The Shocking Return of Rebecca the Musical
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ส.ค. 2024
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In 2012, the English adaptation of Rebecca the Musical went down in flames in a story wilder than any Hitchcock film. Mysterious investors, sudden deaths, the world’s best salad dressing - the scandal had it all.
Eleven years later, one theater in London is trying to pick up the pieces to give the English adaptation a second life.
This is that story.
CREDITS:
Script, narration, video editing by: Brendon Henderson
Script editing by: Julianna Whalen
Animations created by: Connor Bond
Special thanks to the following standing room patrons! Join the WitW community at www.patreon.com/witw
A.E. Reinhart
Ewan Cassidy
Cameron Abaroa
yamiangie
Kayla Powitz
Emily Ingram
Cindy Lindsay
Marisa
Holly K
Deena Abdullat
Phil Edwards
Toryana Frazier
Savannah Cash
Blythe Lavender
Roddrecia Anthony
Rachel Goodman
claiana
Taekook
Lucia Figueras
Orange
Tom Norris
JeffMovieMan
Bryant Gipull Garcia
Megan McCasland
stephen seale
Noel Dietrich
Alice
Timothy Murray
Danniella
Lawren Kinsey
Abbey- Paige Johnson
Ann Marie Wilson
Joseph Lim
Frances McGinn
Kelseigh Ingram
Ayinde
Margaret Hall
Lyana Morton
Ann
Brent Black
Anon!
Ethan
Chapters:
0:00 Rising from the Ashes
2:12 Incogni
3:28 Charing Cross
5:16 A Cursed History
8:28 Managing Pressure
11:28 Scaling Down
16:01 The Dream - บันเทิง
I really hope this succeeds. I love this show so much and I think English-speaking audiences deserve to fall in love with it properly as well.
That huge scale of the show looks amazing 🤩 I can totally see it on broadway
the reviews are pretty bad
@@emhu2594 most reviews of musicals are pretty bad .. if I remember right one well known critic said of Les Miserables when it first opened that it was …Instantly Disposable trash !!! Critics didn’t like We will Rock You, either another one was Wicked and Starlight Express, which is making a comeback !!!
Unfortunately they did a cheap version of it in a very small theatre in London, which doesn't really work
I totally agree hope it works this time
Two of the actors watched your documentary in getting ready for their roles. And now you are following them through rehearsal. That's crazy
He said in the live chat when he premiered the video that actually all four had seen the documentary
It's so poetically fitting that this musical is, in essence, rising back up from the fiery ashes of failure.
And having to live in the shadow of it's dramatic predecessor without imitating it's flaws. It's the most Rebecca that ever Rebecca-ed.
@@Firegen1True!
How does it feel knowing your documentaries are literally so successful that they're actively contributing to new productions / are acting as introductions for future stars!?
I love that this video has managed to incorporate the "glass ass" somehow.
Hopefully, this production of Rebecca will go over better than the previous attempt. Everyone involved seems to be quite passionate about it.
Given your long history with Rebecca, you *absolutely* need to do a video on Sleep No More, which also used Rebecca as inspiration but attempted to remove the more obvious source material because it was worried about Rebecca coming to Broadway and competing with it.
You mean the 2011 play by Punchdrunk? Yes it takes inspiration from noir films like Hitchcock's(to the point where the theatre space itself, the MicKitrick Hotel, takes it's name from the film Veritigo, while it's functional Manderley Bar takes from Rebecca), but that play is primarily based on Shakespeare's Macbeth, and also has some reference to the 1697 Paisley witch trials.
Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to see him cover that piece(and especially go over the other productions in the Mickitrick[especially Great Comet of 1812's creator Dave Malloy's Ghost Quartet]), but even for a six-degress of theatre themed pull, It wouldn't be accurate to say the piece itself borrowed from Rebecca specifically, I'd say(unless you mean the initial plans for Sleep No More were to initially adapt from Rebecca, and then they switched to adapting Macbeth instead).
