Martin Guerre (musical)
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Martin Guerre | |
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Music | Claude-Michel Schönberg |
Lyrics |
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Book |
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Premiere | July 10, 1996Prince Edward Theatre, London : |
Productions |
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Awards | 1997 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical |
Martin Guerre is a two-act
Written in the
Synopsis
Loosely based on the real-life historical figure
Productions and background
When first approached by Schönberg and Boublil, Cameron Mackintosh, who had produced their earlier works, expressed little interest in producing the project as it existed. Only after several dramatic revisions, in which the character of Guerre became more heroic and greater emphasis was placed on the theme of religious intolerance, did he become enthusiastic about its potential.
London (1996–1998)
Six years in the making, Mackintosh's $6 million
The mostly brutal reviews prompted the producer to examine carefully all the problems and take dramatic action to fix them. While the cast continued to perform the show, the creative team – now augmented by additional lyricist Clark – virtually rewrote it, adding new scenes and songs, shortening the overly long beginning, providing a happier ending, and shifting the focus to Bertrande. In order to make more radical changes, the show closed from October 28–31, 1996, and the production was completely revised. This revised version opened after a week of previews on November 11, 1996. The critical response was significantly improved, and the revised show went on to win the 1997
In June 1997 some further changes were made to the production to coincide with the cast change. The production closed on February 28, 1998 after 675 performances.
UK tour (1999)
The
It then embarked on a national tour which ended in Bristol on August 7, 1999 after 227 performances. The tour also played Newcastle, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Norwich, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Llandudno, Nottingham and Plymouth.
US tour (1999–2000)
The North American premiere was at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis on September 29, 1999, for an 8-week engagement.[2] The Artistic Director Joe Dowling welcomed the opportunity for a co-production between the Guthrie Theater and Cameron Mackintosh so that Martin Guerre could be fine-tuned for its first American audience.
There was some more reworking for this production. Some musical numbers were moved and there was a general softening of the village characters to make them more likable and more individualized. According to Mackintosh "Forty percent of the current material was not in the original."[2] The production starred Hugh Panaro, Erin Dilly and Stephen R. Buntrock in the US tour in 1999–2000. The tour played Minneapolis, Detroit, Washington, Seattle and Los Angeles.[2]
A planned Broadway opening never materialized.[3][4]
Denmark (1999–2000)
A licensed production of Martin Guerre opened at the Odense Theater in Denmark on December 30, 1999 and it ran until March 6, 2000.
Newbury (2007)
A revival of the musical at the Watermill Theatre near Newbury, England, ran in July 2007. There was a company of 12 actor/musicians, starring Andrew Bevis and directed by Craig Revel Horwood. Based largely on the London version that had premiered in November 1996,[5] there were further lyrical changes, and "Live With Somebody You Love" from the touring version was inserted into the score. This production made three central changes to the premise of the previous versions of the musical; Bertrande does not (appear to) know that the imposter is not her returning husband until the court scene in act 2. The character of Martin was made far more hostile in this version. This production also had more spoken dialogue, a conscious decision made by the composers, who reworked the show whilst they were in rehearsals for The Pirate Queen.[6]
Songs
1996 West End
- "Prologue"
- "Working on the Land"
- "Where's the Child"
- "Martin Guerre"
- "Here Comes the Morning"
- "Sleeping On Our Own"
- "When Will Someone Hear?"
- "Louison/ Welcome Home"
- "Tell Me to Go"
- "Bethlehem"
- "All I Know"
- "Entr'acte"
- "The Courtroom"
- "Me"
- "Martin Guerre" (Reprise)
- "Someone"
- "The Imposters"
- "The Last Witness"
- "I Will Make You Proud"
- "The Madness"
- "The Reckoning"
- "Land of the Fathers"
1999 UK/US tour
- "Prologue"ψ
- "Live with Somebody You Love"ψ
- "Your Wedding Day"ψ
- "The Deluge"ψ
- "I'm Martin Guerre"ψ
- "Without You as a Friend"ψ
- "Death Scene"ψ
- "The Conversion"
- "God's Anger"ψ
- "How Many Tears"ψ
- "Dear Louison"
- "Welcome to the Land"ψ
- "The Confession"
- "The Seasons Turn"
- "Don't"ψ
- "All the Years"
- "The Holy Fight"ψ
- "The Dinner"
- "The Revelation"ψ
- "The Day Has Come"ψ
- "If You Still Love Me"
- "The Courtroom"ψ
- "Who?"ψ
- "I'm Martin Guerre"ψ (Reprise)
- "All That I Love"ψ
- "The Imposter is Here"ψ
- "The Final Witness"ψ
- "The Verdict"ψ
- "Justice Will Be Done"ψ
- "Benoit's Lament"
- "Why?"ψ
- "The Burning"ψ
- "The Killing"ψ
- "You Will Be Mine"
- "How Many Tears"
- "Live with Somebody You Love"ψ (Reprise)
ψ - Songs included on the UK Tour Cast Album
For the US tour, the positioning of the songs "Live with Somebody You Love" and "Without You as a Friend" were swapped, and "The Day Has Come" had re-written lyrics and was titled "Alone".
2007 Newbury production
- "Overture"
- "Working On the Land"
- "Where's the Child"
- "Martin Guerre" (new lyrics)
- "Here Comes the Morning"
- "Sleeping On Our Own"
- "Duty"
- "When Will Someone Hear?"
- "Louison - Someone As Beautiful As Her?"
- "Thank God You're Here"¥
- "What Do I Say?"Ŧ
- "The Seasons"
- "Live with Somebody You Love"
- "Bethlehem"
- "The Dinner"
- "One by One"
- "Live with Somebody You Love" (Reprise)
- "The Courtroom"
- "Martin Guerre" (Reprise) (new lyrics)
- "Someone"
- "The Imposters"
- "The Last Witness"
- "Here Comes the Morning" (Reprise)
- "The Sentence"
- "I Will Make You Proud"
- "The Jail"
- "The Reckoning"
- ¥ - Uses the tune of Welcome Home/Now You've Come Home from original London production
- Ŧ - Was "Tell Me To Go" in London and "Don't" on tour
Awards and nominations
Original London production
Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
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1997 | Laurence Olivier Award
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Best New Musical | Won | |
Best Actor in a Musical | Iain Glen | Nominated | ||
Best Theatre Choreographer | Bob Avian | Won | ||
Best Lighting Design | David Hersey | Nominated |
Notes
- ^ Martin Guerre, 1996 thisistheatre.com
- ^ a b c Weber, Bruce."When the Commercial Theater Moves In on Nonprofits". The New York Times, October 10, 1999
- ^ Jones, Chris. "Review 'Martin Guerre'"[permanent dead link] Variety, October 4, 1999
- ^ Frank, Jonathan."Review 'Martin Guerre'" talkinbroadway.com, February 14, 2000
- ^ Gould, Robert.A Spellbinding "Martin Guerre" at the Watermill" westend.broadwayworld.com, July 21, 2007
- ^ "Review 'Martin Guerre' Watermill Theatre" thepublicreviews.blogspot.com, 17 July 2007
References
- Hey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh by Sheridan Morley and Ruth Leon, published in the UK by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and in the US by Back Stage Books, 1998