Be Bop A Lula (play)

Be Bop A Lula is a dramatic play with music written by Rex Weiner about young American rockabilly stars Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent touring England in 1960. The tour ended with Cochran's death at the age of 21, and while the play explores the myth and legend of doomed young rock stars, it also makes the case for the influential roles Cochran and Vincent played in the history of rock and roll music.

Synopsis

On tour in the UK in 1960, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent make an overnight stop between concerts in a hotel in a small Midlands village where they meet two English girls on the night when Eddie is said to have been troubled by a premonition of his early death. A surreal encounter with a devilish figure, disguised as the recently deceased rocker Buddy Holly, results in a guitar duel for Eddie's soul in which the devil loses and Eddie is at last reconciled to his fate, knowing that rock n' roll music will live on.

Concept and Genesis

The play is based on the fact that Cochran was killed in a car crash April 16, 1960 on the way to Heathrow Airport as he was returning home from a UK concert tour. At the time, Cochran had enjoyed modest success the US with hits like "Summertime Blues," "C'mon Everybody," and "Somethin' Else," and was an up-and-coming star with a promising future in music and in Hollywood movies.

Gene Vincent had one hit in 1956, "Be-Bop-A-Lula," and was known for his wild stage act. But while his and Cochran's style of rockabilly music had been overshadowed in the US by a more mainstream pop sound, Vincent found a more enthusiastic reception in the UK. Both he and Cochran were idolized by audiences in cities like Liverpool, Manchester and Bristol, which included future rock stars such as Paul McCartney, John Lennon of the Beatles, Roger Daltrey of The Who, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin and Rod Stewart.

The play was the result of an aborted film project in which Rex Weiner was contracted by Columbia Pictures in 1986 to write a screenplay based on the life of Eddie Cochran. Actor Rob Lowe was to star as Cochran in the project, tentatively titled, "Summertime Blues," for producers Cassian Elwes and Brad Wyman. In the course of researching the screenplay, Weiner met many members of the Cochran family including Cochran's mother Alice and visited the family home in Bell Gardens. He also interviewed Eddie's girlfriend Sharon Sheeley, who was with Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent in the fatal car when it crashed.

When the studio declined to make the film, Weiner wrote a play using his research, and based the drama primarily on an English newspaper clipping he discovered about Cochran having foretold his own death just before he died, a story corroborated by Cochran's girlfriend Sheeley.

The theme of Weiner's drama, which includes some musical performances, is that the rock n' roll music typified by Cochran and Vincent was rejected in the 1950s by the American mainstream because of its African-American roots, and only found acceptance after English musicians such as the Beatles, The Who, and the Rolling Stones, brought the music back to the US during the British Invasion of the early 1960s.

Sources and Inspiration

The play is inspired partly by the legend of bluesman Robert Johnson who was said to have sold his soul to the devil in return for his guitar-playing talent.

The play's diologue and factual content is based on Rex Weiner's interviews with Cochran's family members, musical associates of Cochran and Vincent, and with Cochran's girlfriend Sharon Sheeley.

Production history

Be Bop A Lula had its first staged performance May 10, 1991 at the Shamrock Tattoo Studio , owned by Mark Mahoney, on Third Street in Los Angeles. Directed by Rex Weiner, it ran for eight performances through June 1.

The play subsequently moved to the Coconut Teazer rock club on Sunset Boulevard at the club owner's invitation, for a two-month run in the summer of 1991, with performances every Friday and Saturday in the club's 8121 Room. Here the play was seen British rocker Adam Ant, a fan of Gene Vincent's music, who subsequently became one of the play's producers.

A re-cast version of the play opened April 16, 1992 at the 99-seat Theatre/Theater on Cahuega Boulevard in Hollywood, directed by Jeff Murray and produced by Adam Ant, John Densmore of The Doors, Lori Depp and Nicolette Chaffey. The set design was by artist Michael Pearce. Donal Logue played the role of Eddie Cochran. The play ran for twelve performances through May, but attendance was hurt by the riots, sparked by the beating of Rodney King, which shut down Los Angeles for several days at the end of April.

Be Bop A Lula was revived with an all new cast in September 2008. Three public dress rehearsals brought the play back to Mark Mahoney's Shamrock Tattoo, now located on the Sunset Strip, in West Hollywood. followed by a limited run of four performances four blocks away at the Cat Club, which is partly owned by Slim Jim Phantom of the Stray Cats.

Casts

Shamrock Tattoo/Coconut Teazer

Los Angeles, CA, May - July 1991

Theatre/Theater

Hollywood, CA, April – June 1992

The Cat Club

West Hollywood, CA, September, 2008

External links