OPENING NIGHT: Jekyll and Hyde! Or of being: The RETURN of the WILDHORN!!!

Tonight's Broadway opening is truly a talked about one the return of Jekyll and Hyde! Or better yet, the return of the Wildhorn! Frank Wildhorn came into the theatre scene with his long at work musical Jekyll and Hyde a show based on the classic novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, since 1990 (I think!) The show has undergone many revisions until it finally opened on Broadway in 1997 where the critics weren't so thrill about the production, but despite of it, the musical grew a large fan base and it made Linda Eder into a star, the show did have a long run and it did aired on television but the truth of the matter is that it failed to recoup on Broadway and this became a long run for Mr. Wildhorn's track record!

His last two shows to be seen on Broadway was considered by many fans "highly underrated!" in 2011 theatre goers finally saw the openings of the long working musicals: Wonderland, a modern spin off of the classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and Bonnie and Clyde a musical bio on the famous outlaws. Both  musical had a VERY long development and finally hit the stage in 2009, Wonderland by the Straz Center in Tampa, FL and Bonnie and Clyde by the La Jolla Playhouse in CA, when is was getting ready for Broadway both shows had suffer some major unnecessary changes, opened on Broadway, to be attacked by the critics and flopped within a month!

Wildhorn musicals always begins off very promising but before it takes it's Broadway bow major changes let LOOSE! And then it's "hello closing notice!" Jekyll and Hyde is no stranger for that, like Wonderland many fans declare the Pre-Broadway version of Jekyll to be the ultimate and rightfully so! Me being in love with the musical Wonderland and was heartbroken with the Broadway changes I could understand the reception from the fans. The newly re-work Jekyll and Hyde is using most of the original material from the Pre-Broadway version with a rock updated with S&M undertones and feature: Costantine Maroulis as the title role and R&B singer Deborah Cox as Lucy Harris, mainly the classic songs such as THIS IS THE MOMENT and SOMEONE LIKE YOU was basically rearranged mainly for their voices the rework production toured in 28 cities and opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre where Wonderland had opened. 

Tonight is the official opening and so far, not surprising once again New York critics and it's queens (Looking at you BroadwayWorld message board!) is attacking this classic Wildhorn show mainly because they feel Frank's musicals are all unoriginal rehash of his other work and they feel he's taken everything from the public domain into musicals but in spite of the naying, if was written by a favorite or has flashy hideous LED lights then those theatre queens would love it! (Right BroadwayWorld message board?) Then it would be a glowing hit now would it! The debate Frank being a underrated composer will be one of those touchy topics that will never go away and it will a whole lot of fun to watch!

Good luck Jekyll and Hyde! You know you have loyal fans, now make those theatre snobs EAT IT!

UNDERRATED FRIDAYS: Raggedy Ann: The Musical Adventure

Raggedy Ann: The Musical Adventure, was a musical by William Gibson and Joe Roposo. It's based loosely on the classic Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy stories and it was produced by CBS productions, and the Empire State Institute for the Performing Arts. After the infamous 1977 animated movie "Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure" had flopped, it was surprising that Roposo wanted to take another go on carrot top doll with the candy heart, only this time for the stage.

Roposo teamed up with the Miracle Worker's playwright William Gibson on creating a new story for the stage, unlike the film where it was all based on the classic stories, this time it was taken to a much darker direction.

The story of the show is that of Raggedy Ann's owner Marcella is dying from any list of sickness you could think of, and her father who is now an alcoholic is trying to cope and the best father he could be for her. The mother? She ran off with another man who drives a limo. So to keep his daughter happy, the father (or billed as "Poppa") gives Marcella a handmade doll, you guess it! With a candy heart, he tells her a bedtime story of how toys comes to life when the children are asleep to protect them (Stuart Gordon much?), Marcella finds her doll now alive, and telling her how she's dying, now comes the first of the many macabre songs in the show "Diagnosis" in which some really freaky looking doctors singing to the child, and I quote:

"You're sick, sick, sick!
You're ain't getting better
Quick, quick, quick!"

"And we know you're gonna die!"

Raggedy Ann's friends now comes to life to save Marcella from a psycho boogeyman named: General Doom, who is basically not only every child's but every parent's worst nightmare. They fly on a bed to L.A to find the Doll Doctor, but in their journey Marcella's nightmares emerge where she sees her dead bird coming back to life, flesh eating wolves, her Mother trying to kill herself many times, big boob bat dancers, a slaughter house, and a forest of corpses.

When this show opened at the Egg Theatre in New York under the title: Rag Dolly, it did give parents a very sour taste in their mouths, the artistic directors defend the show saying it follows the tradition more of a Brother's Grimm fairy tale, the musical then move to Moscow, Russia where it became a major hit (no surprise.) and it the Pre-Broadway try-out in Washington, now simply called: Raggedy Ann was proven to be promising.

However when Raggedy Ann: The Musical Adventure opened on Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre critics ripped this dolly to shreds and it opened at the time of: Cats, Les Mis, and Starlight were out so like many of the US produced musicals in that era, Raggedy Ann flopped after 5 performance and it's been forgotten ever since.

