Dr. Blackwell's BLOG

King Kong: The Musical officially opened at Melbourne’s Regent Theater (the same theater where Andrew Lloyd Webber’s magnificent restaging of the Phantom sequel Love Never Dies ran about 2 years ago) last night and the critics are absolutely raving about the production! Aussie theater critic Anne-Marie Peard calls Kong’s entrance “The most spectacular thing ever seen on a live stage” and goes on to claim the show as “gorgeous and unforgettable.” Cameron Woodhead of The Age tags the show as “massive and magical” and ensures it will “leave a colossal footprint” and that it is “mind blowing.”

Australian Stages‘ Vito Mattarelli calls the production “Epic and operatic in scale.” The show itself has been in production for over 5 years as the gigantic 6-meter tall animatronic ape puppet was perfected by Global Creatures (the same team behind the impressive puppets used in the Tony Award winning play War Horse). The show boasts over 70 stagehands and crew members; Kong himself is operated by 13 different puppeteers who use a variety of cables and weight balance techniques to bring him to life. The actors of the production, who worked tirelessly through 5 months of rehearsal (!) are also being praised by critics; Matarelli claimed that as the main lead Esther Hannaford “easily came off best.”

There are plans to bring the show to Broadway. Although any definitive plans have yet to be announced. Currently, tickets for the Melbourne production are on-sale through July 27th. Take a look at the video below highlighting two of the show’s spectacular numbers:

TITANIC, what to me is by far the best show to ever grace the Broadway stage, turned 16 years old Tuesday. The show opened on April 23 of 1997 at the Lunt Fontanne Theater (recent home of GHOST The Musical and current home to Motown The Musical) and would go on to run for close to 3 years, playing for 804 performances. The show broke ground for new technological advances in live theater and featured enormous and elaborate sets that actually “sunk” in the second act. But the true heart of the show lies in its absolutely gorgeous and lush score and musical arrangements that tell a familiar story from an amazingly unique and tragic perspective. TITANIC would sweep the 1997 Tony Awards and take home trophies for Best Musical, Best Orchestrations (Jonathan Tunic), Best Scenic Design (Steward Laing), Best Book (Peter Stone), and Best Original Score (Maury Yeston). “Sail on… Great ship!” Take a look at TITANIC’s performance at the 1997 Tony Awards show below:

The amazing new musical Hands on a Hard Body is going to unfortunately call it quits April 13, 2013 at the Brooks Atkinson Theater. Unable to garner a solid following, the show, originally produced at the La Jolla Theater, had a financially rough preview period and was unable to raise its average ticket price to more than about $32. Last week, the show earned a little more than $240,000 playing in front of a house at a little less than 60% capacity. The musical follows the true story of a 1997 contest at a Texas Nissan dealer that tested the tenacity of a group of people vying to win a free Nissan truck. He or she who was able to keep his or her hands on the truck the longest, won it. Each character has their own number (sometimes sung in duets or even ensemble numbers) that tells the heartwarming reason why winning the truck is such an essential feat to their life. The music is by Trey Anastasio, the frontman of the alternative rock group Phish, and features a score by Amanda Green and musical staging by Sergio Trujillo (MEMPHIS; The Jersey Boys). I was able to see the show during its preview period back in March and my partner and I were thoroughly impressed. The simple staging, which might disappoint some expecting the “razzle dazzle” of a big Broadway musical, actually made the show incredibly intimate; and the musical score and choreography, often involving the truck itself, soared and ROCKED its way into our hearts as we felt empathy and excitement for each one of the contestants. It truly was a unique and incredible addition to the American musical theater that will probably live on through touring and regional productions. But very sadly, the show will only have run for 28 preview performances and 28 regular performances on Broadway, which is a mighty less number than this incredible musical deserved. To obtain tickets for Hands On A Hard Body, which closes this Saturday, visit the show’s Web Site @ http://handsonahardbody.com. Take a look below at some highlights from the show, including exclusive interviews with Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green:

Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s spectacular sequel to his smash hit musical The Phantom of the Opera, is getting some new life. Webber has called the work his third best-ever behind EVITA and the original Phantom. While I would argue this show is by-far better than both of those productions, Love Never Dies deserves a long and healthy life in the world of musical theater. Originally plagued by issues in its original London bow, the show was a financial disappointment and didn’t last a full year in the West End. Unfortunately, Webber was removed from that production as he battled prostate cancer. Luckily, Webber healed; and so did the show! Hiring a new production team and director (Simon Phillips of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert), he brought the show to Melbourne, where in its reimagined form, won critical praise and adulation by audiences. The show was eventually filmed and released on DVD last year. Now, the Melbourne-based production is starting an 80-week tour in the UK with plans for the show to eventually come to North America and possibly even back to the West End depending on the success of its tour. Take a look at the Web Site for Love Never Dies, featuring news and tour dates below:http://www.loveneverdies.com/