Jack Good's Catch My Soul Rock Othello (UK stage version) | |
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with the rock band Gass | |
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Music | Ray Pohlman Emil Dean Zoghby |
Lyrics | Jack Good |
Book | William Shakespeare |
Basis | Othello |
Productions | The Prince of Wales Theatre, The Roundhouse, Manchester, Oxford, Birmingham |
Catch My Soul is a rock musical produced by Jack Good, loosely adapted from Shakespeare's Othello. [1] The character of Iago had originally been played by Jerry Lee Lewis [2] in the US production which had closed in 1968. [3] The UK production of the show was a showcase for the talents of Lance LeGault, P. P. Arnold, P.J. Proby and an introduction to the rock musician Robert Tench with the band Gass. [4]
The first UK production opened at the University Theatre Manchester by the 69 Theatre Company with Angharad Rees as Desdemona on 14 October 1970. It toured to Birmingham, Oxford and Brighton before opening at the Roundhouse in December 1970 and then ran at the Prince of Wales Theatre in the West End from February to July 1971. The original UK cast recorded Catch My Soul (1971), [5] The show also toured larger UK cities and closed in January 1972, [6] with music as interpreted by Gass the show's backing band at that time. [7] A film, Catch My Soul , was released in 1974 with a different cast.
Jack Good's Catch My Soul is based on William Shakespeare's play Othello . Good's musical contained many of the elements of Shakespeare's original work and largely mirrored its source. The subsequent film version directed by Patrick McGoohan changed the structure, setting and songs to an extent that make it a substantially different work. In the synopsis for allmovie.com Sandra Brennon states that in the film story:
"Othello is a wandering evangelist who happens onto Iago's remote commune. There he marries the lovely Desdemona much to the chagrin of Iago, who also loves her. The conniving commune leader then manages to quietly pressure Othello until murder and tragedy ensue." [8]
Peter Knight produced the album Catch My Soul "Jack Good's Catch My Soul-Rock Othello". He was the son of another Peter Knight and produced the London version of the musical Hair (1968).
P. P. Arnold appeared as Bianca. She worked with the Small Faces and was signed to Immediate Records. Arnold also had success as a solo pop singer and backing vocalist, working with an eclectic mix of recording artists including Andy Gibb, Boy George, Roger Waters and Ocean Colour Scene. In 1984, she returned to the stage in the cast of the musical Starlight Express as Belle the Sleeping Car. In mid-2007, she released her first recorded work for several years, Five In The Afternoon. The album is a duet with The Blow Monkeys' frontman Dr. Robert.
P.J. Proby appeared as Michael Cassio. Proby later became better known for his theatrical portrayals of Elvis Presley in the musical Elvis Live, a show that Good first produced in 1977. [9] In 1993, Proby appeared in Good's biographical musical Good Rockin' Tonite as himself. In 1994, he was in Only the Lonely, a musical based on the life of Roy Orbison.
Lance LeGault appeared as Iago, a role he played again in the 1974 Metromedia film version. Later on he appeared in his most well-known role, "Colonel Roderick Decker" in The A-Team . Le Gault also appeared in other successful television programs including Magnum, P.I. , Knight Rider , Airwolf and Dallas .
British rock band Gass performed as the house band during the show's initial run. They left Catch My Soul when the show moved to the Prince of Wales Theatre in February 1971. [10]
Robert Tench better known as Bobby Tench, also performed with the band on the London club circuit [11] before joining the second Jeff Beck Group in May 1971. He later recorded with Linda Lewis and is best known for his work with Freddie King, Hummingbird, Humble Pie, Streetwalkers and Van Morrison.
Othello is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, around 1603. The story revolves around two characters, Othello and Iago.
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887.
Iago is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello. Iago is the play's main antagonist, and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago hates Othello and devises a plan to destroy him by making him believe that Desdemona is having an affair with his lieutenant, Michael Cassio.
