While the show's original Broadway run was well-reviewed, it did not catch on with audiences. Closing after three and a half months and costing an unprecedented $600,000, the show was Broadway's biggest flop at the time.[1]
Synopsis
The plot revolves around Superman's efforts to defeat Dr. Abner Sedgwick, a ten-time Nobel Prize-losing scientist who seeks to avenge the scientific world's dismissal of his brilliance by attempting to destroy the world's symbol of good. Additionally, Superman comes into romantic conflict with Max Mencken, a columnist for the Daily Planet newspaper, who resents Lois Lane's attraction to Superman, and later teams up with Sedgwick to destroy Superman.
Production history
The musical opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on March 29, 1966.[2] Directed by Harold Prince with choreography by Ernest Flatt, it starred Bob Holiday as Clark Kent and Superman, Patricia Marand as Lois Lane, Jack Cassidy as Max Mencken, and Linda Lavin as Sydney.[3] The production received generally positive reviews, but it failed to catch on with the theater-going public and closed on July 17, 1966 after 129 performances.[1] The musical received three Tony Award nominations, for Best Actor in a Musical (Cassidy), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Michael O'Sullivan, playing the main villain), and Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Marand). One of the songs from the score, "You've Got Possibilities" (introduced by Lavin), had some success outside the show as a nightclub and cabaret standard. According to composer Charles Strouse, the official title of the show includes quotation marks: "It's a Bird It's a Plane It's Superman"; the program for the show does not include ellipses.
Revivals
Two productions were staged the next year. Both the St. Louis Municipal Opera and the Kansas City Starlight Theatre (in 1966, titled Superman)[4] re-staged the show, and Bob Holiday played Superman in both productions. Each was an open-air venue, requiring the use of a large crane to facilitate Superman's flights. Other cast members in these two productions were Karen Morrow as Sydney and Charles Nelson Reilly as Dr. Sedgwick.[5]
On May 14, 2007, the Reprise! Marvelous Musical Mondays program in Los Angeles presented a concert version of the musical. The cast featured Cheyenne Jackson as Superman, Jean Louisa Kelly as Lois Lane, Richard Kind as Dr. Sedgwick, Patrick Cassidy in his father's old role of Max Mencken, and composer Charles Strouse in a special appearance as Perry White.[7] From June 15–17, the musical was presented in concert by the York Theatre's Musicals at MUFTI series in New York City, with Jackson, Kelly, and Strouse reprising their roles from the Los Angeles concert. Others in the cast included Lea DeLaria as Dr. Sedgwick, Shoshana Bean as Sydney, and David Rasche as Max Mencken.[8] Bob Holiday, the original Broadway Superman, attended the June 16 matinee.
From June 18 to July 25, 2010, the Dallas Theater Center presented a revised version of It's a Bird..., starring Matt Cavenaugh in the dual role of Superman/Clark Kent, Zakiya Young as Lois Lane, Patrick Cassidy as Max Mencken, and Cavenaugh's real life wife Jenny Powers as Sydney Sharp (Cassidy developed laryngitis during the run of the show, and choreographer Joel Ferrell took over the role until Cassidy recovered). The new book for the show was written by playwright and comic book writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.[9] Kevin Moriarty, the Dallas Theater's artistic director, believed that the show's campy, pop art-inflected book had "not dated well" and approached Charles Strouse in 2008 for permission to revise the musical.[10] Strouse acquiesced, and Moriarty hired Aguirre-Sacasa, a "lifelong fan" of the musical. Aguirre-Sacasa moved the musical's setting to 1939, and made the show's primary focus the "love triangle" between Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Superman. Songs were cut, new songs were commissioned, and the order of songs was changed.[11] In November 2009, Moriarty and Aguirre-Sacasa held a private reading of the revised book with the show's surviving creators, Strouse, Adams, and Benton.[12]
A staged concert production took place as part of New York City Center's Encores! series from March 20–24, 2013. The cast included Edward Watts as Superman and Will Swenson as Max Mencken, with Jenny Powers playing Lois Lane. Powers had played Sydney Sharp in the 2010 Dallas revival.[13] On March 23, Bob Holiday, who originated the role of Superman on Broadway, attended the show and met with the cast.[14]
The show's UK premiere was played in London in March 2014 at Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre and was produced by All Star Productions.[15] After positive reviews, "the real star of the show is Charles Strouse and Lee Adams' delightful score..." wrote the musicaltheatrereview.com,[15] the show transferred to the Leicester Square Theatre in the West End for a limited run in February 2015.[16][17]
In September 2016, there was the first production in the German language in Braunschweig, Germany. The OnStage - school of musical is producing the German Premiere at the Brunsviga.
