Chaplin (2006 musical)

Chaplin: The Musical
The Story of Charlie Chaplin

Music	Christopher Curtis
Lyrics	Christopher Curtis
Book	Christopher Curtis Thomas Meehan
Productions	2006 New York Musical Theater Festival 2010 La Jolla Playhouse 2012 Broadway 2014 Theatro NET SP - Brazil

Chaplin: The Musical, formerly titled Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin, is a musical with music and lyrics by Christopher Curtis and a book by Curtis and Thomas Meehan. The show is based on the life of Charlie Chaplin. The musical, which started at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2006, debuted at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2010, and then premiered on Broadway in 2012.

Productions

The musical originally ran at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2006.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The musical was next produced at the La Jolla Playhouse, La Jolla, California, from September 19, 2010 to October 17, 2010. Direction was by Warren Carlyle and Michael Unger, with scenic design by Alexander Dodge, costume design by Linda Cho, lighting design by Paul Gallo, projection design by Zachary Borovay, and sound design by Jon Weston. The music director was Bryan Perri and the orchestrator was Douglas Besterman. The cast featured Rob McClure (Charlie Chaplin), Ashley Brown (Oona), LJ Benet (Young Sydney), Jenn Colella (Hedda Hopper), Eddie Korbich (Karno), Brooke Sunny Moriber (Mildred), Ron Orbach (Mr. Chaplin), Roland Rusinek (Alf), Jake Schwenke (Young Charlie/Jackie), and Matthew Scott (Sydney). The cast also included Aaron Acosta, Courtney Corey, Matthew Patrick Davis, Justin Michael Duval, Sara Edwards, Ben Liebert, Alyssa Marie, Jennifer Noble, Kürt Norby, Carly Nykanen, Jessica Reiner-Harris, and Kirsten Scott.^[4]

The musical premiered on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on August 21, 2012 in previews and officially on September 10, 2012, with direction and choreography by Warren Carlyle. Scenic design is by Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Amy Clark and Martin Pakledinaz, lighting design by Ken Billington, and projection design by Jon Driscoll.^[5] The cast features Rob McClure as Chaplin, Jim Borstelmann as Alf Reeves, Jenn Colella as Hedda Hopper, Erin Mackey as Oona O'Neill, Michael McCormick as Sennett/ McGranery/Emcee, Christiane Noll as Hannah Chaplin, Zachary Unger as Young Charlie/Jackie and Wayne Alan Wilcox as Sydney Chaplin.^[6]^[7] The musical closed on January 6, 2013, after 24 previews and 136 performances.^[8]

The musical has undergone several title changes, called initially Behind The Limelight, and is titled (as of 2012) Chaplin: The Musical. (This is also the title of another musical, written by Ernest Kinoy, with lyrics by Lee Goldsmith and music by Roger Anderson.)

Musical numbers

The musical numbers from the 2012 Broadway production are as follows:

Act 1

Look At All the People - Hannah Chaplin
What'cha Gonna Do? - Hannah Chaplin, Young Charlie Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin and Ensemble
If I Left London - Charlie Chaplin
Sennett Song - Mack Sennett
Look At All the People (Reprise) - Charlie Chaplin and Hannah Chaplin
Tramp Discovery - Charlie Chaplin and Hannah Chaplin
Tramp Shuffle Part 1 - Charlie Chaplin, Mack Sennett and Usher
Tramp Shuffle Part 2 - Reporters, Charlie Chaplin, Usher and Ensemble
Life Can Be Like the Movies - Charlie Chaplin, Sydney Chaplin, Mildred Harris and Ensemble
The Look-a-Like Contest - Charlie Chaplin and Ensemble

Act 2

Just Another Day in Hollywood - Charlie Chaplin, Hedda Hopper and Ensemble
The Life That You Wished For - Charlie Chaplin
All Falls Down - Hedda Hopper
Man of All Countries - Hedda Hopper and McGranery
What Only Love Can See - Oona O'Neill
Pre-Exile - Hedda Hopper, McGranery and Ensemble
The Exile - Hedda Hopper and Ensemble
Where Are All the People? - Charlie Chaplin
What Only Love Can See (Reprise) - Oona O'Neill and Charlie Chaplin
This Man - Full Company
Tramp Discovery (Reprise) - Full Company

Reception

In its review of the La Jolla production, the Los Angeles Times reviewer wrote: "The songs sauté this simplistic summary in a light and lemony schmaltz... The most that can be said is that the cast is marshaled efficiently and the clichés are greeted with a tip of Chaplin's bowler and a clown's forgiving smile... the schematic production... offers up Chaplin's early years as an explanation for everything but his notorious penchant for underage women... The production moves swiftly on Alexander Dodge’s versatile set that is at its lively best when Zachary Borovay’s projections usher us back to the cinematic past... The score hurtles us along with sufficient cheer and generic good will."^[9] The Variety reviewer wrote: "The enormous career of film legend Charles Chaplin has resisted numerous chronicling efforts... The latest casualty is "Limelight," a La Jolla Playhouse collaboration between freshman tunesmith Christopher Curtis and vet librettist Thomas Meehan ... that has its moments but falls into the usual trap of trying to cover too much ground. In the process, the tuner turns glib and superficial."^[10]

Awards and nominations

The musical received one Tony Award nomination, for Rob McClure as Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical.^[11]

The show received six Drama Desk Award nominations: Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Noll); Outstanding Orchestrations; Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical (Scott Lehrer and Drew Levy); Outstanding Costume Design; Outstanding Lighting Design; and Outstanding Projection Design.^[12]

References