Having a smaller production is actually a good test of the longevity of the property. Stripped down to it's core, if the material is good enough, just think of how many productions can be done in smaller spaces like regional houses, High Schools, etc. Plus, with Broadway houses being so expensive, a small production is also helpful financially and gives it a chance to transfer at a lower cost. I hope they are wildly successful, as I would love to see this show finally brought to the US. Great doc!
“If you know the history of Rebecca…”
- Quote from the man who taught us the history of Rebecca😂
Videos like this just reinforce my thinking that I made a good choice in backing this channel on this year's Kickstarter. This is professional quality that I would expect on TV.
Thank you for backing! We got your stuff all packed up and are sending it out later this week. I told you "New Heights" wasn't lip service :P
You summed all this up perfectly. This run at Charing Cross is at its core a test run. It seems like none of the critics who reviewed the show took that into consideration and that made me sad. I’ve been rooting for this English translation for so long and to see it finally opened and running is no small feat. I definitely agree with Kara in praying they transfer to a bigger West End theatre because god knows this show deserves it. Does this mean the Rebecca Curse™ is broken? I like to think so ☺️
That what I’m sad to see, I hope the critics don’t destroy that from happening
@@bobthebuilder243 I hope so too 🙏
it's not the critics' faults that the show isn't good.
@@emhu2594 Why are you even here if you’re just gonna shit on the show?
@@emhu2594Its success shows how „not good“ it is, sure
It’s amazing to the cast actually watch the documentary and actually inspired them to do the show
God, that must be such a breathtaking opportunity to actually make this happen. I really hope it goes well so that it can become a thing!
I worked as a stage manager in my local theatres for 30 years. There is something amazing about working in a black box theatre. It allows the actors to shine without all the glitz to distract the audience.
Can you make a video about 'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown'
The previous _Rebecca_ video on this channel is PIVOTAL viewing to truly understand the sheer weight of this one. The prelude, though detailed, could not possibly convey how truly insane this one show's history is. I urge you; watch this video, go watch the other one, and then come back here. It'll be here when you get back ( hopefully ;] ).
I saw Great Comet in a black box theater with no sets. It was just lights, costumes, music. The performers absolutely transformed the space. Stripping an opulent show down to its core components and putting all your money on Union performers is a baller move that can totally work. This sounds like a great approach for Rebecca ❤
At this point, the theatre world probably thinks.you're 'that Rebecca guy on TH-cam.' They had to have you over.
I’m so rooting for this production! I’d love it to cross the pond & finally open on Broadway… so I can actually see it.
AYY That's my friend Lauren!!! So neat to see her bringing this show back to life!
I love that the original TH-cam Doc you made excited some of the actors in the English production. That is so, so cool!
We saw Rebecca The Musical at the Charing Cross Theatre yesterday evening. The show was fantastic. Great performances from the cast and clever set. I would thoroughly recommend this production. I really hope it gets an extended run, and continues for a long time.
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Special thanks to the cast and crew of Rebecca for being so welcoming and willing to share all of this with us!
I believe the 18-piece arrangement for Rebecca was already made and used for other international venues(including the 2012 revival in Stuttgart, known for staring fan favorite Mrs. Danvers[as well as the original lead actor of Kunze and Levay's first major musical, Elisabeth] Pia Douwes, who is commonly shown in the clips of professional trailers for the Vienna run you keep using), and therefore wasn't just made for Charing Cross specifically.
The arrangement I speak of goes like this:
Strings: 6
3 Violins
1 Viola
1 Cello
1 Bass
Woodwinds: 3
1 Piccolo/Alto-Flute/Transverse Flute/Recorder
1 Oboe/English Horn
1 Clarinet/Bass Clarinet/Baritone Saxophone
Brass: 4
2 Horns
1 Trumpet
1 Trombone
Keyboards: 3
1 Drums
1 Percussion
Is this the same arrangement/musician count that was listed in your program for the preview performance at Charing Cross you saw?
