Idag talar alla om uppsättningen av "Spiderman" på Broadway, New York, som lär vara den dyraste någonsin (20 milj dollar!), är tekniskt avancerad, stötts av U2-Bono, råkat ut för olyckor (en skådis föll från en flygkabelkontraption och skadades), osv. Men det fanns en *annan* pjäs, "Via Galactica", som var sin tids teknisk avancerade. En sf-uppsättning, som dock floppade och bara gick i sju föreställningar. New York Times skriver om det (artikeln är av dottern till skaparna): http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/opinion/02george.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1&hp Denna pjäs sattes upp 1972, och det var ju en smula modigt - innan Star Wars, eller att Star Trek hunnit bli kult. "I will never forget the opening night party at Sardi’s. My father, the producer George W. George, was waiting for the reviews in a shadowy corner of the restaurant. Champagne was flowing, and spirits were high. We were in the dark ages of communication — pre-Internet, pre-blogs, pre-Twitter — and reviews dictated the fate of a show. At around 12:30, the first notices came in. The New York Times review would make or break you. And break us, it did. I say “us,” even though I was a child, because from as early as I can remember, “Via Galactica” was in the air. It was part of my DNA. From the vantage of our den on Central Park West, where my mother, Judith Ross, co-wrote the book, or the living room, where my parents held readings of the script to attract investors, or the dining room, where they debated every aspect of the show, I watched them build the perfect beast. A spectacle like no one had ever seen. It was going to be fantastic! Flying spaceships! Flying people! A stage made of interconnecting walkways and trampolines — with a backdrop of thousands of Ping-Pong balls strung together, floor to ceiling, upon which gorgeous images would be projected. The cast was multicolored — Raul Julia, the lead, was blue; Virginia Vestoff, his leading lady, was painted gold; and the other actors on stage were every color in between. Peter Hall, former head of the Royal Shakespeare Company, would make his American directorial debut. Galt McDermott, who composed the score for “Hair,” wrote the music. My mother, a relative newcomer, wrote the book with Christopher Gore, who also wrote the lyrics. And as producer, my dad put all the pieces together. ... In the show, Raul Julia played a man who falls in love with a rebel woman who’s leaving earth for good. Finally he has to choose: stay in the place he knows, the home he loves, or go with her to the stars. In the race toward opening night, despite the talent and the spectacle, too many of the human elements of “Via Galactica” got stripped away, and the show fell flat. None of the special effects could make up for the lack of what draws us to the theater in the first place: story, characters we care for, pathos. It took my father a long time to learn this lesson — and with a lifetime of experience he conceived the more down-to-earth musical “Memphis.” Sadly, he didn’t live to see it win last year’s Tony Award for best musical. Last week I went to a preview performance of “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.” Three hours and one mechanical glitch later, I left the theater feeling uneasy, my long-dormant “Via Galactica” synapses firing." Bilder från "Via Galactica" finns bl här (tyvärr i svartvitt): http://broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?thread=1021407 --Ahrvid -- ahrvid@xxxxxxxxxxx / Gå med i SKRIVA - för författande, sf, fantasy, kultur (skriva-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, subj: subscribe) YXSKAFTBUD, GE VÅR WCZONMÖ IQ-HJÄLP! (DN NoN 00.02.07) Om Ahrvids novellsamling Mord på månen: http://www.zenzat.se/zzfaktasi.html C Fuglesang: "stor förnöjelse...jättebra historier i mycket sannolik framtidsmiljö"! ----- SKRIVA - sf, fantasy och skräck * Äldsta svenska skrivarlistan grundad 1997 * Info http://www.skriva.bravewriting.com eller skriva- request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx för listkommandon (ex subject: subscribe).