NBC Makes Jennifer Lopez's 'Bye Bye Birdie' Less Sexist for TV
NBC is giving the book and lyrics for Bye Bye Birdie a fine-tuning before the musical becomes the network's next live song-and-dance event in December.
NBC is giving the book and lyrics for Bye Bye Birdie a fine-tuning before the musical becomes the network's next live song-and-dance event in December.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/rambli ... -tv-989253The original 1960 Tony-winning Broadway musical — which inspired the 1963 film — centers on a songwriter-agent Albert and his sweetheart secretary Rosie, who aim to stage a final publicity stunt for their hip-thrusting musician before he's drafted into the Army.
However, Albert and Rosie — the latter played by Jennifer Lopez, who is also exec producing — won't be industry folks in the live staging, says Harvey Fierstein, who has finished adapting the book. "I want to be true to the time it takes place but at the same time, having Rosie be Albert's secretary whom he's having an affair with is a little sexist and old-fashioned. I didn't see any reason for that," he tells The Hollywood Reporter. "So I changed that. I made them both high school teachers."
"He's the English teacher who writes a song, and she's the music teacher who says, 'I've got a great kid with a great voice,'" he continues. "He ends up being Conrad Birdie, who's supposed to only take one summer off to promote the record but turns into a star. It's been eight years and Rosie just wants to go back to their real lives. It really makes a lot more sense that way."
Fierstein, currently starring in the off-Broadway play Gently Down the Stream, previously made similar modern updates to The Wiz and Hairspray for NBC. "I have great respect for Michael Stewart, who wrote the original book," he reassures. "I spoke to his sister and made sure she knew the changes I was going to make and I would hope Michael would be happy with, had he lived into our time."
Also among the Bye Bye Birdie tweaks: The beloved opener "An English Teacher" will be repurposed with slightly changed lyrics, and many scenes and songs are reordered to accommodate the commercial-friendly format. For example, the musical will close with the climatic Ed Sullivan Show performance, which originally appears at the end of the stage show's first act.
Further adjustments will also accommodate Lopez's wish for the airing to highlight Rosie's struggles as a Puerto Rican woman about to hit middle age and in a relationship with a man afraid of commitment, as seen in the original musical's book but lost in the 1963 film. Adds Fierstein, "Then, you know, Jennifer Lopez knows what she wants out of performing."
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I don't know enough about musicals to care or to have an opinion but regardless I'm excited for this. Really hope she pulls this off and gets some acclaim.
I'm glad he's adjusting the book, but it's hard to say if it's a good thing or bad thing because I've only seen the movie. If he's worried about the sexism, I wonder if racism will still be part of it.
Nice to see Queen JLo had her input, haha.
Nice to see Queen JLo had her input, haha.
+1Crazy4JenL wrote:I don't know enough about musicals to care or to have an opinion but regardless I'm excited for this. Really hope she pulls this off and gets some acclaim.
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so now Rose will be a Music Teacher !!!!! cool
I'd like to see someone famous in this. Not only Jen. Maybe it would help with promo and ratings lol and I feel like every project she does recently everything depends on her. It must be stressful lol
lol true but tbh i think Nick Jonas will get the part. ;) Also i think Jen enjoys and wants the attention. :oops:Luka711 wrote:I'd like to see someone famous in this. Not only Jen. Maybe it would help with promo and ratings lol and I feel like every project she does recently everything depends on her. It must be stressful lol
People like her thrive on that kind of pressure. I wouldn't be able to deal, lol.panos86 wrote:lol true but tbh i think Nick Jonas will get the part. ;) Also i think Jen enjoys and wants the attention. :oops:Luka711 wrote:I'd like to see someone famous in this. Not only Jen. Maybe it would help with promo and ratings lol and I feel like every project she does recently everything depends on her. It must be stressful lol
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I wonder if she will actually sing live? I kind of doubt she will. She is the queen of prerecorded vocals and people wondering if it's live or not.
Original VS Jen's photoshot in 2009 Vanity Fair
It's a similar look!
I was thinking about that too but that would be lame particularly if all the other performers sing live, I don't think that her songs are that hard to perform but she will have to really work on them, I think she already started.Crazy4JenL wrote:I wonder if she will actually sing live? I kind of doubt she will. She is the queen of prerecorded vocals and people wondering if it's live or not.
The Vanity Fair shoot was West Side Story, though.Love_JLO wrote:Original VS Jen's photoshot in 2009 Vanity Fair
It's a similar look!
I think she will :Bravo:Crazy4JenL wrote:I wonder if she will actually sing live? I kind of doubt she will. She is the queen of prerecorded vocals and people wondering if it's live or not.
In original play she only has 2 real solos "An English Teacher" and "Spanish Rose" then it's mostly duets/Ensemble or short parts of songs, Kim the teenage character seem to have the hardest songs, they're probably gonna cast a Broadway star for that.
Her 2 solos
Her duet with Albert
Her 2 solos
Her duet with Albert
She has to sing live ... it shouldnt even be a question lol
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Of course she should, but will she?Luka711 wrote:She has to sing live ... it shouldnt even be a question lol
She better do, even if it's a mess. Look at Rihanna the gurl couldn't hit a note with her cringe-voice and now she can pull some great vocals!
It will be an endless debate, no matter what. Even with Hairspray plenty of people thought the vocals were pre-recorded. The producers talked about having their studio vocals available in case the exteriors were too loud if a plane came by overhead or for stuff stuff like that.
The vocals should be live, but I wish the show itself would be prerecorded. So they could fix some big mistakes and polish it.
I watched last years show to see what I can expect and some parts were really messy and could've been much better if they just chose the best run through of each scene. I know that's not the concept, but it would be much better tbh.
I watched last years show to see what I can expect and some parts were really messy and could've been much better if they just chose the best run through of each scene. I know that's not the concept, but it would be much better tbh.
I bet she won't have any trouble she did great of AI with diamonds and locked out of heaven.
To be clear, I do think vocals will be live and that she will sing live.
I agree that it can be a bit messy because it's live, but I do see why they do it. It's so thrilling watching something live. It's one of the best parts about theater. On such a massive scale, though, I definitely see the pros and cons. The TV productions are so huge that the mistakes are amplified. In the theater, people are more forgiving about mistakes, but now with social media, it's so easy for people to hate-watch.
I agree that it can be a bit messy because it's live, but I do see why they do it. It's so thrilling watching something live. It's one of the best parts about theater. On such a massive scale, though, I definitely see the pros and cons. The TV productions are so huge that the mistakes are amplified. In the theater, people are more forgiving about mistakes, but now with social media, it's so easy for people to hate-watch.