Posted on 04/26/2006 11:39:37 AM PDT by frogjerk
By Claudia Parsons
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The third vampire musical to try its luck on Broadway in four years drew all the familiar puns in scathing reviews Thursday that said "Lestat" was "bloody awful," "sucked of life" and the "kiss of death."
"Lestat" was Hollywood studio Warner Bros.' first attempt to challenge Disney's dominance of the mass-market musical genre, reportedly with a budget of up to $12 million. Based on Anne Rice's vampire novels, the show features songs by Elton John and his writing partner, Bernie Taupin.
Expectations had been low after a critically savaged trial run in San Francisco. History was also against "Lestat" after the failure of two previous vampire musicals, "Dance of the Vampires" in 2002 and "Dracula, the Musical" in 2004.
In a review headlined "Vampires, the musical kiss of death," The Washington Post's Peter Marks said the fixation with singing vampires had to stop. "Give the bloodsucker a ballad, and it's his show that joins the walking dead."
"The only thing distinguishing this musical from its late, unlamented predecessors is that the lead vampires play for the, er, other team," he said. "'Lestat's' contribution to art and equality is demonstrating that a gay vampire with a two-octave range can be just as dull as a straight one."
The New York Post's verdict was "Bloody Awful" and Newark, New Jersey's The Star-Ledger said it was "just deadly."
The plot, from Rice's "Vampire Chronicles" books, follows the 18th century Frenchman Lestat, who is bitten by a vampire after slaughtering a pack of wolves. The books were made into a hit film starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in 1994.
'CLAUDIA HAS TWO DADDIES' Continued...
BUTTCRACKULA
HA!
The only way to kill BUTTCRACKULA is to drive a stake right up his....well, let's keep this a semi-decent thread.
Even "Buffy" switched from vampires to demons for her musical episode. Maybe it's impossible to hit the high notes with those fake fangs in your mouth?
Fangs for the memories. Will this musical ever see the light of day?
Well this surprises me. I thought the world was crying out for another musical about angst ridden homosexuals (un)dying of blood born causes.
Ooooh...that's gonna leave a mark.
They also savaged Three Penny Opera...
(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.