RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
codyjo88
Understudy Joined: 7/16/05
#0RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 10:45am
ELTON RE-VAMPS
By MICHAEL RIEDEL
February 3, 2006
ELTON John called yesterday to talk about his critically clobbered new musical, "Lestat," which he finally caught up with last weekend in San Francisco.
So what did he think?
"After reading the reviews, I was fearing the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised," he told me.
"We have a lot of work to do, I'm not going to deny that. There are problems in the first act, we're going to have a new beginning and a new ending and some minor characters are going to bite the dust.
"We certainly ran into problems in San Francisco. But I think we can sort them out. It's a f - - - ing painstaking process, but I'm confident we can do it."
As I reported last week, the cast and crew of "Lestat" were bracing for John's visit. They feared he would have harsh words for a show the critics called disjointed, cluttered and just plain boring.
Rumors were flying around backstage that, if John wasn't pleased, "Lestat" would close out of town.
But that, the composer made clear, is not going to happen.
"Lestat" is coming to Broadway, although the first preview and opening night have been pushed back two weeks to give John and the rest of the creative team time to overhaul the show.
The $12 million musical, based on Anne Rice's "The Vampire Chronicles," will now play its first preview March 25 at the Palace, before opening April 25.
John is taking the brutal notices — including one that called his score "bland" — in stride and with a sense of humor.
"I can take it," he says. "I've been called worse things than bland, believe me.
"I did read one review that said I've obviously been watching 'The Phantom of the Opera,' 'Les Miserables' and 'Jekyll and Hyde.'
"Well, thank you very much. I nearly killed myself. Where is the Golden Gate Bridge?"
John concedes the critics had a point when they complained that the show, especially the first act, is weighed down by too much plot.
Spanning centuries, "Lestat" tells the story of a lonely vampire searching for companionship and love.
"Right now, we've got too much information. The first act is a history lesson," John says. "A lot of it isn't necessary. We've done a lot of pruning, and I think I'm going to have to write another song or two."
Director Rob Jess Roth's work on "Lestat" has been hammered publicly by the critics and privately by Broadway insiders who flew to San Francisco to see the show.
Roth was fired from another one of John's shows, "Aida," so there's been speculation that he might be let go from "Lestat."
But this time, John is standing by the director.
"Rob and I were friends [before 'Aida'], and we continue to be friends," he says. "He has a f - - - ing difficult job on this one, but I have confidence in him."
John applauds Roth for tapping the services of a show doctor, choreographer Jonathan Butterell, who joined "Lestat" last week.
"Rob hit a wall, and he very bravely brought Jonathan in," he says.
Because of his performing schedule and his recent wedding to his longtime lover David Furnish, John hasn't been able to devote much time to "Lestat."
Some people involved in the show say that has been a problem.
How, after all, can you fix a show when the composer isn't around?
"It is frustrating that I can't get there more often," John admits. "I haven't been as helpful as I could be.
"But when the show is in New York, I'll be on the East Coast working in Atlanta [his home], so I'll be popping in and out.
"Any excuse to come to New York!"
ELTON RE-VAMPS - NY POST
jimnysf
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/10/05
#1re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 11:06amWow! "Lestat" must be in more trouble than I thought if Elton called Michael Riedel! It looks like the producers are working to put a more positive spin on all the bad reviews. That nonsense yesterday about the highest grossing musical premiere in SF and now this call from Sir Elton.
"I've lost everything! Luis, Marty, my baby with Chris, Chris himself, James. All I ever wanted was love." --Sheridan Crane "Passions"
-------
"Housework is like bad sex. Every time I do it, I swear I'll never do it again til the next time company comes."--"Lulu"
from "Can't Stop The Music"
-----
"When the right doors didn't open for him, he went through the wrong ones" - "Sweet Bird of Youth"
------------
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"Passions" is uncancelled! See NBC.com for more info.
codyjo88
Understudy Joined: 7/16/05
#2re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 11:28amjimnysf, Lestat in more trouble than you thought? I didn't think that was possible. Somehow I didn't expect anything remotely optimistic from you on the subject. I think we all know that it is the job PR and producers to try and put a positive spin on anything negative, but thank you for your insight, always unexpected. At this point we get it, you didn't enjoy Lestat. It would be great if you could either use these threads as a constructive way to share with us how you think Elton and the creative team could make the musical more appealing to you, or just admit that there is nothing they could do to please you and move on to rant about something else, "Fame Becomes Me" is only 3 months away!
jimnysf
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/10/05
#3re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 11:37amI have already discussed what they should do to fix it. They need new songs for one. If you don't like what I have to say, you don't have to read my posts. I am entitled to say what I please, just as you are. I'll be you haven't even seen the show. I have. It stinks!
"I've lost everything! Luis, Marty, my baby with Chris, Chris himself, James. All I ever wanted was love." --Sheridan Crane "Passions"
-------
"Housework is like bad sex. Every time I do it, I swear I'll never do it again til the next time company comes."--"Lulu"
from "Can't Stop The Music"
-----
"When the right doors didn't open for him, he went through the wrong ones" - "Sweet Bird of Youth"
------------
---------
"Passions" is uncancelled! See NBC.com for more info.
