Lennon (musical)

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Lennon
The Playbill cover for the 2005 Broadway musical "Lennon".jpg
The Broadway poster, printed on the cover of Playbill
Music John Lennon
Lyrics John Lennon
Book Don Scardino
BasisLife of John Lennon
PremiereApril 12, 2005: Orpheum Theatre (San Francisco)
Productions2005 San Francisco
2005 Broadway

Lennon is a musical with music and lyrics by John Lennon and book by Don Scardino, who also directed its premiere. The musical is about the life of Lennon and is notable for Scardino's choice to be almost exclusively based on Lennon's own words and to focus on Lennon's solo career, with no songs from the Lennon–McCartney catalogue. [1]

Contents

The "$7 million bio-musical" [2] first opened in San Francisco, California, in April 2005. After what The Times described as "a troubled try-out in San Francisco, a cancelled run in Boston and a radical rewrite", [3] it had 42 previews and 49 performances on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre from 14 August to 24 September 2005. The role of Lennon is played by performers of both sexes and different ages and skin colours, an approach Scardino said was inspired by "I Am the Walrus" where Lennon writes, "I am he, as you are he, as you are me, and we are all together." [4] This use of multiple actors was scaled back after the San Francisco production, with the final rewrite having a single actor narrating Lennon's story. [5]

Yoko Ono was actively involved in the production, retaining final script approval and requiring the show's Broadway producers to complete the script and present it to her live (albeit in workshop format). [6] The show's credits included the phrase "With Special Thanks to Yoko Ono Lennon". [7]

The limited use of Beatles songs, attributed to creative choices and not licensing issues, led critics to dismiss the work as "Ono-centric". [3] Ono was unapologetic about the choice: "If we put 'Yesterday' in, it's not really fair to the Beatles because we're leaning on their power. We're talking about John now, thank you." [2] She later said "It is definitely John's story – from Liverpool 1940 to New York 1980. I am the B-side, and that's how it should be. I think he would have loved it." [3] The musical also conspicuously omits any mention of May Pang, Lennon's lover for a period of 18 months in 1974–75 when the singer was separated from Ono.[ original research? ]

Broadway opening

The Broadway production went into previews on 7 July 2005, opened 14 August 2005, in which it ran for forty-one days, and closed on 24 September of the same year. [8]

The Broadway premiere was produced by Allan McKeown, Edgar Lansbury (who conceived the show and brought in Scardino [1] ), Clear Channel Entertainment and Jeffrey Sine.

The opening night cast of Lennon included Will Chase (who as narrator was the "lead" John Lennon), Chuck Cooper, Julie Danao-Salkin, Mandy Gonzalez, Marcy Harriell, Chad Kimball, Terrence Mann, Julia Murney, Michael Potts, Rona Figueroa, Mark Richard Ford, Nicole Lewis and Darin Murphy.

The show opened to negative reviews, with Ben Brantley of The New York Times stating: [9]

In the immortal words of Yoko Ono, "Aieeeee!" A fierce primal scream – of the kind Ms. Ono is famous for as a performance and recording artist – is surely the healthiest response to the agony of "Lennon," the jerry-built musical shrine that opened last night at the Broadhurst Theater.

Playbill quoted Paul Shaffer in its coverage of the musical's opening night: [4]

I just thought it was phenomenal. It reminded me of what an influence John was — how strong an influence he was not only in popular music but in culture, and how much we miss him. He was a remarkable writer. He'd do catchy so you loved the song right away, then the second time you would hear more of it. Let's face it: the more you listen to his music, the more you hear. I'm still learning things when I hear his songs.

Songs

The musical includes two previously unpublished songs by Lennon: "India, India" and "I Don't Want to Lose You", the latter of which is a working title to Now and Then. Now and Then is a song that was originally a demo recorded sometime around 1977, and it would be considered a possible third single to The Beatles Anthology project in 1995 along with Free as a Bird and Real Love before being put on hold due to technical difficulties. It would be officially released on November 2, 2023 by the Beatles billed as their "last song".

