MSNBC: Bring back those cheesy movie musicals!

And look who they mention in the article!

Bring back those cheesy movie musicals!

Where is the ‘Xanadu’ for this generation? Give us our sweet, silly escapism

Vanessa Hudgens graduates from “High School Musical” to “Bandslam.”

COMMENTARY By Tony Sclafani

MSNBC.com, Aug 11, 2009

“Xanadu.” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” “Can’t Stop the Music” starring the Village People. They don’t make ’em like they did back in the 1970s and early 1980s. The reason they don’t make ’em, of course, is because critics trashed ’em and few people went to see ’em.

While some ’70s movie musicals like “Grease” found an audience, more didn’t and the ones that didn’t were such spectacular big-budget bombs that they killed the genre. After that, Hollywood stopped making musicals, with a few exceptions, like “Newsies,” “Chicago,” “Hairspray” and “Moulin Rouge.” The years 1977 to 1980 saw the last gasp of the movie musical and the death of a once-great part of American cinema.

That’s really a shame, because if there’s any one genre that should be brought back, it’s the movie musical. No, really, that’s a serious statement. First, there are already signs of resuscitation. Reuters just reported that Australian actor Hugh Jackman is set to portray circus impresario P.T. Barnum in an upcoming film, “The Greatest Showman on Earth.” There’s also the New York City arts project Break Out in Song, in which actors unexpectedly perform musical theater selections in outdoor public spaces.

Movie musicals peaked in popularity in the 1930s when the economy was lousy. It’s easy to see why. They offer fantasy and fun and an escape from reality. With the worst economy since the Great Depression, we could use a little escapism again. In the past decade, mainstream media has gotten too reality-driven. What’s more fun — and uplifting — than watching Olivia Newton-John and some dancers shimmy to a disco groove?

Hip hop’s aesthetic of “keeping it real” has also lost some of its panache because these days people don’t need to be reminded of how difficult life is. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have made us privy to everyone’s own private realities.

Enough, already. Part of the purpose of entertainment is to divert us away from the travails of everyday life. This is why good ol’ Bill Shakespeare wrote fantastical comedies like “Twelfth Night” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in addition to his intense tragedies. If Shakespeare were around today, my guess is that he’d only be keeping it real half the time. The other half would be devoted to keeping it ridiculous.

Keeping it unreal
That said, let’s not kid ourselves here. Pretty much every musical from the ’70s took ridiculousness to new levels. They kept it so unreal it was, uh, unreal. Beyond the aforementioned films, there was “The Wiz,” “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “All This and World War II” and “Tommy.” You could also throw in the 1978 disco movie “Thank God It’s Friday” (even though it’s not strictly a musical), and two 1980 films: “Popeye,” which gave Robin Williams his first major film role, and “The Apple,” a science fiction musical.

They’re all campy and cheesy, but they’re definitely entertaining. These musicals weren’t appreciated in their day, since they had to go up against heavy hitting fare like “Kramer vs. Kramer.” But they sure work on DVD, where they can be looked upon as unique artifacts from our pop culture past. Consider them part of the American tradition of kitschy cinema, like the B-movies  they make fun of on “Mystery Science Theater 3000.”

It’s tempting to say these films are entertaining now despite the wooden acting, silly plotlines and sillier costumes, but they entrance you because of those very reasons. Since the production values and conceptual ideas are so different from anything these days, they’re able to conjure some of the fantasy world their directors probably intended.

Video
‘Fame’: Sept. 25
A remake of the 1980 film about kids struggling to hone their talents in a performing arts high school.There’s also the escapism factor. While lots of movies offer escape, there’s some sense that reality lurks underneath somewhere. But the peculiar universes conjured up in “Xanadu” or “Sgt. Pepper” have almost no point of reference outside of themselves.

The public is still interested in these movies in one way or another. “Xanadu” got an unexpected second life on Broadway, where it finally found an appreciative audience. Two high profile fans include Entertainment Weekly’s Clark Collis, who penned an essay about why people still love the movie, and USA Today’s Whitney Matheson, who uncovered what happened to the film’s male lead, Michael Beck.

