History, Schmistory! Just Sing! (History Musical)
Dear Bud and Doug: The backer’s audition of your new project “Gutenberg! The Musical!,” which you are presenting to a room full of Broadway producers most nights through Dec. 31, was a smashing success. Who knew that a musical about the life of the inventor of the printing press could have so many laughs? And while adding the theme of the Holocaust might not be historically accurate, I agree with Doug that it gave the show real gravitas. Before I invest, let me give a few notes.
You might consider a script doctor for lyrics like Gutenberg’s line: “When I got out of bed today/History was a lot more boring/But then I thought in a different way /Now the bird of inspiration’s soaring.”
And while Doug’s book about the villainous monk who destroyed Gutenberg’s press fits the Broadway formula perfectly, you need to shrink this period epic down. Do you know how much lasers cost? A huge cast won’t have the charm (or, ahem, salaries) of your two natural performers who play dozens of roles helped only by baseball caps with character names like “Old Black Narrator” and “Another Woman” written on them....
Read entire article at NYT
You might consider a script doctor for lyrics like Gutenberg’s line: “When I got out of bed today/History was a lot more boring/But then I thought in a different way /Now the bird of inspiration’s soaring.”
And while Doug’s book about the villainous monk who destroyed Gutenberg’s press fits the Broadway formula perfectly, you need to shrink this period epic down. Do you know how much lasers cost? A huge cast won’t have the charm (or, ahem, salaries) of your two natural performers who play dozens of roles helped only by baseball caps with character names like “Old Black Narrator” and “Another Woman” written on them....