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Dude (musical)
Encyclopedia
Dude is a rock musical
with a book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni
and music by Galt MacDermot
. It is an allegory
about good and evil, the conflict between mankind's creative and destructive urges, the power of love, and the joy to be found in simple pleasures. Dude is an Everyman
who loses his innocence and fights to regain it.
opened, Ragni began to work on Dude. MacDermot was busy with Two Gentlemen of Verona but finally began to compose the music. In March 1972, their studio cast album, Salome Bey Sings Songs from Dude, was recorded and released on Kilmarnock Records. The music was more influenced by country music
than their previous musical, Hair
.
The rehearsal period was plagued with problems: Kevin Geer, the actor who had been cast in the leading role, Dude, was unable to sing the role acceptably and had to be replaced; the script (such as it was) was far from finished; Ragni's requests of the producers were bizarre (for example, 100 butterflies to be released at the beginning of each performance); and the cast threatened to walk out.
, the musicians were divided, with brass and woodwinds against the wall of one side of the playing area and strings at the other. To accommodate the multimedia
presentation, the theatre was gutted and reconverted, at a cost of $800,000, into a circus
-like arena
in the center (a theatre in the round) filled with fake dirt (real dirt had caused dust; wetting it had caused mud), ramps, runway
s, catwalks, columns, trapeze
s, trapdoor
s, bleachers, and various mechanical and electronic gear. Performers moved freely between the round playing area, representing "Earth", and the audience, seated in flanking "valleys and foothills," with "mountains and mountain tops" beyond and "tree tops and trees" (mezzanine) above. "Heaven and hell" were also represented. The overall effect was of a circus
being performed in a primeval forest
.
The previews were disastrous, as the audience could not hear with the orchestra scattered around the edges of the theatre. Despite attempts at amplification, the acoustics were still bad in the hollowed out theatre. The director and choreographer resigned, to be replaced by Tom O'Horgan
, who had directed Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar
. Previews were shut down, and the show went back into rehearsal. Some cast changes were made, and flamboyant visual effects were added. The director and cast confronted Ragni and forced him to rewrite scenes, including most of the second act. Actors wrote some of their own dialogue. The script finally settled down, mostly, by the second to last preview.
After sixteen previews, the Broadway
production, directed by Tom O'Horgan
, opened on October 9, 1972 at The Broadway Theatre. Universally crucified by the critics (and audiences), who found it incomprehensible, it ran for only 16 performances. The cast included Nell Carter
, Rae Allen
, Salome Bey
, and Ralph Carter
, who won the Drama Desk Award
for Most Promising Performer.
Ralph Carter, an 11-year old African-American, replaced Kevin Geer, a white 23 year old, who was originally slated to play "Dude", due to Carter's age, Nat Morris was cast as "Big Dude" in order to still use the more mature songs.
Despite leaving the show, Geer's image, with his back facing the camera was used for the show's poster.
Only five weeks after Dude closed, MacDermot experienced another major failure with the flop musical Via Galactica
.
, instead find themselves portraying Adam and Eve
in a Garden of Eden
-like setting, where they are tempted by Zero (the devil
) and give birth to son Dude. The forces of Good (#33, Bread, Susie Moon, Mother Earth, and the Shubert Angels) and Evil (Zero, Nero, Esso, Extra, and Sissy) try to gain control of Dude's soul. Dude grows up and succumbs to the temptations of bizarre sexual practices
and illicit drugs
, leaving his parents guilt-ridden, until Guide #33 (God
) assures them that life is merely show business and everything has a happy ending.
Act II
Rock musical
A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concept albums become rock musicals...
with a book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni
Gerome Ragni
Gerome Bernard Ragni was an American actor, singer and songwriter, best known as the co-author of the groundbreaking 1960s Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical.-Early life:...
and music by Galt MacDermot
Galt MacDermot
Galt MacDermot is a Canadian composer, pianist and writer of musical theatre. He won a Grammy Award for the song African Waltz in 1960. His most successful musicals have been Hair and Two Gentlemen of Verona...
. It is an allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
about good and evil, the conflict between mankind's creative and destructive urges, the power of love, and the joy to be found in simple pleasures. Dude is an Everyman
Everyman
In literature and drama, the term everyman has come to mean an ordinary individual, with whom the audience or reader is supposed to be able to identify easily, and who is often placed in extraordinary circumstances...
who loses his innocence and fights to regain it.
Background
As soon as the musical HairHair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
opened, Ragni began to work on Dude. MacDermot was busy with Two Gentlemen of Verona but finally began to compose the music. In March 1972, their studio cast album, Salome Bey Sings Songs from Dude, was recorded and released on Kilmarnock Records. The music was more influenced by country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
than their previous musical, Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
.
The rehearsal period was plagued with problems: Kevin Geer, the actor who had been cast in the leading role, Dude, was unable to sing the role acceptably and had to be replaced; the script (such as it was) was far from finished; Ragni's requests of the producers were bizarre (for example, 100 butterflies to be released at the beginning of each performance); and the cast threatened to walk out.
Production
In The Broadway TheatreThe Broadway Theatre
The Broadway Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1681 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan....
