Disaster! (musical)

Disaster!
A 70s Disaster Movie Musical

Poster for the Off-Broadway production
Book Jack Plotnick
Seth Rudetsky
Setting New York City, 1979
Premiere March 8, 2012 (2012-03-08): Triad Theatre, New York City
Productions 2012 Off-Broadway
2013 Off-Broadway
2016 Broadway
2016 Los Angeles
2016 Broadway

Disaster! is a musical comedy created and written by Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick.

The show debuted at Triad Theatre, now renamed Stage 72, with choreography by Denis Jones and music supervision by Steve Marzullo on January 22, 2012 and ran through March 25 in its first production.[1] A second production ran from November 2013 through April 2014 at New York’s St. Luke's Theatre.[2] The show opened on Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre on March 8, 2016, with previews beginning on February 9, 2016. The show stars Rudetsky, along with Roger Bart, Kerry Butler, Kevin Chamberlin, Adam Pascal, Faith Prince, Rachel York, Max Crumm, and Jennifer Simard. Baylee Littrell (the son of Brian Littrell) and Lacretta Nicole make their Broadway debut.

Disaster! parodies and pays comedic tribute to the genre of 1970s disaster films. In this musical, a group of New Yorkers attends the opening of a floating casino and discothèque that quickly succumbs to multiple disasters. These calamities correlate with plots of various disaster films of the 1970s such as earthquakes or killer bee incidents echoing situations from the films Earthquake and The Swarm respectively. Additionally, this play keeps with a 1970s theme by being a jukebox musical, using popular songs of the decade as musical numbers.[3]

Inception and early development

The origins of Disaster! go back to the early 1990s. While working together in 1992, Seth Rudetsky and Drew Geraci developed the concept of creating a musical reminiscent of the 70s disaster films they both appreciated. The original storyline involved the New York City blackout of 1977 and incorporated the decade’s top songs as both musical numbers and vehicles for comedy.[4]

The concept was left largely untouched until Rudetsky was asked in 2011 to put on a show benefiting the nonprofit organization Only Make Believe. Rudetsky decided to return to his disaster musical idea for the benefit, and in the span of three months, he and Jack Plotnick revised the concept and wrote the first script of Disaster!. Major changes included widening the plot’s range. Instead of focusing on one disaster, the NYC blackout, they decided to introduce a variety of catastrophes common to the popular films of the 1970s that they had grown up watching.[4] The benefit show successfully impressed critics, and from its success, the musical later had a nine show Off-Off-Broadway run before being made into an Off-Broadway production.[5]

A Broadway production directed by Plotnick opened in March 2016 at the Nederlander Theatre, with an all-star cast and choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter. The show is produced by Robert Ahrens, Mickey Liddell/LD Entertainment, Hunter Arnold, James Wesley and Jim Burba and Bob Hayes.[6]

Plot

Disaster! takes place in 1979 Manhattan during opening night of the Barracuda, the first floating casino and discothèque in New York.[3] The characters gather to gamble and dance, unaware of impending natural disasters, and the building's lack of safety measures compounds these catastrophes. Notably, the casino's structure was built on a fault line, which causes earthquakes throughout the show.[7] The plot follows several characters' dynamics and interactions throughout the opening night as they deal with various plot elements reminiscent of 1970s disaster cult films such as The Poseidon Adventure and Airport 1975.[8]

Characters

Main named characters.[9]

Cast

Principal and replacement cast members of the Triad Theatre and St. Luke's Theatre productions.

Character Triad Theater
2012 [10]		 St. Luke's Theatre
previous cast
2013-2014[11] 		St. Luke's Theatre
cast Spring
2014[3][12] 		Nederlander Theatre
2016 [13]
Marianne Carrie Manolakos Haven Burton Maggie McDowell Kerry Butler
Levora Lacretta Nicole Charity Dawson Lacretta Nicole
Tony Delvecchio Clif Thorn John Treacy Egan
Jack Plotnick[14] 		Paul Castree

