I WANNA BE A PRODUCER: PART 1 - An Article by Jorge

Since I was a child I always dreamt of being a stage or cinema actor, two things for which you need to have talent. I don’t have a good singing voice, my acting talents are dubious and as for dancing, like my boyfriend once said, I have the attitude but not the spirit of sacrifice that it is needed. So what can a guy like me do? Maybe the answer is to become a producer and so now, like Matthew Broderick sings in THE PRODUCERS, “I Wanna Be a Producer”.

This is just another impossible dream, but if one day by any chance it becomes true and I see myself as a Broadway producer, there are a few shows I would love to put on stage. Some are revivals while others are originals or stage adaptations of movies.

Of them all my favourite would be a musical adaptation of Frank Capra’s 1933 classic LADY FOR A DAY that he remade in 1961 as POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES. The story “Madame La Gimp” by Damon Runyon (GUYS & DOLLS) is about a poor old apple seller, known as Apple Annie, who somehow managed to send her daughter abroad in order for her to get a good education. The problem is that her daughter thinks she’s rich, living in a luxurious hotel, and now she’s coming to visit her, together with her wealthy fiancé and his father. Only a gangster, to whom she sells “lucky” apples, and his mob can help her to pose as a rich lady during the visit of her daughter.

Both movies are a perfect combination of MY FAIR LADY and GUYS & DOLLS and

there’s a musical feeling to them that could be perfectly translated into a stage musical. Several years ago there was talk that Jerry Herman was thinking in it as his next musical, unfortunately that never happened and I’m sure his score would have been perfect.

As a producer my toughest job would be finding the right composer & lyricist to write the score. I doubt I could persuade Jerry Herman (but I would try) to write it and I’m not sure if this would be the right material for the likes of Stephen Sondheim or John Kander. Probably I would invite two or three composers to take a chance at it, my choices: Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison (THE DROWSY CHAPERONE), Roger Anderson & Lee Goldsmith (SHINE! – The Horatio Alger Musical) and Jeanine Tesori &

Dick Scanlan (THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE) or maybe Alan Menken (BEAUTY AND THE BEAST).

Next step would be easier, finding the perfect director and choreographer. I would probably choose Casey Nicholaw to do either things or Rob Marshall (returning to Broadway). As for the leading lady, could I convince Ann-Margret, who played the role of the daughter in the 1961 version, to be Apple Annie? That would be a good gimmick, but if she said no my next choice would be Carole Shelley. I can easily imagine Marc Kudish in the gangster role and Sutton Foster as his girl. For the title of the show I would choose POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES (can’t you just imagine the title song? And what about one entitled “Apple Annie”?).

Well, this is just me dreaming. Next time I’ll write about a dream revival.

posted 18th May, 2007