Giant (musical)

Last updated
Giant
Giant musical cover art.jpg
Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording
Music Michael John LaChiusa
LyricsMichael John LaChiusa
Book Sybille Pearson
BasisGiant
by Edna Ferber
Productions2009 Signature Theatre
2012 Dallas Theater Center
2012 Off-Broadway

Giant is a musical based on the 1952 Edna Ferber novel of the same name, with music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa and the book by Sybille Pearson. The musical premiered at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia in 2009. The story follows a ranch family in Texas over 30 years, and the effect of the oil boom. The musical premiered off-Broadway in 2012.

Contents

Production history and background

Edna Ferber's great-niece, Julie Gilbert, had approached LaChiusa about five years earlier to write a musical based on the novel Giant. LaChiusa and Pearson initially thought it impossible to stage as a musical. The novel covers decades, and has a large number of characters, with a massive backdrop in wide-open, early 20th-century Texas. "Pearson said she and LaChiusa decided to use the novel, rather than the movie, as the basis for their adaptation because 'the movie, in its own greatness, changes some of the plot.'" [1] The Signature Theatre commissioned LaChiusa to write the musical as the first installment in its American Musical Voices Project.

Jonathan Butterell directed the world premiere production in Signature's MAX theatre, where it ran from April 28 through May 31, 2009. The ranch family was played by Lewis Cleale (Bick) and Betsy Morgan (Leslie), Ashley Robinson was Jett, the young ranch hand who finds oil, with Michele Pawk as Luz, Bick's older sister and John Dossett as Uncle Bawley, Marisa Echeverria as Juana, the Mexican wife, Jordan Nichols as Bick's son Jordy Jr, and Andres Quintero as Angel, son of Mexican American laborers. [2] [3]

The show closely follows the novel, rejecting the many plot changes that were made for the classic 1956 film of the same name starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean. [4]

The music displays various musical styles from Mexican folk to country to rock 'n' roll, jazz and mariachi. [5] [6]

A reading of the musical was held in New York City on January 10, 2011 with Kate Baldwin, Michael Esper, Steven Pasquale and Tom Wopat and directed by Michael Greif. [7]

The Dallas Theater Center, in a co-production with the Public Theater, presented the musical, with performances starting on January 18, 2012 in previews and running through February 19, with direction again by Greif. The cast featured Kate Baldwin (Leslie), Aaron Lazar (Bick), P.J. Griffith (Jett), John Dossett (Bawley) and Dee Hoty (Luz). [7] [8] The musical originally was written with three acts and two intermissions, but for the Dallas production, it was re-written to have two acts and one intermission. [9]

The musical then premiered off-Broadway at the Public Theater running from October 26 to December 16, 2012 (the engagement was originally scheduled through December 2, 2012). [10] Most of the Dallas cast returned while Michele Pawk and Brian d'Arcy James took over the roles of Luz and Bick respectively. The first post–New York production took place at Illinois Wesleyan University in November 2015. The competitive BFA in Music Theatre was granted the rights while they are still limited to professional companies and prior to licensing opening up for academic and amateur productions. [11]

Synopsis

In Texas in 1922, Jordan "Bick" Benedict, a rich cattleman, marries Leslie, from Virginia. Bick is focused on working the family ranch, Reatta, but exhibits bigotry against Mexicans. This racism is seen in his older sister, Luz, who is against outsiders. Jett Rink is a handyman but discovers oil; he is infatuated with Leslie. A neighbor and Bick's reclusive uncle, Uncle Bawley, tells the tale of the legend of the coyote. Bick ends the relationship with a girlfriend, Vashti.

As they age over the years, Leslie feels rejected by Bick and realizes that they do not really know each other. Leslie and Bick's son marries a Mexican woman as Leslie tries to help the downtrodden Mexican American workers and Bick comes to accept his son's choice.

Songs

Critical response

The show received mostly positive reviews, hedged by concerns over its length (3 hours, 45 minutes) and the nontraditional use of three acts -- in the later production at the Public Theater, the length was cut considerably and the show was reduced to two acts. [12] [13]

Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal gave the Public production an unqualified rave. He called it "the most important new musical to come along since The Light in the Piazza," and stated that LaChiusa and Adam Guettel of Piazza were "the two most prodigiously gifted musical-theater songwriters to come along since Stephen Sondheim." [14]