A December 2004 Playbill article mentioned that the rarely heard Lennon song "Cookin' (in the Kitchen of Love)" (heard on the Ringo's Rotogravure album by Ringo Starr) would also be included, [10] though the song was cut before the musical's Broadway opening.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lennon</span> English musician and member of the Beatles (1940–1980)

John Winston Ono Lennon was an English singer-songwriter, musician and political activist. He gained worldwide fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. His work included music, writing, drawings and film. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history as the primary songwriters in the Beatles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoko Ono</span> Japanese artist and activist (born 1933)

Yoko Ono is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.

<i>Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins</i> 1968 studio album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins is the first of three experimental albums released by John Lennon and Yoko Ono on Apple Records. It was the result of an all-night session of musical experimentation with Yoko in John's home studio at Kenwood, while his wife, Cynthia Lennon, was on holiday in Greece. Lennon and Ono's 1968 debut recording is known not only for its avant-garde content, but also for its cover, which shows the couple naked. This made the album controversial to both the public and the parent record company EMI, which refused to distribute it. In an attempt to avoid controversy, the LP record was sold in a brown paper bag, and distributed by Track and Tetragrammaton in the United Kingdom and the United States respectively. Two Virgins, while failing to chart in the UK, reached number 124 in the US. The album was followed six months later by Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Getting Better</span> 1967 song by the Beatles

"Getting Better" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was written mainly by Paul McCartney, with some of the lyrics written by John Lennon, and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cynthia Lennon</span> First wife of John Lennon (1939–2015)

Cynthia Lennon was a British artist and author, and the first wife of John Lennon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Give Peace a Chance</span> 1969 anti-war song written by John Lennon

"Give Peace a Chance" is an anti-war song written by John Lennon, and recorded with the participation of a small group of friends in a performance with Yoko Ono in a hotel room in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Released as a single in July 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, it is the first solo single issued by Lennon, released while he was still a member of the Beatles, and became an anthem of the American anti-war movement during the 1970s. It peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the British singles chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plastic Ono Band</span> Rock band

The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band and Fluxus-based artist collective formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1968-9 for their collaborative musical and sound art projects, films, conceptual art projects and eventual solo LPs. The creation of The Plastic Ono Band, which began in 1967 with Ono's idea for an art exhibition in Berlin, allowed Lennon to separate his artistic output from that of The Beatles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bed-in</span> Anti-war demonstration by John Lennon and Yoko Ono

A bed-in is a nonviolent protest against wars, initiated by Yoko Ono and her husband John Lennon during a two week period in Amsterdam and Montreal as an experimental test of new ways to promote peace. As the Vietnam War raged in 1969, artist Ono and Lennon held one bed-in protest at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam and one at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. The idea is derived from a "sit-in", in which a group of protesters remain seated in front of or within an establishment until they are evicted, arrested, or their requests are met.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Real Love (Beatles song)</span> 1979 song by John Lennon, later released by the Beatles

"Real Love" is a song written by the English musician John Lennon, formerly of the Beatles. He recorded six demos of the song in 1979 and 1980 with "Real Life", a different song that merged with "Real Love". In 1988, the sixth take was posthumously released for the documentary soundtrack Imagine: John Lennon. In 1995, a different take was completed by his former Beatles bandmates as part of the Beatles Anthology project, along with "Free as a Bird".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ballad of John and Yoko</span> 1969 single by the Beatles

"The Ballad of John and Yoko" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in May 1969, with "Old Brown Shoe" as its B-side. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership, and chronicles the events surrounding the wedding of Lennon and Yoko Ono. The song was the Beatles' 17th UK number-one single and their last for 54 years until "Now and Then" in 2023. In the United States, it was banned by some radio stations due to the lyrics' reference to Christ and crucifixion. The single peaked at number 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song, along with its B-side, has subsequently appeared on compilation albums such as Hey Jude, 1967–1970, and Past Masters. It was also included on the compilation 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Want You (She's So Heavy)</span> 1969 song by the Beatles