As the EW article notes, “Xanadu” also has a strong following in the gay community; so does “Can’t Stop the Music,” which occasionally shows up on the bill of gay film festivals. And “Sgt. Pepper” got a cooler younger cousin in the 2007 film “Across the Universe,” which used Beatles songs in a more mature way to tell its story. Then there’s the stage and movie success of “Mamma Mia!” the musical compendium of ABBA hits that was the one musical they should have made back in the day but didn’t.

But the main reason for reviving movie musicals is that there’s a newly receptive audience: teenagers. Today’s teens were raised on the “High School Musical” series, which was so successful it graduated from TV screens to the big screen. Teens also flocked to see last year’s Jonas Brothers vehicle, “Camp Rock,” which wasn’t a musical, but came close. Also, when the current crop of teenagers were kids, they were making ’90s cartoon musicals like “Pocahontas” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” big hits.

The entertainment industry is already on the case. The teen flick“Bandslam,” opening Aug. 14, looks like it’s meant to build on the success of “Camp Rock.” Again, it’s not strictly a musical, but uses music to tell the story of a teen band (fronted by Vanessa Hudgens). On TV, the musical comedy series “Glee” premieres Sept. 9.

On Sept. 25, a remake of the one successful ’80s musical, “Fame,” hits theaters. If “Fame” catches on, maybe Jackman’s musical will find an audience. His song-and-dance routine wowed ’em at this year’s Academy Awards, so he seems like just the person to get ’em to make ’em like they used to.

Tony Sclafani is a frequent contributor to msnbc.com.

Ooh! BREAK OUT is featured on Urlesque.com

Seriously. If you’ve never been to Urlesque.com visit them now. They post the current ‘going’s on’ from the internets. And the BREAK OUT videos are currently on their home page! 

Break Out in Song: Flash Mob Musicals Shock and Delight New Yorkers

Thanks, thanks, and ever thanks!

We cannot thank our performers, directors/choreographers, crew, supporters, families, friends, the venues and New York City enough. BREAK OUT IN SONG was a great success and we couldn’t have done it without you. We look forward to bringing a little bit of Broadway magic to you again very soon.

Our videos will be up shortly and they’ll be just as good as the performances. So please be sure to join our email list to receive the video links, and updates about our future projects.

Until then, let that song out of your heart. You’ll be glad you did.

Special Thanks

Thanks to the following people for their donations and support:

Joe McFadden

Caroline Wycislak

David Berlin

Arthur Klebanoff

Erica Shula and Noreen Chrissey

Art Meets Commerce

Albert Kim

David Cerda

Patrick Pearsall

Patricia Cassidy

Terry Schnuck

Stephanie Hartman

Ken Davenport

Denise Felton

Kate Mackey-Francisco

Johann Shudlick

Patrick Catullo

Jibril Younes

Tracy Goss

Anne and Myles McFadden

Maggie and Brian Shein

Sara and Eric Muller

Sonny Stafford

Brian Conroy

Erin Upton

Karly DeFries

Ben Feldman

Karen Van Wart

Patricia Cassidy

Amanda Lehner

Andrew Pietro

Joe & Shallyn Simma

Jake Hurley

Hugo Soskin

Elizabeth Theisen-Placek

Eric Schnall

Josh Wood

Derek Czaplewski

Neil Rodgers

Sheila Reid, Alexandra Reid, Isabella Reid

Jordan Roth

Amy Merxbauer

Jason Lazott

Special Thanks to:

Fractured Atlas

James Glaub, Art Meets Commerce

Patti Harris, Deputy Mayor of New York City

Evan Korn, Emil Lissauer & Jessica Rosenfield, Mayor’s Office of Citywide Events

Claudia Pepe, New York City Parks and Recreation Department

Adam Bricault & Bridget Kaplinski, The Karpel Group

Jordan Beckerman & Ben Feldman, Beigelman, Feinder & Feldman, P.C.