David Hibbard

 Roger Bart
Chad Zak Resnick Matt Farcher Adam Pascal
Maury Tom Riis Farrell Kevin Chamberlin
Jackie Lauren Kennedy Michele Ragusa
Mary Birdsong 		Stacey Oristano
Sarah Litzsinger 		Rachel York
Professor Ted Scheider Seth Rudetsky
Scott Paul Castree Robb Sapp Max Crumm
Sister Mary Downy Anika Larsen Jennifer Simard
Ben/Lisa Clark Kelley Oliver Jonah Verdon Baylee Littrell
Shirley Kathy Fitzgerald
Annie Golden [15]		 Mary Testa
Annie Golden 		Judy Gold Faith Prince
Wealthy Husband/Taxi Driver/
Security Guard/Chef 		Saum Eskandani
Woman Who Screams Sherz Aletaha
Wealthy Wife Spring Groove Maggie McDowell Kristy Cavanaugh
Workman#2

Taxi Driver

Wealthy Husband

 Manoel Felciano

Paul Castree

Tony Delvecchio is temporarily being played by Will Swenson while Roger Bart is on temporary leave til May 7th, 2016.

Musical numbers

Songs used for musical numbers in Disaster![3][16]

Critical reception

Disaster!’s interpretation of disaster movies from the 1970s has garnered praise.

The musical has received positive reviews from various respected news outlets. The New York Daily News named Disaster! one of its top ten must-see musicals for 2013, claiming that "This spoof of catastrophe-themed movies mixed with ’70s pop hits gushes with Velveeta as well as laughs, great new talents and savvy jukebox craftsmanship.”[17] Time Out New York critic and president of New York Drama Critics' Circle Adam Feldman rated the show five stars, stating, "I can’t remember the last time I laughed out loud at the theater as often as I did at Disaster!...with meticulous ingenuity, the show repurposes three dozen classic tunes from the Me Decade to often hilarious effect.” The New York Times Charles Isherwood called the show "self-consciously ditzy," saying that it really "earns that exclamation point."[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Seth Rudetsky's DISASTER Extends Through March 25; Annie Golden & Felicia Finley Join Cast". Broadway World. 28 February 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  2. ↑ Gans, Andrew (27 Mar 2014). "Disaster! Will End Off-Broadway Run in April". Playbill. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Charles Isherwood (6 November 2013). "Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Relive the ’70s". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  4. 1 2 Rudetsky, Seth (30 Jan 2012). "ONSTAGE & BACKSTAGE: From Texas to Disaster!". Playbill. p. 3. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  5. ↑ "Cast and Creatives of Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick's Disaster! Meet the Press". Playbill. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  6. ↑ Viagas, Robert (November 5, 2015), "Seth Rudetsky's Disaster! Musical Headed for Broadway with Adam Pascal and Faith Prince", Playbill.com, retrieved January 5, 2016
  7. ↑ Kennedy, Marina (7 Nov 2013). "Disaster! A 1970’s Disaster Movie Musical – Hilarity Survives". Women Around Town. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  8. ↑ Vincentelli, Elisabeth (5 November 2013). "Musical 'Disaster!' is anything but as it pays tribute to 1970s flicks". New York Post. p. 1. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  9. ↑ Pflaster, Duncan (5 November 2013). "BWW Reviews: DISASTER!: Hope Floats". http://www.broadwayworld.com/. p. 1. Retrieved 22 February 2014. External link in |publisher= (help)
  10. ↑ MacDonald, Sandy (31 January 2012). "Seth Rudetsky's Disaster!". Theater Mania. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  11. ↑ Bellino, Damian (6 January 2014). "Look Out! Stacey Oristano, Annie Golden & Judy Gold Join Disaster!". Broadway.com. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  12. ↑ "DISASTER!'s Stacey Oristano to Appear 2/11 on WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE". Broadway World. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  13. ↑ Lloyd Webber, Imogen (5 November 2015). "Look Out! All-Star Disaster! Will Hit Broadway, Starring Adam Pascal, Roger Bart, Faith Prince & More". Broadway.com. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  14. ↑ Gans, Andrew (7 November 2013). "Jack Plotnick Will Join Cast of Off-Broadway's Disaster!". Playbill. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  15. ↑ Gans, Andrew (20 January 2014). "Off-Broadway's Disaster! Welcomes Annie Golden Jan. 20". Playbill. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  16. ↑ "DISASTER! announces new cast members". New York Theater Guide. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  17. ↑ Dziemianowicz, Joe (22 December 2013). "Top 10 in Theater for 2013: 'Fun Home,' 'Twelfth Night,' 'The Glass Menagerie' were all worth a standing ovation". New York Daily News. Retrieved 6 March 2014.

External links

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