"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song closes side one of their 1969 album Abbey Road and features Billy Preston playing the organ. It was the first song recorded for the Abbey Road album but one of the last songs to be finished; the band gathered in the studio to mix the song on 20 August 1969, marking the final time that all four Beatles were together in the studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girl (Beatles song)</span> 1965 song by the Beatles

"Girl" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1965 album Rubber Soul. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. "Girl" was the last complete song recorded for that album. "Girl" is considered to be one of the most melancholic and complex of the Beatles' earlier love songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tittenhurst Park</span> Former home of John Lennon and Ringo Starr

Tittenhurst Park is a Grade II listed early Georgian country house in Sunningdale near Ascot, Berkshire. It was famously the home of musicians John Lennon and Yoko Ono from 1969 until 1971, and then the home of Ringo Starr and family from 1973 until 1988. Starr sold the property to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates, in 1989.

"Grow Old with Me" is one of the final songs written by John Lennon. It was first recorded by Lennon as a demo while in Bermuda. A handwritten lyric sheet for the song is dated July 5, 1980 Fairyland Bermuda. The song was first released on the posthumous album Milk and Honey in 1984. It was also rumored to be among the songs planned as a possible reunion single by his former bandmates during the making of The Beatles Anthology.

The Beatles Anthology is a documentary television series on the career of the Beatles. It was broadcast on UK television in six parts on ITV between 26 November and 31 December 1995, while in the United States it was seen as three feature-length episodes on ABC between 19 and 23 November 1995. It was released in greatly expanded form as an eight-volume VHS set and an eight-disc LaserDisc set on 5 September 1996. The series was re-released on DVD in 2003, with an 81-minute special-features disc.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Early 1970</span> 1971 single by Ringo Starr

"Early 1970" is a song by the English rock musician Ringo Starr that was released as the B-side of his April 1971 single "It Don't Come Easy". A rare example of Starr's songwriting at the time, it was inspired by the break-up of the Beatles and documents his relationship with his three former bandmates. The lyrics to the verses comment in turn on Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison as individuals, and the likelihood of each of them making music with Starr again. In the final verse, Starr offers a self-deprecating picture of his musical abilities and expresses the hope that all four will play together in the future. Commentators have variously described "Early 1970" as "a rough draft of a peace treaty" and "a disarming open letter" from Starr to Lennon, McCartney and Harrison.

John and Yoko: A Love Story is a 1985 American made-for-television biographical film that chronicles the lives of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, beginning just before they met in 1966 and concluding with Lennon's murder in 1980. The movie was made with the co-operation of Ono, who controlled the song rights. It was directed by Sandor Stern and stars Mark McGann as Lennon and Kim Miyori as Ono.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Touch Me (Yoko Ono song)</span> Song by Yoko Ono

"Touch Me" is a song written by Yoko Ono that was first released on her 1970 album Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band. An edited version was later released in the U.S. as the b-side to John Lennon's single "Power to the People."

References

  1. 1 2 "Q&A w/ Don Scardino". LennonTheMusical.com. Archived from the original on 29 December 2005.
  2. 1 2 Peyser, Marc (1 May 2005). "Strawberry Fields, Back in Bloom". Newsweek .
  3. 1 2 3 Bone, James (16 August 2005). "Yoko denies musical hijack". The Times . Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  4. 1 2 Haun, Harry (15 August 2005). "PLAYBILL ON OPENING NIGHT: Lennon: A Musical Everyman Plays On". Playbill . Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  5. ↑ Davis, Matthew (14 August 2005). "Lennon musical proves poignant". BBC .
  6. ↑ "Q&A w/ Producer Allan McKeown". LennonTheMusical.com. Archived from the original on 17 December 2005.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Malcolm (14 August 2005). "It'll Get You Through the Night, Barely". courant.com. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  8. ↑ "Lennon – Broadway Musical – Original". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  9. ↑ Brantley, Ben (15 August 2005). "Then John Met Yoko, and the Rest Is a Musical" The New York Times.
  10. ↑ Simonson, Robert; Hernandez, Ernio (7 December 2004). "Lennon Musical to Include Unknown Songs by Late Beatle". Playbill. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
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