#4re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 11:50ami've seen it and in my opinion it isn't beyond saving. and the songs were all pretty good.
LET OTHERS RISE TO TAKE OUR PLACE UNTIL THE EARTH IS FREE!
codyjo88
Understudy Joined: 7/16/05
#5re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 11:51am
I saw the show 2 times, December 17th, opening Night of previews and January 6th. I have posted reviews on here and on the Lestat Musical Forum. I enjoyed it but was wanting some more connection with the characters, something that was missing from Aida when I saw it in Atlanta. I can't wait to see what it becomes of Lestat on Broadway. Back on topic, I have heard from a journalist that Roth will be "heading off for other challenges", suggesting they will find a way to transition him off the project.
jimnysf
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/10/05
#6re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 12:07pmWell I didn't like "Cats" either so what do I know? Just giving my opinion. I do like a lot of shows including "Hairspray", "The Full Monty", "La Cage", even "Saturday Night Fever" and "Mamma Mia" so I'm not always negative. I was very dissapointed with "Lestat". I was expecting much better. I know it was a tryout but to borrow from Claudia (and one of the two songs I liked), "I Want(ed) More!" from this show.
"I've lost everything! Luis, Marty, my baby with Chris, Chris himself, James. All I ever wanted was love." --Sheridan Crane "Passions"
-------
"Housework is like bad sex. Every time I do it, I swear I'll never do it again til the next time company comes."--"Lulu"
from "Can't Stop The Music"
-----
"When the right doors didn't open for him, he went through the wrong ones" - "Sweet Bird of Youth"
------------
---------
"Passions" is uncancelled! See NBC.com for more info.
#7re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 12:15pmMaybe what the show needs is a composer who actually works on the show rather than does an occasionally queenly visit.
#8re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 12:20pm
Yeah, that's part of the problem in my opinion. Shouldn't the creative team, including the composer be working together during the try-out and preview period? If certain songs need re-working, it must be hard to do that when the composer isn't even in town.
"You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" - Betty Parris to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible
Updated On: 2/3/06 at 12:20 PM
#9re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 12:50pm
"I did read one review that said I've obviously been watching 'The Phantom of the Opera,' 'Les Miserables' and 'Jekyll and Hyde.'
"Well, thank you very much. I nearly killed myself. Where is the Golden Gate Bridge?"
Teehee... this made me laugh.
#10re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 12:54pmI was thinking the same thing! When I read he was "visiting" the show, I thought, "Well where the heck has he been and why isn't he there every night to gage the audiences' responses and tweak things as needed."? Was Bernie Taupin there?
Just give the world Love.
#11re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 1:09pmThe show has a lot of great things about it (I feel anyway). They are certainly mega amounts of problems though; they seem to have figured this out. I can't wait to see the finished product. Mark my words, I think everyone will be surprised by the outcome.
#12re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 1:17pm
Yes, isn't that the point of an out of town tryout? To find out what works and what doesn't and then fix it?
I think they've done the first part...now it's on to the second. Nothing unusual about this process.
"My dreams, watching me said, one to the other...this life has let us down."
MargoChanning
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
#13re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 1:33pm
Well, what's the point of an out of town preview if one of the major problems is the score and the composer isn't there to do rewrites and add new songs? Had John been there from the time of the early previews and they realized they needed a new opening, a new finale, and several new songs in Act One, then he could have done that and had the new numbers ready by opening night. Then they could spend the rest of the San Francisco run tinkering and fine tuning the show and whipping it into shape for Broadway. That's the point of going out of town in the first place -- to be able to make changes and then determining what works and what doesn't by gauging the reaction of live paying audience.
As it stands, he doesn't have time to write all the new numbers and make all the necessary changes before the end of the San Francisco engagement, so they'll be trying out the new version of the show starting with previews in New York. That's not a lot of time. What was the point of even doing the out of town engagement if you're going to end up making all of the significant changes to the show in New York?
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Updated On: 2/3/06 at 01:33 PM
#14re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 1:45pm
When you have money to burn and a famous name to coast on that may guarantee success to this production one way or another, anything goes!
All I'm sayin' is that if you replace Carolee Carmello with Heather Headley and give her some strong woman songs to sing, they will come.
It'd add a whole new interesting dynamic to the plot, at least.
yr ronin,
joey
joey
popcultureboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/23/03
#15re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 1:51pmThe famous names they have to coast on are Elton John, Bernie Taupin and Anne Rice. On their own, they have a bigger fan base then every actress who played Aida in its Broadway run combined.
Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#16re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 2:00pmWell, I enjoyed Carolee. She's not what's wrong with the show. Her characer may be, but not her.
#17re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 2:07pm
I was making a joke, m'friends. A joke. Try whispering my second paragraph and particularly dramatizing the words "They will come" in a breathy voice.