And, perchance, would you be willing to share the orchestral info(if that performance had 34 musicians in the orchestra) from your program for the Raimund Theater(pretty please!🙏😁, as I myself have grown obsessed with that information since first learning about the orchestral counts of shows like Sweeney Todd and the original 1999 Berlin stage adaptation of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame[which Michael Kunze himself translated Stephen Schwartz lyrics for, and a production commonly referred to by it's fans by it's german title "Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame(or just "Der Glöckner")"] and so fourth)?
Amazing(and dare I say, Historic!) video, regardless! :D
Hey! Can confirm from the director it's a new arrangement just for Charing Cross :)@@michaelwilliamybarra2409
So glad you did this! I was so fascinated since your first Rebecca video!
I'm wondering if you'll ever tackle Tanz Der Vampire/ Dance of the Vampires or Lestat....even a video about vampire musicals in general
Especially since the both have an American actor far more known for his German language content than American content, Drew Sarich(who played the main vampire Count Von Krolock in the mid 2010s in Berlin, took over for Armand and understudied as Lestat for Broadway, and is also widley regarded for playing Quasimodo in the original 1999 Berlin stage adaptation of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame), and the latter ALSO happening to star "Hugh(I was The Phantom for 6 years) Panero" as Lestat principally and "Carolee(the best part of Bad Cinderella[and I also like to add, the original Lucille Frank of the original 1998 Broadway run of the recently revived Parade]) Carmelo" as Lestat's mother!
@@michaelwilliamybarra2409 this is a great addition! And we aren't even thinking about how there's yet another vampire musical in Dracula, both a serious version and a comedy. I appreciate you expanding on that and adding facts I didn't know
I hope we'll get an English-language production with the giant staircase. I say this with affection, but the show is 60% staircase.
I saw this tonight and I think they did a great job with the space they have (some of the critics were unnecessarily harsh about the sets in my opinion) and the less grand staircase works for the most part but it was missed in the climax I feel.
Wow. The new adaptation is the most faithful adaptation of Rebecca yet. It literally has to live the premise of the plot. Whatever happens it will be historic.
I'm so happy you got to go over there not just to see the show but to interview the cast and crew!! It's so cool seeing the English Rebecca rise from the ashes. I wish it the best!
Really hoping the best for this show!
Also hoping that Jim Steinman's Dance of the Vampires gets a similar treatment with a new English adaptation.
Also also, speaking of Jim, I wonder if you're gonna do a video about the history of Bat Out of Hell: The Musical
I’d love to see him tackle what happened with Tanz see Vampire. It definitely deserves a second chance with English-speaking audiences.
I wish the producers and cast all the good fortune in the world--Great to see this Phoenix rise from the ashes!
I can only imagine the simultaneous excitement and fear you must’ve felt hearing actual west end performers say “I’ve seen your videos”
In theatre school I did a directing class, I did the big end scene from Hedda Gabler and everyone thought it was a bad choice, including the teacher. It's well known, everyone had read it as part of the program in an intro class (I think it was script analysis), so everyone knew how it ended, but no, I didn't want to do something different. I did something similar to this production. I stripped everything back and bc it was staged differently than expected, because the set and costome was minimal to non-existent, it forced ppl to look at the actors, not be distracted by the beautiful set. I got actual gasps. I got an A. Still, so many yrs later (don't wanna say how many 😅) I felt so proud of that. I wanted them to feel what it felt like seeing it in the 19th century and I feel like I succeeded 😋
Myself, I've never seen Rebecca as a big Broadway spectacle story. You could tell it with just I, Maxim, Danny and Jack Favel. Everyone else is either disposable (you could start the story at Manderly, dumping Mrs. Van Hopper) or minor.
The crushing review in Variety made me sad! I am actually championing the show now, never saw it but had a softspot since Dutch Musical Queen Pia Douwes was so iconically in it in the past.
