Kristen Anderson-Lopez is working on a stage musical version of "Frozen," but for now she has another show on Broadway, "In Transit"; Michael Ritchie, artistic director of Center Theatre Group, hilariously recounts his early career as a stage manager.
A theatrical holiday tradition gives David Bowie a musical makeover
This year’s holiday show at the Falcon Theater in Burbank is called "Little Drummer Bowie," and, as you can probably guess, it combines Christmas lyrics with David Bowie's music.
During one of the final rehearsals, the cast was working on the closing number under the eye of director Matt Walker, who joked about the reception they were going to receive.
“They’ll be throwing money and undergarments, try and keep a level head,” Walker said.
The Christmas show at the Falcon Theater has been going on since 2002 when they mounted
"A Christmas Carole King." And if you think it’s a simple matter of coming up with a title that includes a holiday theme and a popular musician, you’re not totally wrong.
“[We’ve done] 'It’s a Stevie Wonderful Life,'” Walker said. “'Santa Clause is Coming to Motown,' 'It’s a Charlie James Brown Xmas,' 'Frosty the Snow Mantilow.'”
But this show actually takes its inspiration from the stop-action animated TV special, "The Little Drummer Boy," that debuted back in 1968. Still set in the Middle East, it’s now a lot more about learning to be good to your fellow man than any manger-based miracle of birth. Joseph Leo Bwarie is Ziggy, the Bowie-inspired lead who had been playing Frankie Valli on Broadway before his old theater company called and asked if he wanted to come home for the holidays.
“Why does it work?” Bwarie asked. “Because it’s a rule breaker, and people want to party. It's similar to when I was in 'Jersey Boys,' and people would come ready for a party and they knew they were gonna get it. And we deliver that too — this feeling of freedom and not thinking of anything else.”
And the show almost always sells out. If you’re looking for tickets to the 130-seat venue, your best bet is to call in January. And Lisa Valenzuela, who plays Ziggy’s mother, said once you take your seats, just be ready.
Anything goes. You have a cold, and you’re sneezing, we’re gonna bless you, because that’s the kind of people we are, regardless of what’s going on.
But director Walker said their success is not just because of the show’s freewheeling approach. It’s also because they’ve become something that’s passed down not only generation-to-generation, but even neighbor-to-neighbor.
We’ve seen families of four, who’ll bring their neighbors. We have an Orange County group that’ll rent a tour bus and bring 60 of their closets friends. It’s become an outing. People dress up and heckle us in a good natured, spirited way — sort of bring in the joy and yuletide craziness.
By the way, you will hear the music for David Bowie and Bing Crosby's "Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth" duet in the show, but don’t expect to recognize a lot of lyrics. By changing up the words, the cast can belt out familiar tunes thanks to the fact that they’re considered parody. Which means not only can the show go on this year, but with record company lawyers at bay, there’ll likely be something new to come back for next season.
"Little Drummer Bowie" is at the Falcon Theater in Burbank through Jan. 15.
'Frozen' co-songwriter Kristen Anderson-Lopez's R-rated side
When she’s working on Disney musicals like "Frozen," Kristen Anderson-Lopez writes family-friendly songs. But now, she’s showing off her R-rated side.
“In Transit” is an a capella musical that Anderson-Lopez co-created with three other writers — James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan, and Sara Wordsworth. It had a critically acclaimed run off Broadway in 2010, and now it’s at the Circle in the Square Theatre.
Anderson-Lopez joined Frame host John Horn in the studio to discuss “In Transit,” her childhood love of theater, and how musicals fail female protagonists.
Interview Highlights
On discovering theater as a child:
My dad says there was a moment [when] he took me to watch my next door neighbor go practice the high school play and my eyes just opened up. He said, That was the moment I knew — oh no, my daughter's going to go into show business. It was very, very early.
On finding her way to writing and directing:
I was always doing things in my backyard like writing plays and putting them on. And then somehow I got the message that a girl who likes theater has to be an actress, even though I really was a writer-director first. It took me a long time to find my way back to my five-year-old, backyard, director-writer self. There weren't a lot of examples. The people on the cast album, in general, were men. And the people winning the Tonys tended to be men, and those were the people that won the creative awards. The actresses won the acting awards.
On the similarities between marriage and creative partnerships:
I think that the skills you need for marriage to sustain itself are the same skills you need with a writing partner with projects of this intensity. The ability — when you are so furious and your ego has come out in a huge way — to be able to say, You know what? We need a timeout! And know that in 45 minutes, you’re going to calm down and this person you want to kill is going to be your best friend. And you’re going to get back to it. Isn’t that what marriage is about?
On female protagonists:
I really am trying to broaden the spectrum of behavior that a female protagonist is allowed to display. I love musicals, but often there is a gap they had to shoot of a beautiful woman who had some feistiness, but often her job is to find a man. I would like to allow for that beautiful woman with feistiness to also be able to really mess up. And maybe not be likable sometimes, maybe not be that noble. Because there are a lot of male protagonists who are allowed to be unlikable and go through an arc.