Smiths/Morrissey musical - article on xfm.co.uk
-no Ben Elton but it still sounds rubbish(check out paragraph 4)
Morrissey Immortalised In A Musical
New reports claim that a musical based around the music of The Smiths and Morrissey is currently being written and will be staged at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, West London, with rehearsals pencilled in to start in May 2005.
The musical is named after The Smiths 1986 track ‘Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others’ and is said to feature over 20 Smiths songs all arranged for a string quartet with vocals being supplied by a cast of six. Due to negotiations with representatives for Morrissey and his Smiths co-writer Johnny Marr, it’s not yet known which songs will be used.
The show’s writers are Andrew Wale and Manzer Allen (who were responsible for the acclaimed play ‘Jacque Brel’s Anonymous Society’) and the duo claim ‘Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others’ won’t be biographical but will centre round interpretations of the songs themselves.
“Each song has a life of its own,” associate producer Michael Brazier told The Independent, “But they are connected by the way the performers behave on stage. It is not a linear story. There will be action going on on stage whether its dance or movement or acting without words depends on the scene.”
“Sometimes the song – and what the singer is saying in the song – will be the main line of action. But other times when you are concentrating on the singer, out of the corner of your eye you will be seeing impressionistic goings on elsewhere in the stage. The significance of that will become clear later"
Not surprisingly, the traditionally devoted Morrissey fans have been expressing their worries about the project in chatrooms worldwide. Most seem concerned that Ben Elton - responsible for the Queen musical ‘We Will Rock You’ – will get involved and taint Mozzer’s much loved songs with West End histrionics (although judging by Brazier’s quote, the danger seems to be an overload of pretensions).
The company behind the show, however have insisted that the musical will be “the antithesis” of cheesy productions like ‘Mama Mia’, and have been at pains to point out that the choice of The Lyric (a theatre more normally used for serious drama) reflects their intentions to stage a serious and respectful show.
It is not know what Morrissey and Marr’s involvement – if any - will be in the show, though its been reported they have both agreed to the idea, but are still in discussions.