This is really random, but I would love to see a School Of Rock video from you. It’s such an underrated musical, and a great adaptation.
I am SO excited to see this!!! In my opinion, this musical works wonderfully on smaller stages, with less grad sets really well. When I saw it live for the first time I went to a Czech production in Ostrava, which isn’t quite as small as this one, but still smaller than the Raidimund theatre. There is something really magical about being just a few meters from the actors!
I have become obsessed with this musical. Since the Phantom of the Opera has left Broadway it needs a new, fresh, gothic musical like this to replace it.
Soo...... If I'm hearing this correctly, they're revamping the show top to bottom so it will fit inside a small theater in the hope that it will be a hit. Then when it's a hit, they'll un-revamp the show to move it to a larger theater and stage it as it was originally conceived? Do I have that right?
I'm so glad to see this being attempted again! And I think a small theatre is perfect for its rebirth - they're right that it builds audience connection. This is what it needs to grant it a solid following.
Can you do a stand alone video on The Great Comet!!!?!?!???!?!???
Please 🙏🏻 😮!
I'm working on it! It's a realllyyyy big story though. Just did interview 12 today and I still don't feel any closer to getting this thing written yet, still a lot to uncover.
Simple as to the failure it opened with Groban who is a babe magnet. Once he left they needed a second babe magnet like an Aaron Tveit. So instead they were woke and chose an unattractive black man. If they had a gorgeous black man like puffy they would have been a success. Instead they chose a White BWY legend and it became a whole racial hate deal. Stupid stupid stupid
whoever was spamming reactions with me after the premier finished was a real one
I saw Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects of Love in a theater that used to exist in the back of the Lyric Opera Building in Chicago. This was, I’m guessing 25-30 years on, a 250-500 seat theater.
I thought the show worked there and could see how it failed as a megamusical, which is what people expected being the follow-up to Phantom of the Opera. But the story needed to be told small in a small space.
I’m not familiar with Rebecca, but I suspect it’s a story that can work big or small, with the right direction and staging.
Except for the staircase at the end, Rebecca is at heart a very intimate story.
Amazing! I hope we’ll get to see more of Kunze and Levay on the West End. Their work deserves a universal stage❤️🎶
I saw "Phantom" at that theatre in Vienna, it's HUUUUUGE!!!
I've just seen Rebecca in Vienna and it was.... Magnificent! I hope this show finally succeeds in English.
Even though I new what comes at the end, seeing the staircase finale in person made me schiver, mainly because it came suddenly almost out of nowhere.
Thank you for posting this and keeping us updated on the saga of Rebecca let us know if it works out and hopefully makes it to the west end and Broadway 🎭
Just watched your original Rebecca video yesterday, so this is perfect timing!
You should write the film script about the behind scenes of Rebecca the musical on Broadway
I got tickets to opening night! Was a fabulous performance. The cast were astonishing.
Ironically enough I'm from germany but will see rebecca for the first time in english in London and I am very excited for this cast. I really hope it succeeds!
As a big fan of Kunze and Levay I hope this show really works out in this smaller format.
“Pro wrestling shirt at a broadway show” - oh you mean James Monroe Iglehart on a day off?
I have loved Rebecca so much so I hope that this is the one that sticks. I love having a smaller venue for this run. It will the drama more tangible and make it more palatable for audiences. Sometimes you have to scale back and go back to the bare bones over what makes a show great.
Rebecca is one of my favorite movies so I was so excited to see the musical
Still can't believe I saw Brendon on my way to see this on ljke the 2nd or 3rd night.
THANKS FOR THE PICTURE!! :D
I saw Rebecca the musical at the Charing Cross about a week ago. I have to say that I wish I hadn’t seen your video about the other productions. I was severely disappointed by the set design and the pacing felt rushed. I think I had overly hyped myself going in expecting a spectacle. I didn’t realise that the theatre was so small until the day of the show. The set was also not what I expected out of a West end show.
