Written by Arya Ponto
Tuesday, twelve April 2011
batmanlive
Fear that the upcoming Batman Live stage tour will mirror the disastrous Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark Broadway show was addressed nowadays when the production unveiled the solid and costume in a very media launch in London. At the very least, they're already doing 3 things right: the script is written by a comic book writer, it's no newly created-up villain, and Bono is nowhere close to this thing.
Yes, because the producers keep stressing, this can not be a musical like Flip Off the Dark, despite being directed by Anthony Van Laast, who's famous for choreographing musicals like Mamma Mia!, Sister Act and Joseph and also the Technicolor Dreamcoat. Not that I have something against a Batman musical (Hey, The Brave and the Bold did it brilliantly), however it's in all probability higher for this production to concentrate on stunts and awes rather than songs, and to draw as a lot of distinction as possible from one of the biggest trainwrecks in Broadway history.
In the video below, watch as Joker introduces the other villains, before having his monologue interrupted by you-grasp-who.
The actor does a pretty smart Joker. The body language of Cesar Romero combined with the deep, lip-smacking voice of Heath Ledger? As so much as Joker actings go, much worse have return and gone.
The media launch conjointly showed the concept designs for what the sector can appear as if, including this beautiful badass miniature Gotham City. Different sets embrace Arkham Asylum (naturally), Penguin's Iceberg Lounge, Wayne Manor, the Batcave, and the large Prime circus scene where Dick Grayson's oldsters tragically die, pushing him to become Batman's sidekick Robin. On high of the sets, the show conjointly options a complete new style of the Batmobile, concocted by Formula One designer Gordon Murray.
All this, for less than 1/3 of Turn Off the Dark's budget.
The hardest thing to stomach, and is doubtless to be the primary gripe individuals will fixate on, is the planning of Batman and Robin's costumes, which are too close to Joel Schumacher for comfort. Don't let it shadow the whole production, though, because A) They do not have nipples, and B) No one has however to tug off a satisfactory and convincing live-action Batman costume, anyway. Even in Batman Begins, it absolutely was additional like Fat and Cannot Breathe Leather Man Begins, that they then had to flip into a dirtbike get-up in The Dark Knight.
Speaking of—one amongst my initial worries when this was announced was that they'd attempt to piggyback off of the Christopher Nolan movies, but it appearance like they're going for a more colourful, comic book look. Some Batman fans will insist that Batman can only be portrayed in a very dark and edgy urban crime context, which is asking for a betrayal of the character's made history.
It's a good factor that, despite Nolan's insistence on Batman being a lone vigilante, the show is not sidelining Robin's existence. Far from it: the story actually centers on Dick Grayson's journey into turning into Robin. Sadly, for no matter reason, that they had to form him an older teen a la Batman Forever, instead of a 10-year-previous child.
The focus on Robin makes sense knowing the writer, Allan Heinberg. Heinberg has had success as a TV writer on shows like Sex & the City, The OC and Grey's Anatomy, but is better known to comic fans as a author on Wonder Woman and, more importantly, as the creator of Young Avengers. He's no stranger to the approaching-of-age stories of teenage superheroism.
It's a neat idea, very. Batman, Joker, and every one the opposite villains will be iconic and set in place, but have the audience align with Dick, who sees these people because the mythic figures they are and has to enter that world.
The show premieres July nineteen in Manchester.
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