, the musicians were divided, with brass and woodwinds against the wall of one side of the playing area and strings at the other. To accommodate the multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
presentation, the theatre was gutted and reconverted, at a cost of $800,000, into a circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
-like arena
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
in the center (a theatre in the round) filled with fake dirt (real dirt had caused dust; wetting it had caused mud), ramps, runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
s, catwalks, columns, trapeze
Trapeze
A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances...
s, trapdoor
Trapdoor
A trapdoor is a door set into a floor or ceiling .Originally, trapdoors were sack traps in mills, and allowed the sacks to pass up through the mill while naturally falling back to a closed position....
s, bleachers, and various mechanical and electronic gear. Performers moved freely between the round playing area, representing "Earth", and the audience, seated in flanking "valleys and foothills," with "mountains and mountain tops" beyond and "tree tops and trees" (mezzanine) above. "Heaven and hell" were also represented. The overall effect was of a circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
being performed in a primeval forest
Old growth forest
An old-growth forest is a forest that has attained great age , and thereby exhibits unique ecological features. An old growth forest has also usually reached a climax community...
.
The previews were disastrous, as the audience could not hear with the orchestra scattered around the edges of the theatre. Despite attempts at amplification, the acoustics were still bad in the hollowed out theatre. The director and choreographer resigned, to be replaced by Tom O'Horgan
Tom O'Horgan
Tom O'Horgan was an American theatre and film director, composer, actor and musician. He is best known for his Broadway work as director of the hit musicals Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar...
, who had directed Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
. Previews were shut down, and the show went back into rehearsal. Some cast changes were made, and flamboyant visual effects were added. The director and cast confronted Ragni and forced him to rewrite scenes, including most of the second act. Actors wrote some of their own dialogue. The script finally settled down, mostly, by the second to last preview.
After sixteen previews, the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production, directed by Tom O'Horgan
Tom O'Horgan
Tom O'Horgan was an American theatre and film director, composer, actor and musician. He is best known for his Broadway work as director of the hit musicals Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar...
, opened on October 9, 1972 at The Broadway Theatre. Universally crucified by the critics (and audiences), who found it incomprehensible, it ran for only 16 performances. The cast included Nell Carter
Nell Carter
Nell Carter was an American singer, and film, stage, and television actress. She won a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin, as well as an Emmy Award for her reprisal of the role on television...
, Rae Allen
Rae Allen
Rae Allen is an American stage, film and television actress.-Biography:Allen was born as Raffaella Julia Theresa Abruzzo in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Julia and Joseph Abruzzo...
, Salome Bey
Salome Bey
Salome Bey, CM is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and composer who has lived in Toronto, Ontario since 1966. In 2005, she was made an honorary Member of the Order of Canada....
, and Ralph Carter
Ralph Carter
Ralph Carter is an American actor, and singerCarter is best known for his work as a child and teenager, both in the Broadway musical Raisin and as the character Michael Evans, the youngest member of the Evans family, on the 1970s sitcom Good Times...
, who won the Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Most Promising Performer.
Ralph Carter, an 11-year old African-American, replaced Kevin Geer, a white 23 year old, who was originally slated to play "Dude", due to Carter's age, Nat Morris was cast as "Big Dude" in order to still use the more mature songs.
Despite leaving the show, Geer's image, with his back facing the camera was used for the show's poster.
Only five weeks after Dude closed, MacDermot experienced another major failure with the flop musical Via Galactica
Via Galactica
Via Galactica is a rock musical with a book by Christopher Gore and Judith Ross, lyrics by Gore, and music by Galt MacDermot. It marked the Broadway debut of actor Mark Baker....
.
Synopsis
Reba and Harold, actors who believe they have been cast in Richard IIIRichard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
, instead find themselves portraying Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
in a Garden of Eden
Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
-like setting, where they are tempted by Zero (the devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
) and give birth to son Dude. The forces of Good (#33, Bread, Susie Moon, Mother Earth, and the Shubert Angels) and Evil (Zero, Nero, Esso, Extra, and Sissy) try to gain control of Dude's soul. Dude grows up and succumbs to the temptations of bizarre sexual practices
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
and illicit drugs
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
, leaving his parents guilt-ridden, until Guide #33 (God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
) assures them that life is merely show business and everything has a happy ending.
Song list
Act I- Overture
- Theater/Theater
- A-Stage
- The Mountains
- Pears and Peaches
- Eat It
- Wah Wah Wah
- Suzie Moon
- Y.O.U.
- I Love My Boo Boo
- Hum Drum Life
- Who's It?
- Jazz Bridge (Talk to Me About Love)
- Goodbyes
- I'm Small
- You Can Do Nothing About It
- The Handsomest Man
- Electric Prophet
- No-One
Act II
- Who Will Be the Children
- Go Holy Ghost
- A Song to Sing
- A Dawn
- The Days of This Life
- I Never Knew
- Air Male
- A Musical Version Of World War Too/Undo
- The Earth
- My Darling I Love You March
- So Long Dude
- Dude All Dude
- Peace Peace
- Jesus Hi
- Baby Breath
- Sweet Dreams