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The Capeman Returns
And five other musicals written by musicians
Paul Simon. Dressed as a turkey.
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In a move that not even Paul Simon—who once asked, “Is the theater really dead?”—could have predicted, the songwriter’s The Capeman will be performed this weekend (August 14-16) presented by the Public Theater at the Delacorte Theater. The musical, about Puerto Rican gang member Salvador Agron, opened at the Marquis Theatre in 1998, but was such a spectacular failure that it closed after only 68 performances. It was to theater what “At the Zoo” is to music. Which is to say, bad. But time heals all wounds, and here we are, The Capeman is back. How to get your free ticket can be found here.
Paul Simon wasn’t the first musician to write a musical, and he certainly won’t be the last. Here are five others who traded their guitars and pianos for the bright lights of Broadway:
Russian-born pianist Regina Spektor is currently working on an adaptation of Sleeping Beauty for the stage. Not much has been said since her initial announcement last September, but supposedly she’s aiming for a 2011-2010 season premiere. I’m guessing it’ll be whimsical.
Elton John: Aida, The Lion King, Billy Elliot. At this point, he should just stick to penning Broadway musicals and touring with Billy Joel. No new albums, please. Please.
In 1996, Duncan Sheik scored an unlikely hit with “Barely Breathing,” which stayed on the Billboard charts for an amazing 55 weeks. But when Sheik moved away from a more traditional pop sound, so too did his listeners move away from him, and he never reached the same sort of radio-hit success again. Lucky for him, though, he was also a gifted theater lyricist and, along with Steven Sater, they wrote Spring Awakening over a period of eight years. The musical premiered in 2006 and has been a huge success ever since—and has helped launch the career of Glee‘s Lea Michele. Sheik is currently working on American Psycho: The Musical, whatever that means.
Any schmuck can write a Broadway musical, but what about an opera? The absurdly talented Rufus Wainwright began writing Prima Donna in 2007, and in July 2009, it premiered at the Palace Theatre in Manchester to great reviews.
Assuming Turn Off the Dark, with lyrics from Bono and the Edge, ever actually comes out.