P. J. Proby is an American singer, songwriter, and actor.
The Jeff Beck Group was a British rock band formed in London in January 1967 by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy-sounding blues, rhythm and blues and rock was a major influence on popular music.
Othello is a 1965 film based on the National Theatre Company's staging of Shakespeare's Othello (1964-1966) staged by John Dexter. Directed by Stuart Burge, the film stars Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Joyce Redman, and Frank Finlay, who all received Oscar nominations, and provided film debuts for both Derek Jacobi and Michael Gambon.
Rough and Ready is the third studio album by the Jeff Beck Group and the first of two by the second Jeff Beck Group. Released in 1971 by Epic Records, it featured more of a jazz, soul and R&B edge to counter Beck's lead guitar. As a songwriter, Beck contributed more pieces to Rough and Ready than he had before, or ever would again. Beck enlisted Bobby Tench as vocalist and it is also the first time keyboardist Max Middleton is heard. Other members of this line up are drummer Cozy Powell and bassist Clive Chaman.
Otello is an opera in three acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Francesco Berio di Salsa after William Shakespeare's play Othello, or The Moor of Venice; it was premiered in Naples, Teatro del Fondo, 4 December 1816.
Othello is a 1951 tragedy directed and produced by Orson Welles, who also adapted the Shakespearean play and played the title role. Recipient of the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival, the film was distributed by United Artists when it was released in the United States in 1955. Othello was filmed on location over a three-year period in Morocco, Venice, Tuscany and Rome as well as at the Scalera Studios in Rome.
William Lance LeGault Sr. was an American actor. He was best known as U.S. Army Colonel Roderick Decker in the 1980s American television series The A-Team.
Beck, Bogert & Appice was a rock supergroup and power trio formed by English guitarist Jeff Beck, evolving from the Jeff Beck Group. It included bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, Americans who had played together in Vanilla Fudge and Cactus.
Othello is a character in Shakespeare's Othello. The character's origin is traced to the tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. There, he is simply referred to as the Moor.
Robert Tench was a British vocalist, guitarist, sideman, songwriter and arranger.
Hummingbird were a British rock band, formed in 1974 by Bobby Tench of The Jeff Beck Group. The band recorded three albums which were released by A&M Records in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe and employed Ian Samwell as their producer. The original line-up included members of the second Jeff Beck Group, vocalist and guitarist Bobby Tench, keyboardist Max Middleton, bassist Clive Chaman, drummer Conrad Isidore and second guitarist Bernie Holland.
The Gass was a rock band formed in May 1965 by Robert Tench, Godfrey McLean, and Errol McLean. They were managed by Rik Gunnell and Active Management. The band fused melodies with soul, Latin influences, blues and progressive rock often employing complex rhythms with an eclectic mix of other influences.
Catch My Soul, also known as Santa Fe Satan, is a 1974 film produced by Jack Good and Richard M. Rosenbloom, and directed by Patrick McGoohan. It was an adaptation of Good's stage musical of the same title, which itself was loosely adapted from William Shakespeare's Othello. It was not a critical success.
Juju (1970) was the first album recorded by the rock band Gass and featured guitarist Peter Green, who had just left Fleetwood Mac at this time. The album was released by Polydor and withdrawn soon after it was distributed to retail outlets then re-issued using the same catalogue number and entitled Gass
Catch My Soul. A live recording of the original cast was recorded with the original UK cast of Jack Good's Catch My Soul-The Rock Othello. It featured the rock band Gass who had been the house band for the UK stage production.
In addition to its appearance in the theatre, the character of Othello from the tragic play by William Shakespeare has appeared in many examples in art and culture since being authored by Shakespeare in the early 16th century.
Iago is a major character in William Shakespeare's 1603 play Othello. His role is one of Othello's outwardly loyal courtier and friend, who in fact hates him and schemes his downfall. He also manipulates his friends and master into doing his bidding, eventually persuading Othello to believe that his wife, Desdemona, has been having an affair, resulting in Othello killing her in a jealous rage.