Hyde ". This leads to the creation of a strange pop-classic mix that is often dull and boring instead of creating a pleasant melody. On the other hand, the performances by Carolee Carmello as Gabrielle and Allison Fisher as Claudia are particularly good. Hugh Panaro's portrayal of the main character is too melodramatic even for the "most ridiculous soap opera". He has a good singing voice, but the right song is missing. Jim Stanek portray an almost sympathetic Louis. Roderick Hill made an impression with his performance of the depressed Nicolas. Drew Sarich brings the passion and voice of a rock star into the clearly underdeveloped role of the vampire Armand. In addition, Susan Hilferty's costumes turned out very well. For a successful premiere on Broadway, however, there is only hope with drastic changes. The San Francisco Gate described Lestat as "schoolmasterly, incoherent, strangely miscast, confusingly conceived with sugar-sweet songs by Elton John." Bright spots are the portrayal of Carolee Carmello and Allison Fischer. Talkin 'Broadway praised the video effects, especially the wolf fights at the beginning of the musical. The first act is reminiscent of the old universal horror films with Bela Lugosi. Also convince Carolee Carmello as Gabrielle. Kenneth Posner's lighting is excellent - it creates the right atmosphere for many of the scenes. However, the first act is a bit too shrill and confusing. The second act is clearer, and the music and scenes go well together.
new York
Anne Rice watched the musical on April 25, 2006 and gave the musical good reviews. She praised the performance of the cast and Elton John's music, stating that there was no doubt that readers of her novels would love the musical. Theater Mania wrote that Lestat was the best vampire musical shown on Broadway. It is certainly not an excellent show, but sometimes a good one. So there are some interesting ideas and two wonderful leading actors (Hugh Panaro and Carolee Carmello). Allison Fisher also portrayed Claudia very convincingly. Susan Hilferty's costumes were impressive. Kenneth Posner offers a great light effect in which the sunlight slowly creeps over the stage. However, Elton John and Bernie Taupin would have missed writing songs that reflect the charm of the cities of Paris and New Orleans. However, the musical continued to do poorly with some critics. The New York Times dubbed Lestat a "musical sleeping pill". The New York Post called Lestat "Bloody awful". Only actors like Hugh Panaro, Carolee Carmello, Drew Sarich, Jim Stanek, Roderick Hill, Michael Genet and Allison Fischer would do their best to get the best out of the bad musical.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Lingerie? Don't mention it. . Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
- ↑ PALACE THEATER . Newyorkcitytheatre.com. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
- ↑ Terry Rindfleisch: Onalaska's Solie sinks teeth into new role with 'Lestat' . Lacrossetribune.com. March 23, 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
- ^ A b Tom Brook: Disappointing start for Elton musical . News.bbc.co.uk. April 26, 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
- ↑ a b Chad Jones: 'Lestat' bites. New vampire musical premieres, but needs help. . Insidebayarea.com. January 10, 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
- ^ Joshi, ST (2011): Encyclopedia of the Vampire: The Living Dead in Myth, Legend, and Popular ... Santa Barbara: Greenwood p. 263
- ↑ Tom Hevezi: Elton John's 'Lestat' closing Sunday . Today.com. May 23, 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
- ↑ Linda Woolverton (2005): Synopsis. In: Sally Cato: Lestat Musical Brochure. New York City: Max Merchandising. P. 9
- ^ A b Anne Rice: LESTAT on Broadway . Annerice.com. April 30, 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
- ^ Adam Klasfeld: 2006 Drama Desk Awards Bestowed at LaGuardia Concert Hall. . Theatermania.com. May 21, 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
- ↑ Robert Hurwitt: The vampire Lestat has settled in San Francisco. And he's singing in a new musical. Quick! Someone fetch the garlic and a wooden stake! . Sfgate.com. January 10, 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
- ↑ Richard Connema: An Incoherent Production of Lestat Comes to San Francisco . Talkinbroadway.com. January 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
- ↑ Peter Filichia: Lestat. The new musical at the Palace is certainly not a great show, but it's occasionally a good one. . Theatermania.com. April 25, 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
- ↑ Ben Brantley: Anne Rice's Vampires, With Elton John's Music, Take to the Stage. . Nytimes.com. April 26, 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
- ↑ Clive Barnes: Bloody Awful . Nypost.com. April 26, 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2014.