This One’s For the Fans

Beetlejuice choreographer Connor Gallagher aims to please diehard devotees of the film – and welcome new ones into the fold By Page Leggett Connor Gallagher knew fans of Beetlejuice, Tim Burton's over the top 1998 movie, would have high expectations of the musical adaptation. But the choreographer also knew there would be audience members who... Continue Reading →

Bringing ALADDIN to the Stage

by Courtney Potter Early in the evolution of Aladdin, composer Alan Menken, book writer and lyricist Chad Beguelin and director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw got together to write a brand new song for the stage musical – a unique collaboration that could only happen on Broadway. “We needed to write a new song for the Genie, [for]... Continue Reading →

SCHOOL OF ROCK: From Screen to Stage

  THE MOVIE Screenwriter Mike White got the idea for the movie from the Langley Schools Music Project, where Canadian music teacher Hans Fenger recorded two LPs (1966 and 1967) with grade school students singing hits by The Beach Boys, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, and more. Over twenty years later, the LPs were combined into... Continue Reading →

Creating SCHOOL OF ROCK

Andrew Lloyd Webber, composer of such megahits as Phantom of the Opera and Cats, wants audiences to have a “really good time” at his newest show, an unabashed musical comedy.  “School of Rock is fun. Hopefully, I've fleshed it out with a few catchy songs and kept the spirit of the original movie.” But Lloyd... Continue Reading →

Casting the Kids for SCHOOL OF ROCK

W.C. Fields famously remarked “never work with animals or children,” because they’re invariably scene stealers.  School of Rock, the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Julian Fellowes musical, based on the Richard Linklater movie, doesn’t have any animals.  But it has children…a lot of them. And many of them play musical instruments.  Very well.  Rob Colletti, who plays Dewey... Continue Reading →

ALADDIN: Musical Maestro

This feature is excerpted from Disney’s Aladdin: A Whole New World (The Road to Broadway and Beyond) by Michael Lassell. Earning a staggering number of accolades for his work on The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and the film version of Aladdin, amongst many others, Alan Menken is an undisputed master of the stage... Continue Reading →

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