Just like the pop music business, the theater biz seems to have a deep love for that which once worked (despite a series of failures and embarrassments since). People liked Mamma Mia and (to a lesser degree) Movin’ Out, so why not find another artist with a semi-extensive catalog and write a barely plausible script around songs with seemingly nothing in common besides their performer?
Like, say, Heart? Allies is still a fair distance from the Great White Way—it’s still in the stage of being performed solely for “industry insiders”—but still someone spent quite a bit a time coming up with a story about two siblings in a rock band.
A concert-style musical, Allies follows the epic love triangle that rocks the lives of siblings Gabby and Chris Ford. Sister and brother Ford are as close as struggling twenty-something can be, but their bond is blown apart by the seductive arrival of a mysterious man, Matt Rhode. Part love rock show, part drama, Allies features legendary Heart hits including “Barracuda,” “These Dreams,” and “Alone.”
While I look forward to the stink of Sarah Palin being washed from “Barracuda”, I’m a little afraid of what might become of this particularly dreadful song from the Heart catalog:
I didn’t go to college for playwriting or anything, but if Broadway wasn’t in a financial bind these days, I’d take a go at writing a musical adaptation of my own. Picture it: A story of a woman vexed by love and looking for a beautiful life in a tribute to the music of Ace of Base called The Sign.
Headlines: Music of Mega-Band Heart to Debut in Musical Reading Allies [Broadway.com]
their bond is blown apart by the seductive arrival of a mysterious man
I’m just trying to understand.
@Ned Raggett: He’s a magic man, mama.
I would venture to say that John Darnielle would be totally willing to get involved with The Sign should such a thing come to pass.
@Ned Raggett: They walked in the garden. They planted a tree.
I’m a little afraid of what might become of this particularly dreadful song from the Heart catalog
Quite possibly the worst thing Mutt Lange’s even been involved with.
The Greatest Story Ever Told about a sibling pop band (with weird sexual tension) is CARPENTERS. You, me and Todd Haynes imagine(and mourn) the plot with every spin.
[casting trivia: matriarch "Mrs. Ford" is played by Mare Winningham, who starred in the movie "Georgia" about singing sisters]
Sarah Palin rouses her Iditarod sled dog team by dangling the cover of BEBE LE STRANGE from a stick (huskies hustle after poodles)