What Could Be Better?

Well, we are off and running. We started rehearsals this week and we're off to a great start. This is one of those "New Line All-Stars" casts, which means they sound great together and we don't have to spend time figuring out how each other works. But it also means that rehearsals will probably be rowdier than I would prefer -- any time I do a show in which everyone knows each other before we even start work, that means that it's harder to rein them in...

I suppose it's a fair trade-off...

We've got an eclectic collection of songs in this show, numbers from The Rocky Horror Show, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Rent, Hair, but also No No Nanette, Baby, and Company. Even some rare gems like "Pitch for Pot," which was cut from the obscure jazz Beat musical The Nervous Set. Still, despite the varied sources, most of the music is either rock, pop, or jazz, with very few exceptions.

But the hardest part of assembling this revue is that I want it to be more than just a concert. I want these songs as a collection to say something interesting, even surprising, about sex, drugs, and rock music in American culture. So though there is no plot and no real characters, there is a continuity of a sort. Each actor does take on a "persona" in the show: a husband, a wife, a mistress, a "philosophical stoner," etc., which they hold onto throughout the show. Though the songs do not tell a conventional story (since they're all from different shows), they do tell a big, existential, national story.

And in addition to content, I also really worked on the show musically, to create segues between songs, to build momentum, tension, and sometimes laughs...

People keep asking me if this will be like the concerts we do every few years at the Sheldon Concert Hall (next one in January 2009!). For the most part, Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll will be different -- there will be a band this time, but even more than that, instead of an evening of the coolest show tunes I can assemble, this time it will be an evening that explores an idea: the cultural power and influence of sex, drugs, and rock & roll in America today. So though in some ways it will be a concert, it will also be much more. If all goes as planned, it will be a very satisfying, meaty evening of theatre...

Stay tuned...

Long Live the Musical!
Scott