I dunno. Bernie Taupin? I'm still not quite sure who he is.
The tricky thing about a Broadway show is that not only is it in New York, it has the unfortunate stigma of being a Broadway show. So I doubt Elton, Bernie, and Anne's fans are rushing to Best Buy to get a copy of LESTAT, if they are even aware that this production is happening. If it doesn't build a fanbase of its own out of us to pass the good word, I don't think it will pique the interest of the built in fanbase (most of whom are comprised of people who are simply consistent fans of these people rather than obsessed fans who track their every move. You pick up the latest Stephen King book, read half of it, and buy the next one) to make the trek to New York and see this show. Never underestimate the power of fans to feel betrayed when their beloved material is tinkered with.
Not gonna lie. When I hear the words The Lord of the Rings: THE MUSICAL, I scoff. If I didn't already like musicals and A.R. Rahman, I would be uninspired to see it unless it was reputedly amazing.
Although a His Dark Materials play gets me very excited :)
yr ronin,
joey
joey
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#18re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 2:13pm
I dunno, I saw tons of vampire-clad patrons at the theatre when I saw it. I remember this guy, dressed all in red velvet, with a little dagger.
Scary.
And I know who Bernie is. He wrote the song for Brokeback Mountain.
#19re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 2:21pm
Yeah, but did they like it? And I was talking more about the normal fans vs. the crazies ;P I dunno if there are enough crazies out there to keep a show running forever. Although what, 65 % of the world is crazy for Harry Potter? People still go to midnight Rocky Horrors. I suppose never underestimate the power of crazies. I'm a little bit of a Harry Potter crazy.
Hm, maybe that's the route they should go. They should camp up the hell out of Lestat and pay a bunch of people to go dressed up in vampire costumes and spread the word that it's the cool thing to do--to go dressed up like a vampire and scream things at the actors on stage.
Yeah, I have some idea who he is, but only that he writes lyrics for Elton John or something like that. I knew that he wrote the lyrics to that song too. Still not impressed :P I'm not very good at celebrities though.
yr ronin,
joey
Updated On: 2/3/06 at 02:21 PM
joey
BSoBW3
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/21/06
#20re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 2:23pm
Sorry, Elton just wasn't right for this show.
He tried. It came out very different than I had expected. But...thems be the breaks.
The smallest stream is a valent river. It will drown me if it can.
#21re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 2:25pm
Yeah, I agree with what you are saying about Elton, Margo. It was apparent in SF that no one was dealing with the music issues. This doesn't make sense for an out of town tryout.
They were dealing with the story issues though, and have announced changes to Act One and some side line charachers. That's the whole point of playing out of town, right? They found out what we (audience and critic alike) didn't like and now have, what...9 weeks? to deal with it.
The only unusual portion I see of this tryout is the lack of the composer attending. Which, in complete agreement here, was wrong!
"My dreams, watching me said, one to the other...this life has let us down."
jimnysf
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/10/05
#22re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 2:29pm
Bernie Taupin was Elton's songwriting partner on many of his biggest hits.
http://bernie-taupin.com/home.htm
"Without the amazing talent of Bernie Taupin, there most likely wouldn't be an Elton John. Bernie Taupin is responsible for some of the most memorable lyrics of the century.".
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Elton-John-biography/E98916284BE40C2F48256876001FCECF
"Between 1972 and 1976, Elton John and Bernie Taupin's hit-making machine was virtually unstoppable. "Rocket Man" began a four-year streak of 16 Top 20 hits in a row; out of those 16 -- including "Crocodile Rock," "Daniel," "Bennie and the Jets," "The Bitch Is Back" and "Philadelphia Freedom" -- only one, the FM hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," failed to reach the Top Ten"...John reunited with Taupin for 1980's 21 at 33, which featured the Top 10 single "Little Jeannie."...".
"I've lost everything! Luis, Marty, my baby with Chris, Chris himself, James. All I ever wanted was love." --Sheridan Crane "Passions"
-------
"Housework is like bad sex. Every time I do it, I swear I'll never do it again til the next time company comes."--"Lulu"
from "Can't Stop The Music"
-----
"When the right doors didn't open for him, he went through the wrong ones" - "Sweet Bird of Youth"
------------
---------
"Passions" is uncancelled! See NBC.com for more info.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#23re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 2:30pmThis is actually the first Elton musical I've seen, besides cartoons, and enjoyed it. Who else would you have do the music? The crazy Frenchies who did Les Mis?
MargoChanning
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
#24re: RIEDEL: Elton pleasantly surprised by Lestat
Posted: 2/3/06 at 2:30pm
Taupin wrote the lyrics for most of Elton John's biggest hits. Among the songs Bernie Taupin is responsible for:
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
Your Song
Daniel
Sorry Seems to be The Hardest Word
Rocket Man
Bennie and the Jets
Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting
Border Song
Candle In The Wind
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Philadelphia Freedom
Crocodile Rock
Sacrifice
The Bitch is Back
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Updated On: 2/3/06 at 02:30 PM
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