The best part of this show was really the cast.
Part 1 of the first Rebecca video was where I started following your page, definitely nice to see it come full circle. Great video as always!
Rebecca is one of my favorite books, and the 1940 movie is my favorite Hitchcock movie. And some of the more recent versions have been good. When the show was first announced I was thrilled. Hopefully this version is successful
Just came home from rehearsals of...Rebecca...we play this in Bucharest Romania. We did in in 2011...paused for 12 years and just relaunched it. Awesome show.
Cool of Lévay to do a scaled down version specifically for this production.
You still have time to see the 10th anniversary production in Korea! It goes until November and is glorious in its scale and talent
Wow, how amazing that your doc inspired the current crew of the production. :D
Thank you for this. I saw the show yesterday for my birthday, at the tale end of the run. The cast was wonderful, especially Lauren Jones as I and Kara Lane as Mrs Danvers. The acting between these two really was the linchpin of the show. When Mrs Danvers suggested a costume to I, there was an audible ripple through the audience of "No, don't trust her!" The music is beautiful and the space is utilised very well, especially the use of the auditorium, with the actors actually interacting with the audience at points and the smoke machine for the end of the act two. I think there have been some changes made since the preview - there appears to be a bannister to the staircase in your footage which has been removed, presumably due to it blocking the actors. While a lot of the dialogue and lyrics are taken verbatim from Du Maurier's text, I feel that it needs some adjustments when it comes to the song lyrics. I feels like a translation, with a lot of near rhymes that don't quite work. The lighting was also a bit off in places, leaving scenes in Rebecca's bedroom and Maxim's confession too dark to properly see the actor's faces, even in such a small space. Even though I knew going in that there wasn't going to be the spectacular set of the Vienna production, the show really deserves it and would be elevated by it. They do the best they can with what they have but it does feel a little am-dram. In one particular number you can tell from the context that I and Maxim are meant to be in separate rooms from each other, but they are staged with one actor behind the other in the same space so it fell flat. And the bit where Mrs Danvers, completely broken, climbs up the stairs... why wasn't she carrying a candle? That would have made the coming scene much more powerful. I hope this run at the Charing Cross Theatre has been successful enough to work as a stepping stone to a much larger production in the West End, with a set worthy of it and a larger cast. I would definitely buy tickets.
Good lord this musical is cursed in Broadway specifically
One of these days I’d like to hear your take on Lionel Bart’s “Twang”, the failed Robin Hood musical in which its production also went from bad to worse to apocalyptically chaotic.
I wish there was an English version of Elisabeth.
I recently did this musical with my schools theathre club and I hope that english speakers who can now see this musical finally get to enjoy it
Another brilliant video thank you Brendon. I’ve been following the events surrounding Rebecca for years and longing to see the show in English for years. I bought tickets as soon as I heard about the Charing Cross production and I’m so looking forward to being a part of this story in a few weeks time. I realised that with the size of theatre it wasn’t going to have the spectacular staging of other productions. Thanks to you and to Mickey J my expectations have been managed and I’m ready now to sit back and enjoy the show on it’s own merit and am just grateful that it is here at all. Who knows what the future might hold……Also good to ‘meet’ some of the cast in advance of seeing them perform. Whatever the critics have said about the staging - the consensus definitely seems to be that the performances are excellent 👏👏
Ok but what did you think of it? I'm wildly curious.
I LOVE this. I love the story of this musical, thank you so much for this!!
"The thrills of the real life mystery involving Rebecca can't be put into words...
but i tried to anyway."
watched at London last week, amazing production, i thoroughly enjoyed it
I really hope this works out this time!! I would love an English cast album I have the one with the one and only Pía Dowes big fan of her work since accidentally finding an eng sub version of her musical Elisabeth I love that one!
I saw the show and it was beautifully done! The power in the voices and passion put into it is undeniable!! I wish I could go and watch it again!
