Printer Friendly - Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by SondheimFan5 2013-01-29 19:09:22
...Any dream casting? Nothing has been announced or rumored, right?
It would be a longshot for Encores, but Richard Gere could make a convincing Max.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by CATSNYrevival 2013-01-29 19:20:02
All I want is one of the record companies to record it. We got three encores cast recordings last year. If this doesn't get one I'm gonna be mad.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by choitoy 2013-01-29 20:27:25
I don't know much about the score for the show, but could Matt Bomer play Superman? I know that he was rumored to be one of the final contenders for the movie. And we know he can sing from one of the Kennedy Center Honors and from Glee. And he is pretty handsome and dashing....
Though I'm not sure if "White Collar" would have finished up or not by then.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by Mr Roxy 2013-01-29 20:30:13
As someone who saw the original it really needs a revival which I know will not happen. Doubt Encores will do any flying. It will be interesting how the Chinese acrobats are handled. The original concept was in no way demeaning or. Offensives. The whole thing was played as one big goof. Any nationality could do it or a mix. It was done before everything had to be PC.
Cheyenne Jackson should be Sup.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by SondheimFan5 2013-01-29 21:26:49
Leslie Kritzer seems like a shoo-in for Sydney, the Linda Lavin role.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by RippedMan 2013-01-29 22:58:11
Matt Cavenaugh did it in Texas right? On it's like "pre-Broadway run" that never materialized.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by frontrowcentre2 2013-01-29 23:03:23
Is a new recording really necessary> Is anything importante missing from the OBCR on Sony? I have never seen the show on stage, but have long loved the OBCR.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by darquegk 2013-01-29 23:53:27
I wonder which version of the script they'll be using- the original, the "censored" revised version, or the "uncensored" revised version that has been rumored for the past five years?
The "censorship," for those out of the loop, refers to a somewhat bizarre clause in the original Broadway cast which prevented the writers from using any of Superman's supporting characters, limiting them only to the use of Superman and Lois Lane. The rest of the characters became suspiciously similar substitutes. Rumor has repeatedly had it that a new version of the script exists, which removes the obfuscations and includes more authentic Superman material, but legal reasons have prevented the show from being used. Hence, Lex Luthor remains Max Mencken in the musical... thus far.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by CATSNYrevival 2013-01-29 23:56:42
^I'd actually love it if they used the revised book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, but since this is Encores I'm sure they'll be using the original libretto -- or whatever the current licensed version is.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by bjh2114 2013-01-30 01:28:17
Word around town is the Cheyenne will be in it.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by CarlosAlberto 2013-01-30 06:37:09
Yeah, Cheyenne is the predictable choice. If anyone else besides him is cast it will be a surprise.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by newintown 2013-01-30 09:24:11
I'd like to see the original book, hear the original orchestrations, etc.
And I've heard a rumor about someone other than the obvious Cheyenne playing the caped guy...
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by TalkinLoud 2013-01-30 10:05:17
How about Laura Benanti as Lois Lane?
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by MenzelManiac 2013-01-30 10:10:14
I saw the MUFTI they did a few years ago, Cheyenne was great, and so was Shoshana Bean. It was my first intro to the show, and I enjoyed it very much.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by mamaleh 2013-01-30 10:36:12
Didn't see the Mufti, but I saw the original as an adolescent and loved it. Cheyenne or Bomer would be great as Supe; and as the goofily evil Prof. Sedgwick (ah, the late Michael O'Sullivan!), after seeing John Bolton's happily manic turns in THE LAST SMOKER IN AMERICA and especially A CHRISTMAS STORY, I think he'd make a great nutty-bad chemist. His big number, "Revenge," is a showstopper.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by Jon 2013-01-30 10:42:30
A production in Chicago a few years ago changed the Chinese acrobat villains into a French "Cirque" type troupe.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by newintown 2013-01-30 10:56:49
Changing the Flying Lings to the Flying Crepes would be a good idea, and the ridiculous Pidgin lyrics of "Everything Easy When You Know How" could be maintained without offending anyone (except maybe the French, and who cares about them?).
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by Ed_Mottershead 2013-01-30 11:40:48
Cheyenne in tights is a wet dream come true.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by darquegk 2013-01-30 13:59:42
Regarding the copyright problems with the original book, does anyone here know exactly WHY DC Comics (the Warner Brothers Conglomerate now, I believe) denied and continues to deny the rights to characters other than Superman and Lois Lane for this show?
