The Sunday Giveaway: Two tickets to Clinton at NYMF!
Every year in every theater festival, one show snags the press spotlight.
As soon as I heard that a musical called Clinton was coming over from the UK to make its American debut in this year’s NYMF, I would have bet the GDP of the United States that it would be the show to appear in all the headlines.
And if only someone would have taken that bet, because in the past week, Clinton was featured in the Daily News, The Post, Politico and CNN just to name a few.
And performances don’t even start until July 18th!
As I wrote about in this year’s 5 Shows that Stand Out at This Year’s NYMF blog, there’s something about a Clinton musical that just feels right. Bill is a larger than life character, which is what you need for the hero of a show. And frankly, Hillary, Chelsea, and even Monica have got a lot to sing about too, don’t you think? Couple that with the timing of Hillary making her presidential run (I’d go double or nothing with that GDP bet that she’ll announce soon enough).
The press obviously agrees, and I hear tickets are going faster than when the Republicans tried to impeach Mr. C after the Lewinsky scandal (and I’m hearing extension rumors already).
And we’ve got two tickets to give away so you can say you saw it when!
Not every political figure could be the subject of a musical. Pick another politician that you think could have a musical based on his/her life and comment it below – and you could win. Extra credit if you title the show! And it can be anyone from anywhere in the world at any time in history. For example . . . A musical based on the life and times of Napoleon called, Exile This!
Ready? Set! Good luck!
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King Tut – called Tut & Asp!
SARAH PALIN: It’s basically Marilyn Monroe meets Anna Nicole.
The liberal theater crowd would love all the shenanigans that Sarah would bring in her f-ed up baggage. Subjects include: trashy children, questionably gay husband, “got get em” attitude of a quitter, the entire Tea Party, her foolish rich backers, and her obsession for the lime-light. I bet she would show up to a performance, she is that much of a fame whore.
Abraham Lincoln the Musical
Anthony Weiner: The (almost) Comeback Kid
J. EDGAR HOOVER – “UNDRESSED IN CHANEL “
A musical about Howard Dean called “Shout It Out”
Queen Elizabeth 1
The Virgin Monologues
“Potatoe”: The J. Danforth Quayle Story
The next politico musical has to be “Monkey Business.” Rising national star DSenatorGary Hart seems like he is on his way to the White House. But he can’t resist the allure of his many adoring female fans. Audiences will cheer such songs as “Follow Me, I Have Nothing to Hide” and “Please, Please, Give Me a Second Chance.”
Funny enough I did Young Abe Lincoln the Musical, years ago for summer stock at: http://www.lincolnamphitheatre.org/
However, I’d love to see Henry VIII – Womanizing lead surrounded by a bevy of women with more scandal than Smash. I’d pay to see it.
Ronald Reagan – because there’s so much to cover on his life – Hollywood, military, Governor, President, Reaganomics, Cold War, Alzheimer’s, etc. Lots of material to cover his life. It could be called Reaganomical! the Musical
Bella Abzug the Musical–titled “Enter Kvetching!”
Teddy Roosevelt –
“Teddie” or “Bull Moose” or “Rough Rider” – although they are all fairly obvious titles and not creative (but I guess neither is Clinton)
Chris Christie
APPETIZING NEW JERSEY
A musical based on Queen Elizabeth II and call it The Elizabeth Regina Monologues.
“Dream Big,” the Martin Luther King, Jr. musical.
He wasn’t an elected official, but the story of Bayard Rustin, the African American civil rights leader who basically orchestrated the march on Washington, but didn’t get the limelight because he was gay, is a fascinating one. I’d call it “Half The Battle.” And I would beg Coleman Domingo to star…
Nine Days a Queen
it would be about Lady Jane Grey, who was the Queen of England for all of nine days before her cousin, Bloody Mary (Elizabeth I’s sister) beheaded her.
JFK for sure
Sarah Palin: colorfiul and controversial, comic and grotesque
Title: Wasila Gorilla
Rob Ford
Meth! Mayhem! Mayor!
A Rock Opera of Plight
Root for Rudy!
Rob Ford
Title: Crack Up
Chris Christie
I’ll Cross that Bridge When I Come to It
Or
Bridges of Bergen County
Or
Springsteens Bitch
A musical based on Ai Weiwei and his rise to political dissident fame under Chinese Communist Party rule.
