Blackbeard (musical)

Blackbeard
Music Rob Gardner
Lyrics Rob Gardner
Productions

2008 Phoenix, Arizona

2009 Bunbury, Western Australia
Awards

Arizoni Awards

  • Best Original Musical
  • Best Musical Script
  • Best Original Music Composition

Blackbeard, or officially, Blackbeard: The Musical or Blackbeard: A New Musical, is a musical created by Rob Gardner. The plot focuses on the notorious pirate Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach, and his blockade of Charles Town in South Carolina in 1718. The musical portrays Blackbeard as a compassionate person, who's deeply in love with a woman on his ship named Mary Ormond. Blackbeard struggles to maintain his fierce façade, while at the same time trying to win the heart of the pacifistic Mary.

Blackbeard debuted at the Herberger Theatre Center in Phoenix, Arizona on September 5, 2008, under the direction of Cambrian James and the musical direction of Rob Gardner himself. Marketed as a 'pre-Broadway event',[1] the musical received mixed to positive reviews from critics, and won 9 AriZoni Awards from 15 nominations.[2] On May 1, 2009, Blackbeard made its Australian premiere in Bunbury, Western Australia.

Background

"...(on the television) they had this short segment on Blackbeard, mostly about his final battle on ship with Lt. Maynard, and it just captured my attention... Like most people, I'd heard the name Blackbeard, but never really knew his story. And here he was, this real pirate, in what appeared to be the classic battle of good versus evil. It was fascinating and I had to know more."

Rob Gardner, 2008-08-17[1]

In an interview with Broadway World, Gardner said his inspiration for creating the musical was a documentary he saw on television about Blackbeard. Fascinated, he researched his life, and found that most of his apparent deeds were legend, rather than fact. He also found that Blackbeard had a notable fondness for women, marrying fourteen women, of whom he only married Mary legitimately.[3] As Broadway World writes: "it was this multi-layered, paradoxical character that Gardner chose as the protagonist for his new musical".[1]

Blackbeard had a successful workshop run in the summer of 2007 in Phoenix, for which it was nominated for all its AriZoni awards.[2] After the show was subsequently 'reworked and re-imagined', the show premiered globally on September 5 at Herberger Theatre Center in Phoenix, running until September 27.[1]

In November 2007, the director of the Bunbury production negotiated the rights for the Australian premiere of Blackbeard with Gardner.[4] Blackbeard premiered in Bunbury on May 1, 2009, but only performed two shows.

Characters

Reception

Blackbeard has received mixed reviews, tending towards the positive, with almost universal acclaim for the music score. Pasha Yamotahari of The Pashavian Review, a reviewer of Arizonian theatre, wrote that the musical lacked "clarity in its structure and goal", but praising the music score as "magical".[5] Paula Shulak of theatermaven.com also held the music score in high acclaim, but stressed that Blackeard's major flaw was its script and its thin plot.[6] Showup.com, a website that collates amateur reviews and ratings of musicals, gave Blackbeard an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars.[7]

Factual inaccuracies

The director's notes of the Bunbury production of Blackbeard state that "though not completely historically accurate, the main storyline is based on truth".[4] Though all of the main characters are based on real people, bar Anne and Georgette, their fates differed considerably from their interpretations in the musical, or are completely unaccounted for. The characters' actual fates include:

Awards

Blackbeard's 2007 Phoenix workshop production garnered 15 AriZoni nominations with 9 wins, most notably 'Best Original Production for a Musical', 'Best Original Script for a Musical', and 'Best Original Music Composition'.[2]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "'Blackbeard' to Premiere in Phoenix". Broadway World. 2008-07-17. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Blackbeard wins 9 AriZoni Theatre Awards". Blackbeard official website. 2008-09-30. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  3. "Blackbeard: The most famous pirate". thewayofthepirates.com. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Perks, Glen. Director's notes of the 'Blackbeard: A New Musical' programme. Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre. 2009-05-01. Retrieved on 2009-05-06.
  5. "Blackbeard, a new musical, floats but barely sets sail at its "Pre-Broadway Event"". The Pashavian Review. Pasha Yamotahari. 2008-09-09. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  6. "Nice Work If You Can Get It". theatermaven.com. Paula Shulak. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  7. "Blackbeard the Musical". Showup.com. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  8. "Blockade of Charleston, SC". ocracoke-nc.com. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  9. "Blackbeard's Terror in the Outer Banks and Virginia". literarytraveller.com. Jennifer Ciotta. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  10. 10.0 10.1 "Blackbeard". Capt. Cutlass. Archived from the original on 2009-10-27. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  11. The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by Colin Woodard, 2007.
  12. "Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard (1680-1718)". michaelworth.com. Michael Worth. 2004-03-18. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  13. Butler, Lindley S. Pirates, Privateers, and Rebel Raiders of the Carolina Coast, pp71–72. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 2000. ISBN 0-87169-240-6.
  14. "Israel Hands". vleonica.org. Retrieved 2009-05-06.

External links