Lennon revived in broadway show
2005-08-16 10:48
Thomas Burmeister
New York - George W Bush is in the White House now, not Richard M Nixon. And American soldiers are in Iraq now, not in Vietnam. Never mind. John Lennon is still singing for peace.
When Give Peace a Chance rang out at the premiere on Sunday evening of Lennon, Broadway's first musical about the ex-Beatle, it was clear he remains relevant, perhaps more relevant than ever.
Spontaneous applause broke out when "Stop the War!" posters appeared on stage at the Broadhurst Theatre, next to Times Square. Some members of the audience sang along.
There was applause afterwards, and after each of the 27 songs by Lennon in the show, which ended to enthusiastic cheers.
Lennon looks likely to be a big hit - not only on Broadway, but soon in many other cities around the world as well.
The plot is now tighter
Following a rather unsuccessful test run in San Francisco, the biographical musical was revised. The plot is now tighter, more concentrated, and the show has more drive.
What is more, the basic idea by director and author Don Scardino, namely that Lennon had nine lives, comes across much better now.
Lennon is played by a constantly alternating cast of nine actors - men, women, whites and blacks.
Scardino, who made a name for himself on Broadway in the early '90s with plays like Sacrilege and A Few Good Men, convinced Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, of the concept. "John would have liked it," she told reporters. "It's unusual but captures exactly what John and I wanted to express: We are all one."
It was Lennon's song I Am the Walrus, with its odd lyrics "I am he, as you are he, as you are me, and we are all together," that suggested the idea of unity to Scardino.
John-and-Yoko
The musical could not have been made without the blessing of Ono, who owns the rights to Lennon's songs.
Malicious predictions that she would pressure Scardino to produce a shallow John-and-Yoko love story did not come to pass.
On the contrary. The show does not shy away from accusations that Ono drove a wedge between Lennon and the other Beatles. Nor from Lennon's shameless performance at a party in New York, when he had sex with a groupie behind a thin wall while everybody, Ono included, listened. The incident caused the couple to separate temporarily.
Lennon is structured chronologically, giving it a solid foundation on which the first-rate singers and dancers set off a veritable fireworks display of musicality, wit and dynamism.
Imagine is the show's last song. The audience left the theatre with Lennon's dream of peaceful co-existence ringing in their ears.
Reality caught up with them a few steps later, however: More bloodshed in Iraq, splashed across huge video screens on Times Square.
- AP