[3 articles] Woodstock the Musical
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/arts/11arts-WOODSTOCKTHE_BRF.html by DAVE ITZKOFF Published: September 10, 2009 They say that if you can remember the original Woodstock festival, you probably weren't there. But if you helped organize that three-day concert of peace, love and music, you can apparently produce a Broadway musical about it. On Thursday Michael Lang, one of the producers of the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair, said he planned to bring a new show to Broadway that would use elements from his recent memoir, "The Road to Woodstock," written with Holly George-Warren. He said the as-yet untitled musical, planned for the 2010-11 Broadway season, would center on the lives of people who attended the festival and how the experience affected them. Mr. Lang, who is producing the musical with Samuel G. Nappi, chairman of Alliance Energy in New York, said that he was in talks with potential members of the show's creative team, but that its lineup had not been completed. -------- Michael Lang plans Woodstock '69 musical for Broadway http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090911/NEWS/909110351 September 11, 2009 First it was an iconic concert, then an acclaimed documentary film. It was followed by countless books and recordings, not to mention a recent film by Ang Lee. Next, it'll be a Broadway musical. Woodstock music festival co-producer Michael Lang and his business partner said Thursday that a new musical celebrating Woodstock is in the works for the 2010-11 theater season. Lang has already created a cottage industry out of the Woodstock brand, launching a Web site, woodstock.com, in 2008 which lists concerts and presents content focused on the 1969 event and partnering with Sony to release material from the festival, among other ventures. During the 40-year anniversary weekend in August, Lang remarked that he was working with Sony and the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, talking "about future plans together." Lang failed in an attempt to present a 40-year-anniversary concert in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, coming up short of the $8 million to $10 million necessary to host the concert he proposed. "It just didn't come together," Lang told the Times Herald-Record on July 31. "The possibilities are not strong enough for it to look like it has a shot." The Broadway musical will be based on Lang's best-selling book, "The Road to Woodstock." Lang and partner Sam Nappi say there's no title yet, and that the show's creative team is being assembled. It will feature new music, as well as songs performed at the concert. -------- Woodstock's Curtain Call http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/yb/135178773 By Michael Riedel HELLO, hippies! Broadway's tapping into nostalgia for the '60s in a big way. The revival of "Hair" is going gangbusters, having recouped its $6 million investment in just five months. Now comes word that Michael Lang, the music promoter who created the Woodstock music festival 40 years ago, is producing a musical based on that legendary event. "Anybody who's ever approached me about Woodstock always says it changed their lives," says Lang. "I hope to deliver that experience to a Broadway audience." The musical, as yet untitled, will be based in part on Lang's new book, "The Road to Woodstock," an enjoyable behind-the-scenes account of the concert. "I want to tell the story of Woodstock through various people who were there - a crew member, one of the bands, somebody who was in the crowd," he says. "I hope the show captures some of the spirit of the summer of 1969." Lang is shopping around for a writer. High on his list, I'm told, is Rick Elice, who co-wrote (with Marshall Brickman) "Jersey Boys" and the upcoming "The Addams Family." It wouldn't be a bad idea to bring Brickman on, as well. Elice is strong on sentiment and good feeling, while Brickman, an old showbiz cynic, injects a nice dose of vinegar. And, as Lang's book reveals, Woodstock wasn't all peace and love. There were some tough negotiations with both the locals of Bethel, NY, (where the concert took place) and with agents representing the artists. Among the directors said to be interested in the project is Matthew Warchus, who staged two of last season's best shows, "God of Carnage" and "The Norman Conquests." Diane Paulus, who staged "Hair," is another, if obvious, possibility. As for the score, Lang says he'll use some of the classic songs from Woodstock as well as new numbers written by some of the people who performed at the concert, including John Sebastian, Richie Havens and, possibly, Joe Cocker, whom Lang managed for many years. "I've talked to quite a few performers about the musical, and everybody seems interested," says Lang. Look for the Woodstock musical to hit Broadway in the 2010- 2011 season. THE boys of "Billy Elliot" are growing up. Kiril Kulish, who shared a Tony with David Alvarez and Trent Kowalik, is leaving the hit show Oct. 3 because, well, he's too tall. He's almost as tall, in fact, as Greg Jbara, who plays Billy's father. Stephen Daldry, who directed the show, told me a few months ago that the kids who play Billy have a run of, at most, 18 months before they outgrow the role. But a lot can come from that 18-month gig. Kulish has been offered a part in the national tour of "The Kings of Dance" as well as full scholarships from the Royal Ballet in London, the Paris Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre. WORTH checking out: Nicolle Rochelle, a terrific talent, playing Josephine Baker in "Looking for Josephine." The show's run begins Thursday at the Alexander Kasser Theater at New Jersey's Montclair State University. Here's what Jean-Claude Baker, the owner of restaurant Chez Josephine and the adopted son of Josephine Baker, says about it: "Darling, it is wonderful, wonderful! If you close your eyes, it is mother!" . --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