Peter Marks of The Washington Post wrote: "...the composer, Michael John LaChiusa, has written for this world premiere some of the lithest, most dramatically compelling music of his career. And that his collaborator, librettist Sybille Pearson, brings to the stage some potent Lone Star State characters... At its epic length, it becomes an advanced-placement sort of musical — more for the ardent enthusiast than the casual entertainment-seeker." [15]

The Variety reviewer noted that the "inventive score is filled with pleasant melodies that hark to the old West, along with more soaring operatic pieces." However, he felt that "the show is humorless and sometimes incoherent. There are choppy, unconnected scenes, especially in the dark and leaden third act. Meanwhile, pivotal highlights such as a principal character's life-changing oil gusher are presented in retrospect, robbing the story of needed spark and surely confusing anyone unfamiliar with the Ferber yarn." [16]

Awards and nominations

The musical received eight Drama Desk Award nominations: Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Brian d’Arcy James), Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Kate Baldwin), Outstanding Music, Outstanding Lyrics, Outstanding Book of a Musical, Outstanding Orchestrations (Bruce Coughlin), and Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical. [17] The play received a nomination by the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical. [18]

Recording

A two-disc cast album of the musical was released on the Ghostlight label in 2013. [19] [20]

Related Research Articles

<i>Giant</i> (1956 film) 1956 American epic Western drama film

Giant is a 1956 American epic Western drama film directed by George Stevens, from a screenplay adapted by Fred Guiol and Ivan Moffat from Edna Ferber's 1952 novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audra McDonald</span> American actress and singer (born 1970)

Audra Ann McDonald is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four acting categories. In addition to her six Tony Awards she has received numerous accolades including two Grammy Awards, and an Emmy Award. She was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 2016 from President Barack Obama, and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael John LaChiusa</span> American musical theatre and opera composer (born 1962)

Michael John LaChiusa is an American musical theatre and opera composer, lyricist, and librettist. He is best known for musically esoteric shows such as Hello Again, Marie Christine, The Wild Party, and See What I Wanna See. He was nominated for four Tony Awards in 2000 for his score and book for both Marie Christine and The Wild Party and received another nomination in 1996 for his work on the libretto for Chronicle of a Death Foretold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephanie J. Block</span> American actress and singer (born 1972)

Stephanie Janette Block is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on the Broadway stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelli O'Hara</span> American actress and singer (born 1976)

Kelli Christine O'Hara is an American actress and singer, most known for her work on the Broadway and opera stages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian d'Arcy James</span> American actor and musician

Brian d'Arcy James is an American actor and musician. He is known primarily for his Broadway roles, including Shrek in Shrek the Musical, Nick Bottom in Something Rotten!, King George III in Hamilton, and the Baker in Into the Woods, and has received four Tony Award nominations for his work. On-screen, he is known for his recurring role as Andy Baker on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, Officer Krupke in West Side Story, and reporter Matt Carroll in Spotlight.

<i>First Lady Suite</i> Musical by Michael John LaChiusa

First Lady Suite is a chamber musical by Michael John LaChiusa. The musical contains four separate segments about four of the First Ladies of the United States of America and the people surrounding them. They are: Eleanor Roosevelt, Mamie Eisenhower, Bess Truman, and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. It premiered Off-Broadway in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Dossett</span> American actor and singer

John Dossett is an American actor and singer.

Michele Pawk is an American actress and singer. She is also an associate theater professor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norm Lewis</span> American actor, singer (born 1963)

Norm Lewis is an American actor and baritone singer. He has appeared on Broadway, in the West End, film, television, recordings and regional theatre. He’s also noted for his wide vocal range. Lewis was the second African-American actor after Robert Guillaume to perform in the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera and the first one to do so in the Broadway production. In 2023, he reprised the role in the show's sequel, Love Never Dies, in London's West End.

<i>The Wild Party</i> (Lippa musical) Musical by Andrew Lippa

The Wild Party is a musical with book, lyrics, and music by Andrew Lippa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Stocke</span> American stage and television actor (born 1971)

Matthew Stocke is an American stage and television actor. His hometown is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He moved to New York City in 1996 as he began his professional career and educational company. He graduated from the Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts in 1995 with a BFA in Acting/Musical Theatre, where he occasionally returns as a guest instructor.

