Good morning (or afternoon) world!
A little late after the US holiday weekend, but welcome to the latest edition of the Broadway DNA newsletter! In pulling the latest international musical theatre IP headlines, I focus on illuminating post-premiere lifecycles for what commercial theatre creators value: what titles are successful, where, by who, and why? Some of the how, the nuts and bolts of licensing and producing, I dip into in asides mixed in with the news. Natalie-isms, if you will. Whether you're a producer, artist, or simply a musical theatre enthusiast interested in how IP grows global, this bulletin is your ticket to staying informed and getting globally inspired!
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“ELVIS: The Musical Revolution,” Broadway Licensing’s answer to the icon’s Hollywood-led relevance resurgence, to premiere in São Paulo in 2024 produced by the Ministry of Culture and Atual Produções after a world premiere in Australia produced by David Venn, and a North American premiere at Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre this year. The show is presented through special agreement with Authentic Brands Group (who manage Elvis Presley merchandise & licensing) and Broadway Licensing.
A top venue opened in 2016, Brazil’s Teatro Santander has previously presented local non-replica licenses of shows like The Little Mermaid, Great Comet, School of Rock, and the recent Wicked.
According to Forbes, Elvis sits as the #2 Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities Of 2023, behind Michael Jackson. And just wait for the international rollout of “MJ”!
Similar tribute shows are nothing new, like Theater Accent Vienna’s “Elvis – A Dream of Graceland” or Bernhard Kurz’s “Elvis Das Musical.”
EUROPE
Cast announced for the 2024 Polish premiere of “School of Rock” at Teatr Rozrywki in Chorzów. Earlier this week, the theater won a Golden Mask Award for Choreography for their production of “Cats,” so here’s hoping their next ALW title is also a smash.
The Sondheim Effect— Two years after the legendary US composer’s death, a resurgence of his work is felt beyond the current Broadway influx: Take this German Review of The Hessian State Theater of Wiesbaden’s “Follies” or the upcoming Polish revue “Ten cały Sondheim” performed bilingually at Teatr Syrena.
“Jesus Christ Superstar” is gearing up for a Czech local language premiere at Pilsen’s DJKT (JK Tyla Theater).
The English Theater Frankfurt is celebrating the German premiere of “Something Rotten!” this month (of course per their name in the original English version).
ASIA-PACIFIC
“Great Comet” Shanghai dropped new photos and a video tour of the stage design. As previously reported, the show is running at New Bund 31 Performing Arts Center’s 2,500-seat premium Grand Theater for 51 performances from January 13 to March 3, 2024. Jointly presented by the Shanghai Grand Theater, Shanghai West Bund Theater and Eternity Culture, the musical has an international cast and creative team from China, New York, and South Korea.
“Come From Away”’s Korean premiere began performances this week produced by Shownote— Listen to “Me & The Sky”
Korea’s SeenSee Company-produced “The Last Five Years” just dropped a few teaser trailers, opening January. Per industry standard, they’re bringing it back after last producing it in 2008.
The second stop on a 3-city national tour, “Les Miserables” opened in Seoul this week. (The 2012 movie was a box-office hit in Korea, ranking as their 86th most-watched movie of all time according to data from the Korean Film Council. Besides frequent English-based intl tours, the Korean license (which is really a local language replica, produced ominously by “Les Miserables Korea, Inc.” promoted by powerhouse agency Clip Service) first opened in 2013, then again in 2015, during which the show recorded some 600,000 audience members nationwide. How does the below compare to who you may be targeting art toward in your own country?)
“San Xing Dui The Musical” took to the stage at the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center last week, offering an audiovisual feast of the 3,000-year-old Sanxingdui culture with high-tech design including 3D projection. The production made its world premiere in Chengdu in October before setting off on a national tour.
Centered on the Sanxingdui archaeological site in Sichuan province, the musical is presented in two intertwining storylines — a high priest in the ancient kingdom gathering artisans to make a sacrificial object, and an intern working on the archaeological site.
The production features an international crew, including British director Thom Southerland (Denmark’s Beatles musical “She Loves You,” Tokyo’s “The Illusionist,”and intl tour inc. China of “Titanic”). He was invited by the director of the National Peking Opera Company to lead this international collaboration between China, the UK, Italy, and South Korea, alongside famous composer Hu Xiao'ou, playwright Wang Yong, as well as playwright and lyricist Yang Shuo. The musical is lead produced by China International Culture Group Co., Ltd. and the Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.
Check out the epic video trailer by clicking below:
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