“Grass Mud Horse Covering The Middle: A Musical Comedy”
A musical about the Bush clan could be interesting – perhaps Act 1 with George HW Bush, then GWB in Act 2, but of course the big dramatic Act 1 climax would be the tension of Bush v. Gore…of course, the challenge would be how to tastefully address 9/11 in Act 2…hmm. I suppose you could call it ‘The Family Bush’. 🙂
Mayor Ed Koch
Title: KOCH the Musical: Or, the Wrong guy in the Wrong place at the Wrong time
Henry VIII: “Marry At Your Own Risk”
Rudy The Musical
A first act based on the life of Rudy Giulianni and the second act based on the hit Sean Astin film…spoiler alert: a football field will come out into the audience for the grand finale
“Jack-son Jack-off” the saga of Jesse Jackson’s family power dynasty dreams that fell to ruin when Jesse Jackson Junior’s greed and imprisonment destroyed his future And diminished black politics in Chicago.Who is the”Hymie ” now!
JFK and Jackie, duh!
I would write a musical based on King George III, the regent over the colonies during the War for Independence, though his life and reign is much more than that. He came to power after his grandfather died suddenly and reigned longer than anyone had before. It was filled with many ups and downs and ultimately and went blind and lost his sanity. Much of his life has been skewed in one way or another. It would be fun to get to the center of a figure essential to both American and English history. I’d call it George the Third.
A musical about Chris Christie: The Man Who Thinks He’s King
Cleopatra.. Up the Nile
Eleanor Roosevelt
“The Thing You Cannot Do”
The political character: Thomas Paine
Title of the musical: Common Sense
The Plot: Paine’s rise from a failed businessman in England who immigrates to America and writes the inspirational pamphlet “Common Sense.” His words galvanize the colonies to fight against a repressive English monarchy and create a new independent country.
B(ABE) Lincoln
Napoleon: My Short Comings.
Teddy Roosevelt: The ORIGINAL Rough Rider.
Peanuts, Peanuts: The Life and Times of Jimmy Carter
How about Richard Nixon. It can be called “I Am Not A Crook?” (with the question mark).
A musical about the life of President Herbert Hoover. It could be titled “Hoover, Dam It!”
Sandra Day O’Connor. ” A Day in the Life”
Anne Boleyn
“Heedless and Headless: Anne Gets Her Man!”
Ok, here goes… Franklin D Roosevelt, a man for the ages and what a cast!– Eleanor R, Churchill, etc
A musical about Vladamir Putin called: Putin on a Show!
How about one on President Andrew Jackson? It could be called ‘Bloody, Bloody…’ Wait. Already done. Never mind.
Okay, how about one on Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat. Title it: ‘Piece in the Middle East’ (that spelling is intentional).
Gandhi.
Nonviolence happens.
I loved Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson. Would love to see a rock musical about JFK.
Or a musical about all the White House scandals/rumors/etc– like if these walls could talk– “Behind the Oval Office Doors”
Louis Lou I am the State!
Rick Perry – Coming Out!
Hubert Humphrey – My Life and Times (5 minute short – one intermission)
Mamma Mia Mao – Disco Dancing Dictator
Lenin – Imagine
BO-Town
Wranglin’ Rangel
Jessie’s Girl – (Jesse Jackson)
You’re A Good Man, Jerry Brown
JFK in the titled musical “1000 Days in Office”
President Harry S Truman called “A Year to Remember”
Julius Ceasar: The Backstabbers
Sojourner Truth and it would be called “Ain’t I a Woman?”
Barack Obama
“O-kla-bama”
George W Bush called Weapons of Mass Destruction–NOT! or How I didn’t succeed in governing without really trying!
I’m going to go international here and request a Silvio Berlusconi musical. So much scandal, so many opinions, such a riot of a story!
“Spaghetti, meatballs…and Berlusconi”
Have a Cigar
The Winston Churchill Musical
Senator Stephen Douglass
“STINKIN’ LINCOLN” A Musical to Settle the Debate, Once & For All!
Ulysses S. Grant in a show with titles such as Union Forever, Unity, or The Blues
and the Grays
A musical about Toronto mayor Rob Ford entitled “The White Stuff” (obviously a satirical piece).
Gettin the Fix on Nixon
Investigative reporters sing and dance their way to a President’s resignation. Nathan Lane and Mathew Broderick star.
BedTime for Bonzical
The Musical about Ronnie..the Monkey’s Uncle.
Attila the Hun
I remember an old sketch from the Dick Van Dyke that had lyrics to “I’m in Love with Attila the Hun.” Googled it and found it:
I’m in Love With Attila the Hun”
“Though he’ll pillage a village and kill everyone
I still love Attila the Hun”
I actually used this as a joke audition piece once, tap dancing and twirling a baton to the lyrics.
Chris Christie: The Right Stuffing
Obama: Shogun, or How to Succeed in Politics Without Really Trying
Herod…the Great?
Senator Joe McCarthy
Black List
“Fathers and Sons”
Intertwined story about John Adams/John Quincy Adams and George Bush/George W. Bush. To cut costs, the actress who plays Barbara Bush could also play George Washington.
James K. Polk
Fifty-Four Forty
BY GEORGE! a musical about George Washington with funny songs about wooden teeth.