Gary Winkler & Glenn Weiss, Times Square Alliance

Stephanie Fink, Related Real Estate (Time Warner Center)

Candice Bruder & Cait Weiss, MWW Group

Liz O’Connell, Susan Marenoff & Bill White, The Intrepid Museum

Joan Cooney & Lincoln Palsgrove, South Street Seaport

David Perry, David Vaughn, Susan Lee, Nederlander Theaters (Minskoff Theater)

Taylor Ryan, AM Studios

Jeremy Clayton

Erica Ryan, The Broadway League

Jen Loryn

Andrew Rasmussen

Claire Cook

Katy Moore

David Binder

Jon Levenson

Steven Lutvak

Selena Lounds, designer of the BREAK OUT IN SONG logo www.selenalounds.com

And our helpful volunteer camera operators:

Andrew Rasmussen
Rebecca Lipman
Jay Tyler Ferretti
J. Andrew Domingue
Tim Howard
Tristan Camacho
James Fattu
Ben Tudhope
Roni Brown
Sarah Klein
Chau Mui
Steven Lankenau
Katie Harber
Stefan Christopher
Olivia Kimmel
Michael Buchanan
Sean Feiertag
Marisa Holmes
Michael O’Dell
Ernest Davis
Richard Klein
Jennifer Loryn
Jessica Moon
Michael Frisch
Natalie Berning

Bios

Crew:

Josh Prince, Choreographer “If My Friends Could See Me Now”

Broadway: Shrek, The Musical.  New York City:  The Bridge Project (BAM/The Old Vic, dir. Sam Mendes); The Jerry Springer Opera (starring Harvey Keitel) at Carnegie Hall; and Camelot(starring Gabriel Byrne) with the NY Philharmonic at Lincoln Center (Televised on PBS).  Josh has also had the pleasure of choreographing and/or directing Calvin Berger (MTC 7@7 Series),Dance Break 2007 (New World Stages), Emerald Man (NYMF), Barnum, Cabaret, Guys and Dolls, One Way Ticket To Hell, The Full Monty, The Big Funk, La Boheme, and Singin’ In The Rain. Previous Broadway/National Tour acting credits include:  The Producers, in which he starred as Carmen Ghia opposite Martin Short and Jason Alexander, Saturday Night Fever, Little Me, and Cats. In addition to numerous regional roles and concerts, Josh has soloed twice at Town Hall in their Broadway By the Year series. Earlier New York City credits include Babes In Arms, Do Re Mi, and Pajama Game for City Center Encores! and Paul Bunyan at NYC Opera.  Off-Broadway he has starred in Forbidden Broadway and the play, In The Wings, as well as I Can Get It For You Wholesale (York Musicals in Mufti) and So Long 174th St. (Musicals Tonight).  Film and Television credits include Law and Order: SVU, the Warner Bros. film, A Cinderella Story, starring Hillary Duff, and he recently taped an episode of MTV’s reality show Taking The Stage, where he appeared as a guest choreographer.

Sloan Just, Associate Choreographer “If My Friends Could See Me Now”

Sloan is thrilled to once again be working with Josh Prince.  Sloan serves as Associate Choreographer for Shrek the Musical at the Broadway Theatre. She also assisted Mr. Prince on his pieces for Dancebreak, as well as various other projects around NYC.  Sloan appeared on Broadway in The Full Monty (Estelle), Jesus Christ Superstar, and On the Town, directed by George C. Wolfe.  Regionally, Sloan starred opposite Judy Kaye in Gypsy at Seattle’s Fifth Avenue Theatre, played Susan in Big at Chicago’s Apple Tree Theatre, and Demeter in Cats at Sacramento Music Circus.  Sloan was the Assistant Choreographer of off-Broadway’s Shout! The Mod Musical.  As a writer, songwriter, and performer, Sloan has been featured at NYC cabaret venues Joe’s Pub and Ars Nova.  She is a graduate of Northwestern University, and is proudly married to NYC restauranteur Robert Guarino.