Spider-Man got to use Green Goblin, Aunt May, Venom, tons of characters in at least cameo roles. Even the aborted Batman musical got the Joker and Catwoman. So why does Superman continually lose the character of Lex Luthor to the split role of Max Mencken and Dr. Sedgwick, as well as bowdlerizing Cat Grant into Sydney the Secretary and so on?
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by gstrus2 2013-02-04 20:30:38
Cheyenne is NOT doing it.
Twitter:
Cheyenne JacksonVerified ?@cheyennejackson
For those of you who kindly keep asking me if I'm Superman @ ENCORES, the answer is no. Done it twice, & I'm hanging up the tights.
Any new predictions?
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by Jordan Catalano 2013-02-04 20:34:40
Well Cheyenne WAS attached to do it, I guess it fell through.
There's not too many "Superman looking" Broadway leading men, strangely! Matt Cavenahgh is the closest to that look that comes to mind.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by CATSNYrevival 2013-02-04 20:37:30
Matt Cavenaugh was okay in the Dallas production. I wouldn't mind if he did it again. It might be interesting to see him in the original version.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by WiCkEDrOcKS 2013-02-04 20:37:40
Too bad Jackson and Cavenaugh are both pretty boring performers. Wish they had charisma to match their looks.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by Jordan Catalano 2013-02-04 20:39:14
Rocks, your avatar reminded me that Kazee would be kind of ideal for this.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by CATSNYrevival 2013-02-04 20:40:35
Too bad Cat on a Hot Tin Roof isn't closing earlier. Otherwise, I'd hit up Benjamin Walker. 
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by Jordan Catalano 2013-02-04 20:42:18
I'd hit him upside the head and drag his sexy ass back to my dungeon and show him my cat on a hot tin roof.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by CATSNYrevival 2013-02-04 20:43:18
^I'm glad we're on the same page.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by nasty_khakis 2013-02-04 20:43:20
Matt Bomer would be great and great way to be "introduced" to the NYC theatre. I think White Collar films late spring and through the summer, but I could be wrong.
I have a feeling it will be Cavenaugh though. I'm trying to think of other possibilites, even ones I don't think are perfect but I could conceivably see being considered.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by SondheimFan5 2013-02-04 20:46:16
Josh Gad.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by CATSNYrevival 2013-02-04 20:47:40
Is Colin Donnell too busy with Arrow?
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by nasty_khakis 2013-02-04 20:48:50
No, he's too busy with ME!
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by SondheimFan5 2013-02-04 20:58:30
What's James Marsden up to? How is he without autotune?
Jeremy Jordan?
Aaron Tveit?
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by Jordan Catalano 2013-02-04 21:01:13
Can Thomas sing?
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by CATSNYrevival 2013-02-04 21:02:16
^Jeremy Jordan is clearly too busy with Smash and Aaron Tveit is too busy looking at himself in the mirror.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by WiCkEDrOcKS 2013-02-04 21:04:44
Jordan, YES to Kazee. He's a little too boy-next-doorish to be a perfectly ideal Superman, but I think he could pull it off.
Matt Boner has the look, that's for damn sure. But can he sing?
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by latitudex1 2013-02-04 21:16:14
^ Bomer? He was a musical theater major at Carnegie Melon. He's even made a guest appearance on Glee. He could sing the score.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by Jordan Catalano 2013-02-04 21:17:25
Ricky Martin could do it. Kinda.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by CATSNYrevival 2013-02-04 21:20:34
^How about the better Ricky Martin? Max Von Essen.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by WiCkEDrOcKS 2013-02-04 21:31:16
Had no idea he graduated from Carnegie Mellon! And forgot he was on GLEE.
I try to block out every memory of ever watching that disaster of a show.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by Emmaloucbway 2013-02-05 09:25:28
I was thinking possibly Max von Essen too. Would also love to see Jeremy Jordan or Aaron Tveit, but I doubt either of them will do it.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by newintown 2013-02-05 10:00:43
Von Essen, Jordan, and Tveit, although all perfectly fit, would probably need some padding to play the Man Of Steel, who has always been visualized as more of a football player than a yoga instructor. And the vocal range is for a classic Broadway belting baritone (a la Stokes Mitchell); the boys above are really tenors, or at most lyric baritones. I'm holding out for a good old manly man to play the man.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by dreaming 2013-02-05 10:23:04
Nathan Gunn?
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by SondheimFan5 2013-02-05 10:49:58
John Cullum as Superman.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by newintown 2013-02-05 11:17:08
kd lang?
