Bring It On: The Musical

Lin-Manuel Miranda: I'm sorry I haven't gotten the chance to see Bombshell but I hear the tourists love it.
Christian Borle: Thanks. I tried to see Bring It On but it closed so fast I didn't get the chance.
~ Smash, episode 2.15

Bring It On: The Musical does not retell the plot of the 2000 film. Instead they mix plot points from the direct-to-DVD sequels with subplots from Hairspray and All About Eve. With 12 principal characters the show could have been a mess. Instead we get a well a perfectly serviceable pop musical. The plot is more teen friendly than Lysistrata Jones. Lysistrata's cheerleaders wanted their peers to learn the importance of competition... and sex. Bring It On’s ruthless cheerleaders need to learn the importance of friendship.The Broadway run was short but the show toured well and was quickly licensed to high schools.

Lysistrata Jones

It's not a war. It's a basketball game. Stakes are low. Why exactly do the men want to play basketball if they're choosing to throw the games? Why do the gay players care about the cheerleader sex strike? Don't overthink it. Lysistrata Jones wants to be an old fashioned tired businessman musical with lotsa jokes and legs. There will always be an audience for that, though not always at Broadway prices.

Football Musicals: All American and Good News

Good News was a hit. It got a film, revivals and revisals. The football hero can't play in the big game unless he passes the big test. His pretty new tutor helps him but his chance at romance is nearly dashed by a clingy ex.

All American was a flop. The football hero got the romantic subplot while the focus went to Ray Bolger (The Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz) as his zany Engineering teacher. Ray nearly loses his love interest and his self respect when he sells out to a corrupt corporate sponsor.

Other singing football players include the washed up Wreck of Wonderful Town and the beefcakey Aggies of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

Hey, just realized I finally got a 20's show in here! 

Happy Super-Bowl!

The Beautiful Game and The Boys in the Photograph

So you've advertised a show about football but it’s really about terrorism. Most of your football players end up dead or maimed and your ending is a downer. What to do? Change the title to take the emphasis off the football. Then slap on a new happy ending for your protagonist. Neither The Beautiful Game nor The Boys in the Photograph was a great success but it was an interesting development Andrew Lloyd Webber’s career. As with Whistle Down the Wind he attempted to apply his music too a small naturalistic story. A few years later he’d return to form with The Woman in White and Phantom of the Opera 2: Coney Island Boogaloo. 

Performance Clip.

Review Round Up from 2000

The Body Beautiful

Before ROCKY, before GOLDEN BOY, there was the boxing musical THE BODY BEAUTIFUL. It got Bock and Harnick together. They moved on to FIORELLO, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF and many more.

Read more about THE BODY BEAUTIFUL here.
The work is licensed by Samuel French.