Jessica Hartman, Choreographer “Don’t Rain on My Parade”

Jessica has had the honor of working with some of the best directors, choreographers, and stars of the Broadway world such as Gregory Hines, Donna McKechnie, Ann Reinking, Joey McKneely, Christopher Ashley, and Jerry Mitchell to name a few. Some of her choreography credits include The Boy From Oz on Broadway starring the talented Hugh Jackman (Associate Choreographer/Dance Captain/Swing), Showtune Off-Broadway for the great Jerry Herman (Assistant Director and Choreographer to Joey McKneely), as well as working with Tony nominated Broadway Choreographer, Dan Knechtges on a new musical in Berlin called Der Schuh Des Manitu. Jessica has choreographed for the Hangar Theatre, as well as for BREAK OUT IN SONG to premiere in NYC in July 2009. She will also Associate Choreograph the new musical Citizen Ruth for the New York International Fringe Festival. Up next for Jess is a new show called Give It Up, with Broadway team Dan Knechtges and Douglas Carter Beane to premiere at Dallas Theatre Center in 2010.

Jonathan Day, Associate Choreographer “Don’t Rain on My Parade”

Jonathan moved to New York City at the age of 18 to apprentice under world-renowned choreographer, Chet Walker.  His performing credits include Irving Berlin’s White Christmas(director Walter Bobbie/choreographer Randy Skinner), The Pirates of Penzance at The Guthrie Theater, Oklahoma! (with TONY Nominated choreographer, Dan Knechtges), Psycho Beach Party, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. He was the dance captain of the 2008 IT Award winning new musical YANK!, and has recently been in workshops of a new musical, Give It Up, with Broadway team Dan Knechtges and Douglass Carter Bean. TV & Film: Fat Guy Stuck in Internet (Cartoon Network), Welcome to New York (CBS), The Sunset Sky (Winner 3 Dusty Awards, 2006!).  By eleven years old, Jonathan was both a Maryland State and regional gymnastics champion.  He has danced with such companies as the Eglevsky Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, the Washington Ballet, and Notario Modern Dance Company.  He is currently an associate choreographer for NYC’s newest musical theater attraction, BREAK OUT IN SONG!

Andrew Turteltaub, Choreographer “Anything Goes”

Born and raised in Brooklyn NY, Andrew started his performing career at the early age of 17.  He began dancing for Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida as a “Kid of the Kingdom” as well as a dancer in Beauty and the Beast.  He then continued on to perform for Royal Caribbean, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in both NYC and Branson, Missouri, as well as numerous industrials, television commercials and episodes of SNL.  Andrew was also an original member of Mia Michael’s dance company R.A.W., and not long after that, he began performing for A Few Good Men Dancin. More of Andrew’s professional credits include: the national tour of FAME the Musical, the off–Broadway company of FAME on 42nd Street, A Chorus Line at the Lenape PAC, a featured role in Radio City’s workshop of Carnivale, and an original company member of the American premiere of We Will Rock You in Las Vegas.  Andrew’s most recent professional endeavor was playing the role of “Chistery” in the critically acclaimed musical, Wicked.

Josh Walden, Choreographer “Consider Yourself”

Founder of Walden Dance Theatre with the desire to couple the technical skills of dancing with the tools of the acting world to create a highly charged theatrical setting while exploring the power of being still.  Walden Dance Theatre had it’s first dance musical, All Is Love, produced at the 2006 New York Musical Theatre Festival receiving rave reviews and an honorable mention for Direction/Choreography.  Focused on his company and it’s many projects including a musical written by Walden, A Day in the Life of Ordinary People, he also maintains a healthy career within musical theatre.  Walden has choreographed for The Kennedy Center, Sacramento Music Circus, DR2 Theatre, Bay Street Theatre, Theatreworks USA, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Riverside Theatre in FL, CAP 21 Studios, D.A.R.E., Tisch School of the Arts, Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre and Morag Productions for the Seabourn Sun Cruise Ship.  He also had the opportunity to direct/choreograph his first musical, Fallen Angel, in the 2006 New York International Fringe Festival which won Best Musical.  As a performer, Walden has been in the Broadway Revivals of 42nd St, La Cage aux Folles and A Chorus Line and most recently finished playing Carlos in the first national tour of Legally Blonde.