It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman was made into a TV special which first aired during a late night timeslot on ABC on February 21, 1975.[18] Filmed on video over the course of 3 days,[19] the show was significantly shortened, the script significantly changed, and the ethnicity of a troupe of evildoers was changed from Chinese acrobats to Mafia-style gangsters. The musical numbers "Doing Good", "It's Super Nice", "So Long, Big Guy" and "We Don't Matter at All" were all dropped from this production, while the sound of the remaining musical numbers was updated to a more contemporary 1970s sensibility. In addition to these, a new musical number was made for the TV special: "It's a Great Country".[19] The show was broadcast on the ABC network under its Wide World of Entertainment late-night umbrella title to poor critical reception. It starred David Wilson as Superman/Clark Kent, Lesley Ann Warren as Lois Lane, Loretta Swit as Sydney, David Wayne as Dr. Abner Sedgwick, Allen Ludden as Perry White, Kenneth Mars as Max Mencken, and Gary Owens as the old-time radio-style voiceover narrator. Viewers of this remake felt that the TV production lacked the energy of the original Broadway show.[20]
"Everything's Easy When You Know How" - The Flying Lings
"Revenge" (reprise) - Dr. Sedgwick
"It's Super Nice" - Company
Act II
Entr'acte - Orchestra
"So Long Big Guy" - Max
"The Strongest Man in the World" - Superman
"Ooh, Do You Love You?" - Sydney
"You've Got What I Need" - Dr. Sedgwick, Max
"It's Superman" (reprise) - Lois, Superman, Sydney, Max, The Flying Lings, Jim, Company
"I'm Not Finished Yet" - Lois
"Pow! Bam! Zonk!" - Superman, The Flying Lings
Finale - Company
"You've Got Possibilities" is generally considered the show's most memorable tune, and is the only one to be often performed outside the show.[26][27] It was recorded in 1966 by Peggy Lee (on the album Big $pender)[28] and Matt Monro (on the album Here's to My Lady),[29] and has been performed and recorded by many other singers. It was also featured in a 2005 TV commercial for Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits.[30]
The final part of the overture that featured the title song from the original cast album was used as the opening and closing theme music for all the newscasts on WTOP-TV/WDVM-TV (Channel 9, now WUSA-TV) in Washington, DC, from 1970 until 1982, along with a handful of other stations, most prominently New York City independent station WPIX-TV.[30]
Charles Strouse is an American composer and lyricist best known for writing the music to such Broadway musicals as Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, and Annie.
Lee Richard Adams is an American lyricist best known for his musical theatre collaboration with Charles Strouse.
Harvey Lester Schmidt was an American composer for musical theatre and illustrator. He was best known for composing the music for the longest running musical in history, The Fantasticks, which ran off-Broadway for 42 years, from 1960 to 2002.
Lesley Ann Warren is an American actress and singer.
The American comic book character Superman, created in 1938, has appeared in many types of media since the 1940s. Superman has appeared in radio, television, movies, and video games each on multiple occasions, and his name, symbol, and image have appeared on products and merchandise.
Bob Holiday was an American actor best known for playing Superman in the 1966 Broadway musical It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman. Historically, Holiday was the next "live-action" Superman after George Reeves. Holiday played Superman more than any other actor, having played the role in over 140 performances, as well as several live appearances in character. From 1999 until his death in 2017, he reigned as the eldest surviving, live-action Superman.
William Matthew Cavenaugh is an American tenor and stage, film, and television actor.
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is an American playwright, screenwriter, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for the television series Glee, Big Love, Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin. He is Chief Creative Officer of Archie Comics.
Jennifer Diane Powers is an American actress, singer, and beauty pageant contestant. She won the title of Miss Illinois in 2000, and has had major roles in Broadway productions such as Little Women and Grease.
Robert Martin is a television and musical theatre actor and writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, or simply How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, is a seasonal musical stage adaptation of the 1957 Dr. Seuss book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. Versions of the musical have been produced since the 1990s, including a Broadway production that ran during two Christmas seasons.
Patrick William Cassidy is an American actor and singer best known for his roles in musical theatre and television.
Jason Moore is an American director of film, theatre and television.
John Rando is an American stage director who won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for Urinetown the Musical in 2002. He received his 2nd nomination in the same category in 2015 for the 2014 Broadway revival of On the Town.
Patricia Marand was an American actress and singer, best known for roles in musical theatre. She was nominated for a 1966 Tony Award for her part as Lois Lane in the musical It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman. She also appeared in the 1952 musical Wish You Were Here. She was a regular on The Merv Griffin Show.
Thomas Robert Kitt is an American composer, conductor, orchestrator, and musician. For his score for the musical Next to Normal, he shared the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Brian Yorkey. He has also won two Tony Awards and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Next to Normal, as well as Tony and Outer Critics Circle nominations for If/Then and SpongeBob SquarePants. He has been nominated for eight Drama Desk Awards, winning one, and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for Jagged Little Pill in 2021.
Alli Mauzey is an American actress and singer best known for her performance as Glinda in the Broadway and 1st national tour productions of Wicked and for originating the role of Lenora in the musical Cry-Baby, as well as the main character voice acting role of Lioness in the animated series A.T.O.M..
American Psycho is a musical with music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik and a book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. It is based on the controversial 1991 novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, which also inspired a 2000 film of the same name, which starred Christian Bale. Set in Manhattan during the Wall Street boom of the late 1980s, American Psycho is about the daily life of Patrick Bateman, a wealthy young investment banker who is also a serial killer.
Kate Wetherhead is an American actress, writer and director known for her work on Submissions Only,Legally Blonde, and the Jack and Louisa book series.
Carolyn Rossi Copeland is a theater producer and founder of The Lamb's Theatre located in the Times Square New York City area. She served as Vice President of Creative Affairs for Radio City Entertainment and Madison Square Garden Productions, where she oversaw the historic remount of The Scarlet Pimpernel on Broadway and new projects for The Radio City Rockettes. She served as Creative Consultant for The Gaylord Group. She is the executive producer of Strouse IP, managing the music and show catalogue of the Tony Award winner Charles Strouse.
References
1 2 Wells, John (2014). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969. TwoMorrows Publishing. p.109. ISBN978-1605490557.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