Why underrated? Cause despite of scary it was, it's something not only kids to watch but the adults to see how important it is not to have a broken home and Roposo's dark score was really wonderful in it's own right! Maybe if this show was introduce to us NOW maybe it could have a better reception cause it's not all cutesy and corny, but the bat scene was ratter campy.

INTERNATIONAL THEATRE: Disney's The Little Mermaid in Tokyo, Japan

One of the biggest theatre production companies in Japan, Shiki Theatrical had always been a proud partner with Walt Disney Theatrical Productions had opened their Japanese language production of The Little Mermaid this past weekend! This is one of the many upcoming productions of the newly re-worked musical. Since it closed on Broadway in 2009, The Little Mermaid has undergone many revision after another from early international productions in Israel, and Manila, including many regional productions in the US at Tuacahn, The Muny, Music Theatre of Wichita. It was somewhat of a surprise the "so-call" touring production was put to a hault in favor of regional theatre, until director Glenn Casale had approach Disney to re-shape The Little Mermaid and making it a more mature story than it was on Broadway and changing the visuals from a abstract to a more realistic style to create Ariel's undersea world, while Prince Eric's kingdom had when from sun-drench to storybook style. So no heelys with flopping tails in any of these productions any time soon all of these mermaids are flying! For more information visit: wwww.shiki.jp/en/

FIRST OPENING NIGHT POST!!! Matilda The Musical at the Shubert Theatre

Ah yes! Those "Revolting children" had became the darlings of those blasting New York Theatre Critics! Matilda The Musical, a new production direct from London's West-End based off the classic story by Roald Dahl had open on Broadway tonight at the Shubert Theatre, already since it's London opening it has been hail as a major hit! What did those "Revolting" critics had to say?

 Ben Brantley, The New York Times: "Matilda the Musical," the London import that opened on Thursday night, is the most satisfying and subversive musical ever to come out of Britain...As directed by Matthew Warchus, with a bright, efficient book by Dennis Kelly and addictive songs by Tim Minchin, "Matilda" is as much an edge-of-the-seats nail biter as a season-finale episode of "Homeland."...Above all it's an exhilarating tale of empowerment, as told from the perspective of the most powerless group of all. I mean little children..."Matilda" captures the particular dread that runs like an icy rivulet through even the happiest childhoods...You just have to use your imagination and think everything through carefully, so it's all of a piece. That's what the creators of "Matilda" have done. Such strategy should be obvious. But in the current landscape of Broadway it's applied rarely enough to make this show feel truly revolutionary.

 Mark Kennedy, Associated Press: The English hit "Matilda," which opened Thursday at Shubert Theatre, is a witty musical adaptation of the beloved novel by Roald Dahl and is true to his bleak vision of childhood as a savage battleground. The musical arrives in New York with plenty of hype and awards, and it mostly delivers a thrilling blast of nasty fun, even if it's a bit swollen and in need of some fine-tuning. It also has come with perhaps its most grotesque masterstroke: Bertie Carvel as the fearsome cross-dressing school headmistress Miss Trunchbull.

 Peter Marks, The Washington Post: With a delectably clever score by Tim Minchin and a slyly evocative book by Dennis Kelly, the musical, minted by the Royal Shakespeare Company and adapted from the story by Roald Dahl (of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" fame), is distinguished by its wonderful look and a caliber of choreography for young people you rarely ever experience....if Milly Shapiro's accomplished, confident, well-sung Matilda sets the standard, then any one of this pint-size quartet will make you - and any other grown-up or child who happens to tag along - happy to be a ticket holder....It's as immersive and strangely moving - for adults, surely - as any new musical to come along in a while. Minchin, Kelly, Warchus and company have worked an incandescent sort of magic in turning a Broadway theater into a Dahl's house. 

Erik Haagensen, Backstage: The Royal Shakespeare Company's musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's "Matilda" rushes at you from the stage of the Shubert Theatre-often literally-with the relentlessness of a high-speed rail train. Director Matthew Warchus' meticulously calculated production offers coup after coup de théâtre as it tells Dahl's fantastical tale of a 5-year-old girl who's a genius, the idiot family that mistreats her, the sadistic headmistress who terrorizes her, and the loving teacher who comes to her aid. The show is strenuously entertaining, as dark as it is funny, and just a tad cold.

 Most of Matilda's review have became all raves, which for most people isn't quite a surprise! Let's see now if the musical will rule the Tony Awards this year!

Introduction and what to expect!!

Angel The Little Merman Presents: The Broadway Merman, a all new blog devoted to the theatre community around us, all in the style of Angel! Every week you will receive different new on what's going on stage! From opening nights to closings, regional, and international productions and every Friday and Saturdays I will be posting the "Most Underrated Musical" and my "Cast Recording of the Day" and sometimes the "Wildcard" number a column devoted to any random production I'll pick! Thank you for reading and enjoy!