Written by Arya Ponto
Tuesday, twelve April 201one
batmanlive
Fear that the upcoming Batman Live stage tour will mirror the disastrous Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark Broadway show was addressed today when the assembly unveiled the forged and costume during a media launch in London. At the very least, they're already doing three things right: the script is written by a comic book writer, it has no newly made-up villain, and Bono is nowhere near this thing.
Yes, because the producers keep stressing, this will 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 the Technicolor Dreamcoat. Not that I have anything against a Batman musical (Hey, The Brave and the Bold did it brilliantly), however it's in all probability higher for this production to target stunts and awes instead of songs, and to draw as much distinction as attainable from one in every of the largest trainwrecks in Broadway history.
In the video below, watch as Joker introduces the other villains, before having his monologue interrupted by you-know-who.
The actor does a fairly smart Joker. The body language of Cesar Romero combined with the deep, lip-smacking voice of Heath Ledger? As far as Joker actings go, much worse have return and gone.
The media launch additionally showed the concept designs for what the sector can seem like, as well as this gorgeous badass miniature Gotham City. Alternative sets include Arkham Asylum (naturally), Penguin's Iceberg Lounge, Wayne Manor, the Batcave, and the massive High circus scene where Dick Grayson's folks tragically die, pushing him to become Batman's sidekick Robin. On high of the sets, the show also options a brand new style of the Batmobile, concocted by Formula One designer Gordon Murray.
All this, for but one/three of Turn Off the Dark's budget.
The hardest issue to stomach, and is doubtless to be the primary gripe people will fixate on, is the design of Batman and Robin's costumes, that are too close to Joel Schumacher for comfort. Don't let it shadow the whole production, though, as a result of A) They don't have nipples, and B) No one has nonetheless to drag off a satisfactory and convincing live-action Batman costume, anyway. Even in Batman Begins, it had been more 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 in every of my initial worries when this was announced was that they would attempt to piggyback off of the Christopher Nolan movies, but it looks like they're going for a additional colourful, comic book look. Some Batman fans can insist that Batman will solely be portrayed in an exceedingly dark and edgy urban crime context, which is soliciting for a betrayal of the character's rich history.
It's a good thing that, despite Nolan's insistence on Batman being a lone vigilante, the show isn't sidelining Robin's existence. So much from it: the story truly centers on Dick Grayson's journey into changing into Robin. Sadly, for whatever reason, they had to make him an older teen a la Batman Forever, instead of a ten-year-previous child.
The specialise in Robin is smart knowing the writer, Allan Heinberg. Heinberg has had success as a TV author on shows like Sex & the City, The OC and Grey's Anatomy, but is healthier known to comic fans as a author on Wonder Woman and, additional importantly, because the creator of Young Avengers. He's no stranger to the approaching-of-age stories of teenage superheroism.
It's a neat plan, extremely. Batman, Joker, and all the other villains can be iconic and set in place, but have the audience align with Dick, who sees these people as the mythic figures they are and must enter that world.
The show premieres July 19 in Manchester.
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