Don Gaile, Video Producer & Editor

An award winning filmmaker, Don Gaile’s work has been recognized by Child magazine, TimeOut NY, the Tellys, the Association of Marketing & Communication Professionals, and he has been chosen as ifilm.com’s “Filmmaker to Watch”.

Don is an independent hybrid and multi-tasking perfectionist functioning as producer-director-editor-writer on many projects. Previous credits include work on narrative films, music videos, broadcast music videos, episodic television programs and commercials, webisodes, pop culture & celebrity interviews, red carpet events, and short and long form industrials.

Don has worked with companies like Red Music, New York Philharmonic, TV Guide, Time Warner Cable, AOL, Fine Living Network, A&E Network, Entertainment Weekly magazine, GNC Corp, KPMG, Cap Gemini, Teachers College/Columbia University, The Business Generator, JP Morgan Chase, Neo Sage Institute, i-traffic, Siegel & Gale, Business Development Institute, and Thinkmap.

Daniel Lincoln, Musical Director/Music Arranger

Daniel has worked extensively in musical theater, opera, and cabaret in New York, Los Angeles, and London.  As composer:  “A Mother’s Love” (Royce Concert Hall - UCLA Opera, Los Angeles);  “Savannah: A Jazz Fable” (Frederick Loewe Foundation, NY); “Wrong Could Be Right” (Facade Productions, London UK).  As composer-lyricist: ”Making It! A Pop Rock’pra” (Jan Popper Theatre - Frost Productions, Los Angeles); “The Dragon” (NYU Tisch); “Queen Bea: A Soap Opera Musical” (NYU Tisch); “Bebe vonBreckenburg’s Beautiful Brooklyn Bridge Bridal Boutique” (Frost Productions, Los Angeles).  As orchestrator/arranger: “Heartland: The Musical” (Univ of Oklahoma).  As associate producer: “To Paint the Earth” (NYMF 2008).  As music director: “Ryan Raftery and Friends - A SOLO ACT!!!” (Laurie Beechman Theater, NY); “Divas Do Winehouse” (Rouge Wine Bar - Paris Commune, NY).  Graduate of UCLA (BA - Music) and NYU (Tisch - MFA, Musical Theater Writing).

Sarah Koehler, Production Manager

Broadway/national tour PA credits: Irena’s Vow, Wicked (2nd national tour). Off Broadway: Irena’s Vow (The Directors Company), The Children of Vonderly (Ma-Yi) NYC/regional:  Bloodletters (The Modern Stage), Rumspringa (Rumspringa Company). Associate director, Fringe NYC Al Fresco Series. Thanks to Ryan for being brave and imaginative enough to ask, “Why not?”

Jenn Haltman, Casting Director

Jenn Haltman is the Casting Associate at New York Theatre Workshop (The Misanthrope, Beast, Things of Dry Hours, and the upcoming Aftermath and The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter). She has also worked on shows for Pig Iron Theatre Company, Page 73 Productions, Studio Dante, The Edge, and Beebo Brinker Chronicles at 37 Arts.  Many thanks to Jack Doulin for his guidance and support.

Ryan H. Mackey, Producer

Ryan acted as assistant director of The Boy From Oz starring Hugh Jackman, served as Mel Brooks’ assistant during The Producers, and was the go-to lackey/production assistant on Elton John’s Aida. Most recently he assisted Broadway producer David Binder (A Raisin in the Sun) in presenting The 2007 High Line Festival (curated by David Bowie), Broadway’s 33 Variations starring Jane Fonda, and the current off-Broadway smash Fuerza Bruta: Look Up. BREAK OUT IN SONG is his first independent production, and he cannot thank his wonderful BREAK OUT team, supportive boyfriend, and best friend Carrie, enough. Next up: BREAK OUT IN SONG - CHICAGO; a new musical based on the Everleigh Sisters with The Dresden Dolls’ Amanda Palmer; and a musical adaptation of a famed comic strip. www.sillyboyproductions.com