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by AC126748 2013-02-05 11:22:28
Phrank?
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by GottaHaveAGimmick 2013-02-05 11:53:18
Stritchie?
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by Jordan Catalano 2013-02-05 11:58:46
15 years ago, Kudisch would have been a wet dream come true in the role.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by newintown 2013-02-05 12:11:14
Hot as he was, even then, Spanx would have been required.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by nasty_khakis 2013-02-05 12:14:48
Enough with all these racist ideas! Let's just let Norm Lewis fill out those tights!
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by Jordan Catalano 2013-02-05 12:18:32
Racist ideas?
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by nasty_khakis 2013-02-05 12:31:59
It was a joke since we were only suggesting white actors who look like the traditional Superman. Since most colorblind casting threads turn into arguments I thought I'd make a joke of it. Didn't mean it seriously.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by RippedMan 2013-02-05 12:33:13
Jeremy Jordan? He's like 5'2". I don't know what world this is taking place in, but uh... no thanks.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by showinoff 2013-02-06 12:17:41
What about Andy Karl?
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by SondheimFan5 2013-02-06 13:14:18
Christopher Sieber
Aaron Lazar
James Snyder
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by newintown 2013-02-06 14:30:02
Sieber might need a better foundation garment than this one to play Superman...
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by SonofRobbieJ 2013-02-06 14:38:32
I mean...I like a beefy man...I especially like a beefy Chris Sieber.
But that pic just killed the mechanics of *down there*.
Thanks a lot.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by LizzieCurry 2013-02-28 11:59:53
Looks like Erich Bergen's in it, but he doesn't say who he's playing. https://twitter.com/erichbergen/status/307172991681314816
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by SondheimFan5 2013-02-28 13:34:14
Going by his post, Jenny Powers too. (She played the Lavin role in TX).
But who could Bergen play in this?
EDIT: His latest tweet said he;s Jim. Interesting.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by Ed_Mottershead 2013-02-28 15:06:21
Glad to hear that Will Swenson will be playing Max.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by The Distinctive Baritone 2013-02-28 21:32:32
I actually flew to Dallas to see the new version there. It was pretty mediocre. The best thing about it was Jenny Powers, who was great as Sydney. Interesting that she's playing Lois Lane here.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by darquegk 2013-02-28 23:09:10
Blah- still Max and Sidney? Is someone at DC Comics REALLY so sure that singing and dancing will sully the reputations of Lex Luthor and Sybil Vane?
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by SondheimFan5 2013-02-28 23:42:27
Encores is doing the (somewhat racist) original version of the show.
Am I the only one who thinks Encores has had pretty uninspired casting of late?
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by newintown 2013-03-01 07:31:50
Encores mission isn't about doing heavily revised versions of shows; they usually do the score as written (and as much of the book as they deem necessary to get the idea). I'd rather see the original musical rather than what sounded like a half-baked attempt to shoehorn the original score into a narrative designed to please comic book fans.
I'm dubious about Will Swenson, I admit, in the role of a dapper 1960s vaudevillian cum Lothario. I've never seen in him the makings of a suave, funny, song and dance man, but hope he's got it in him.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by CATSNYrevival 2013-03-01 13:46:34
I actually really loved the Dallas version. The book was a lot better than the original. It's a shame that New York audiences won't get a chance to see it.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by Scarywarhol 2013-03-01 17:58:20
I didn't get to see it. But as a comics fan? I love the things that it intended to do. Having Pa Kent sing "Doing Good" doesn't just excuse the cheesiness of the song, it could potentially give it a real emotional resonance. I wish that DC would stop pretending that the show doesn't exist. I loved the idea of including Lex Luthor, Toy Man, and the other major Superman villains. As I understand it, they were all returned to Max Menken and a bunch of thinly veiled knock-offs.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by CATSNYrevival 2013-03-01 18:25:49
^I don't mind the name part. It's clear who they are supposed to be. If it has to be that way for legal reasons it's not a huge distraction.
And I LOVED Pa singing "Doing Good." As well as the new scene that led up to "You've Got Possibilities," and the way that they gave "It's Super Nice" to Max and included "A Woman Alone" for Lois.
Some of the news songs were pretty good too, like the song with Superman and the orphans and the duet stuff for Lois and Clark. There was a bunch of new material that I'd miss just seeing the original version.
Encores! It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
Posted by egghumor 2013-03-01 18:43:09
I have to say, I agree with newintown regarding Will Swenson in the role of Max. I was rather surprised that he was cast in the role.
