First Listen: German “Dear Evan Hansen”
Plus 2.5D musicals and a global "Tootsie" moment?
Good morning (or afternoon) world!
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!
Interested in supporting new works go global?
First Listen: “Dear Evan Hansen” Germany
K-MUSICALS… because this month they need their own section
As part of a considerable growing investment in musicals as a “cultural content industry,” the government-sponsored “K-Musical Road Show” headed to Tokyo and London recently after industry readings in NYC (previous stops also included Shanghai); titles varied per location and included zombie-dramedy “The Last Man,” “Brahms: Immersive Media Art Musical,” and “Marie Curie.” Fingers crossed any foray into these markets would also include more creative marketing activations like Marie Curie’s Korean cube pop-up store.
Seoul Metropolitan Musical Company’s new musical “Macbeth” opened this week
OD Company’s new musical “Il Tenore” premieres next week (In an exciting first, no doubt spurred by new eyes coming from his latest Broadway attempt with the US’s “Great Gatsby,” producer Chunsoo Shin has added his name and the writers names in the end credits here in English!)
“Beethoven’s Secret” began it’s “semi-replica” Japanese run this week with Toho Stage, worldwide stage rights by Korea’s EMK Musical Company. The show will tour four cities starting with Tokyo.
EMK’s also been busy with a concert last week of their sixth original musical “La Rose de Versailles,” prior to a Seoul premiere in July 2024. The musical is based on the 1972 manga by Riyoko Ikeda. The soft culture triangle between France, Korea, and Japan is thriving more and more, and I’m personally excited to see more and more of these globalized IPs thrive.
Hot off the heels of the 2022 live stage capture’s streaming rerun, hit K-drama-turned-musical “Crash Landing On You” announced the cast for the first Japanese license, opening in February by Fuji TV.
EUROPE
Frank Wildhorn’s “Your Lie in April” Will Receive West End Concert Staging— Trailer here. The show is the second musical manga adaptation of Wildhorn's to receive a concert staging in London, after “Death Note” (which I will take any opportunity to always point you to this video with 23M views of my favorite actor in the world Kwangho Hong originating the Korean production).
Wildhorn’s work is trailblazing given the proliferation of anime IP in the licensing industry and the untapped anime-to-stage market as it currently exists in North America (not including films in concert which always sell out…hmm…). His “Death Note” was a strategic, successful gamble by agency Horipro 10 years ago to enhance globalization from 2.5-D musicals (and yet the 2.5D "Sailor Moon" only JUST made its way West for a tepid one-nighter mini-tour pre-Covid, so maybe it’ll be another 10 before we see either of Wildhorn’s pieces as well).
“Tootsie” made its Austrian premiere this weekend with the Landestheater Linz in a season stacked with German-language and Austrian premieres including School of Rock, The Light in the Piazza, and Strike Up the Band.
The title is also gearing up for a Japanese premiere in January.
Poland’s ADRIA Musical Theater continues its rep productions into 2024 of “Waitress,” “In the Heights,” “The Bodyguard” and “The Michael Jackson Show” (directed and choreographed Kacper Wojcieszek, winner of the "Dance like Michael Jackson" local TV competition in case “MJ” needs future ideas. Speaking of…)
BONUS
“MJ” To Make Australian Premiere in 2025— Ta-da! Told you. Once you learn the existing industry pipelines between mega markets (hint: it’s a lot of the same men) you can start to see predictable business relationships unfold in realtime. Interested in exploring beyond the norm?
What I’m Reading: “Alternative” paths for new musicals to get noticed
I’ll be talking a bit about this and other mythical unicorn industry questions in a MusicalWriters Masterclass I’m leading this Thursday at 7pm ET! Come with your questions and register here.
KU'DAMM 56
The clip below came up on my Instagram and immediately scratched that good good itch for synchronized choreography. Written by Annette Hess, Peter Plate, and Ulf Leo Sommer, KU'DAMM 56 - DAS MUSICAL is a 2021 stage adaptation of the 2016 German television series and a joint project by BMG and UFA Fiction under the auspices of the Bertelsmann Content Alliance. Generations clash when the feisty daughter of a dance studio owner defies her mother's wishes and embraces the fight for gender equality in 1950s Berlin. A closer look at the 3-city touring remount here, brought back right before...
The sequel! “Ku'damm 59 - The Musical” will premiere in May 2024, continuing the themes of women’s emancipation. Cheers to utilizing musical theatre as a medium for expansion not just adaptation of IP!
Have a show or idea you want to expand abroad? Consider working with Natalie at Broadway DNA, just reply to this email and let’s chat!