Jill Paice is an American actress best known for her musical theatre roles. She originated the roles of Laura Fairlie in the musical The Woman in White in the West End (2004) and on Broadway (2005); Niki in Curtains on Broadway (2006); Scarlett in London's Gone With The Wind (2008); and Grazia Off-Broadway in Death Takes a Holiday (2011). Among other roles, she appeared in the Broadway play The 39 Steps (2009).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Kitt (musician)</span> American composer and musician

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Baldwin</span> American singer

Katherine Baldwin is an American singer and actress known for her work in musical theater. She received a Tony Award nomination for her work in the 2009 Broadway revival of Finian's Rainbow. She also co-starred opposite Bette Midler, David Hyde Pierce, and Gavin Creel in the Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly!, for which she received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle award nominations for her work as the saucy millineress Irene Molloy. Baldwin continued with the production until it closed in August 2018.

Sybille Pearson is a playwright, musical theatre lyricist and librettist.

Jonathan Butterell is an English choreographer, stage director, and film director. He has worked in the West End, on Broadway, and Off-Broadway.

The Trip to Bountiful is a play by American playwright Horton Foote. The play premiered March 1, 1953, on NBC-TV, before being produced on the Broadway stage from November 3, 1953, to December 5, 1953.

Little Dancer is a musical with music by Stephen Flaherty and book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, based on Edgar Degas' 1880 statue Little Dancer of Fourteen Years. The musical premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in 2014. The original production was directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman.

Kate Rockwell is an American actor, dancer, and singer. She is known for her work on Broadway and for originating the roles of Skylar in Bring It On: The Musical in 2011 and of Karen Smith in the 2018 musical Mean Girls, for the latter of which she received Drama Desk Award and Helen Hayes Award nominations.

References

  1. ↑ Branson, Hailey. "A musical of Giant proportions Washington theater to stage classic Texas tale", The Houston Chronicle, May 9, 2009, p. 4
  2. ↑ Jones, Kenneth. "Cleale, Dossett, Blazer, Robinson and More Begin Giant, the Musical, Run April 28 in VA,", Playbill.com, April 28, 2009
  3. ↑ Giant production information" Archived 2009-05-17 at the Wayback Machine sig-online
  4. ↑ Weldon, Glen."Signature's Giant: Writing on the Sprawl, The world premiere of Michael John LaChiusa's unevenly glorious musical" Washington City Paper, May 13, 2009
  5. ↑ Choochan, Gail. "Signature's 'Giant' worth the investment of four hours", The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Virginia), May 21, 2009, no page number
  6. ↑ Frederick, Missy. "Size Isn't All That Matters In Signature's Giant", DCIST May 15, 2009
  7. 1 2 Hetrick, Adam. Texas-Bound Giant Musical Gets NYC Reading With Kate Baldwin, Michael Esper and Steven Pasquale" Playbill.com, January 14, 2011
  8. ↑ Hetrick, Adam (January 18, 2012). "New York-Aimed Giant, with Kate Baldwin, Aaron Lazar and P.J. Griffith, Sweeps Into Texas Jan. 18". Playbill. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  9. ↑ Spindle, Les."INTERVIEW: Michael John LaChiusa Is a Giant Talent" theatermania.com, May 19, 2012
  10. ↑ Hetrick, Adam. "'Giant', Starring Kate Baldwin, Brian D'Arcy James and P.J. Griffith, Gets Extension at Public Theater" Archived 2012-11-22 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, November 19, 2012
  11. ↑ "Brian d'Arcy James, Kate Baldwin, Bobby Steggert, Michele Pawk to Lead Public Theater's 'GIANT'- Full Cast Announced!" broadwayworld.com, September 10, 2012
  12. ↑ Teachout, Terry. A" Really, Really Big Show". online.wsj.com, May 15, 2009
  13. ↑ Marks, Peter. "Article:Daring to Do A Texas-Size Task:Create a Giant of Note". Washington Post, May 10, 2009
  14. ↑ Teachout, Terry (2012-11-16). "A Texas-Size Achievement". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  15. ↑ Marks, Peter. "Review:At Signature, Giant Finds Its Voice in an Oversize State". Washington Post, May 12, 2009
  16. ↑ Harris, Paul. "Regional Review: Giant ". Variety, May 13, 2009
  17. ↑ Hetrick, Adam and Gans, Andrew. "Billy Porter, Andrea Martin, 'Pippin', 'Matilda', 'Vanya and Sonia' Win Drama Desk Awards" Archived June 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, May 19, 2013
  18. ↑ "Outer Critics Circle Awards Nominations Announced" theatermania.com, April 22, 2013
  19. ↑ Suskin, Steven. "ON THE RECORD: Michael John LaChiusa's 'Giant; " playbill.com, May 26, 2013
  20. ↑ "'Giant' Original Cast Album Coming in Spring 2013!" broadwayworld.com, December 15, 2012
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.