Finally, “Faust”!
Randy Newman’s 1993 cult musical never made it to Broadway, but at least it’s coming close — when Newman performs it at City Center’s Encores! series on July 1.
As successful as his work has been for film — think of the “Toy Story” classic, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” — the “Short People” composer came up short in his bid for Broadway. Then again, so have a lot of pop and rock stars.
Here are just a few promising projects that went astray on the Great White Way — along with a couple of successful exceptions.
“The Capeman”
Paul Simon’s musical did make it to Broadway in 1998, but it ran for only 68 performances. Too bad, because Simon’s score — a mix of 1960s-inflected Latin, pop and doo-wop influences — was superb. Here’s star Marc Anthony (yes, the Marc Anthony) performing “Bernadette.”
“Hands on a Hardbody”
The leader of a jam band would be the last person you’d imagine writing show tunes. And yet Phish’s Trey Anastasio wrote pretty nifty melodies for “Hands on a Hardbody,” which vanished soon after it opened last year on Broadway. Here’s “Joy of the Lord,” with a lead by Tony nominee Keala Settle.
“Ghost”
Ah, Eurythmics: What a great band! Maybe Annie Lennox would have fared better writing a musical than Dave Stewart, because the score he and Glen Ballard drummed up for “Ghost” was pretty colorless. The only song that stood out was the one they lifted from the film — “Unchained Melody.”
“Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark”
Bono and The Edge went to Broadway and all we got was this nutty musical. Still, there were some U2-sounding gems in there. This clip lets you focus on the music without distractions and aerial snafus.
“Cry-Baby”
Adam Schlesinger had a good run as leader of the indie-pop band Fountains of Wayne. Not so his short-lived stab at Broadway, in the 2008 “Cry-Baby.” It had its moments, but it paled beside that other John Waters adaptation, “Hairspray.”
And now for the hits:
When a pop star does succeed on Broadway, stand back! Just look at Cindi Lauper, who won a Tony for her “Kinky Boots” score — and the show’s still going strong.
Oh, and there’s that little show you may have heard about, written by a self-effacing pop star: “The Lion King”? Elton John?