I was going to Watch Rebecca when I was in London last year. I was so so excited, but they had to cancel the show I was going to due to too many members of the cast getting sick. I was only in town for two nights, so I didn’t get the chance to rebook.
Super great video! Captivated by the ability to produce such an intriguing and informative video 👌👍 Nice work #waitinthewings!
So I have wanted this to be adapted since I was a child. I'm at 40. I saw the Hitchcock and I knew it was a musical. When the chaos of the scam run hit I was devastated. I am a but concerned that the Mrs Danvers character in this adaptation has apparently just gone until my closet. I did not notice the ah... fashion evolution from someone who had only WWE shirts into a "Gothic Mommy". I wore a WWE shirt to my first show. I was 8. My aunt said to wear your nicest clothes. She knew that meant my least stained shirt because she knew we were poor so I got what was left. I do love wrestling however.
I am so excited. I'm going to believe in this cast because if the original composer went "Let's make this work" then there's only good there
Also how amazing for you to be so close to production you cannot review. That's beautiful. Rebecca is how I found your Channel. My annual Google for hope. I immediately devoured everything else you had made and subscribed. I have literally dropped things for your content. This feels like a sign for more reasons to be excited like when I was a child
I wouldn't wear a tee shirt anywhere these days but I did find the "myth" hilarious. The show? Phantom
I saw this last night and my verdict was "I reallt liked that... but I have some notes"
The production was definitly stripped down, but i saw titanic at charing cross and it was amazing. I thought it worked (though i would have liked a bit more finish on some of the paint work).
My biggest problem was i felt there needed to be more of Mrs Danvers. Even if she doesnt say anything, but just a constant presecnce in the background pressing on I, just as rebecca's ghost is.
I saw the original production in Vienna and for the first and only time, I left at the interval of a production. They should have burnt the house down at the end of the first act and left it there.
Dang it! It's already 4 am and this will be on at 5am and I really want to watch it as it premieres but I also desperately need to go to sleep 😅😭 The curse of being in Australia but most of the people you follow that live stream/do premieres are anywhere but Australia.
Oh well. Can't wait to watch this when I wake up lol 😊
I woke up at 3am and had the compulsion to clean my room and my roof. Being close to a WitW premiere was a pleasant surprise. 😂
The video was great - thank you 🥰
Another Twist in the story hopefully it’ll have a happy ending
My friend just saw Rebecca tonight! I'm eager to hear his thoughts.
It’s actually painful to hear about all the troubles they run into 😢🥺
I hope you'll find a way to cover the musical The Last Match, which is about pro wrestling!
I'm halfway through. If Queen Sierra shows up I'm gonna die dead.
I loved this show. I only wish someone with a lot of money had put this on at a bigger venue with a bigger set and maybe a bigger orchestra although 18 at CX was quite amazing in itself. The score is absolutely gorgeous.
So exciting! I hope it makes it. I’d LOVE to see R.
I swear I saw an ad for Rebecca at Incheon International Airport in Seoul yesterday. I was not close enough to the digital display to see the details but another clearly theatre type show was also advertised on it.
Yes! It’s a hugely popular musical by both the public and theatre-going crowd in korea. Frankly i’m astonished to come across this video after witnessing how popular it is
You really got to get out to here lies love. It was honestly one of the most unique experiences I’ve ever had in theatre.
I'm rooting for this show.
Great video
I was literally just rewatching the Rebecca video this morning 😭💀
I wear musical shirts to pro wrestling shows and definitely wore wrestling tees to the Back to Broadway events as Broadway reopened!
HYPED!
I saw it on Monday the 11th with cover Emily Apps as I. Love it, loved the three main leads, but the sets?
Hope Rebecca can find a way on Broadway someday.
First gotta disagree because Rebecca is literally about a woman who felt overshadowed by the previous wife only to find out her husband killed her. There wasn't anything about growing up. She only changed her tune after she found out and even then she kinda ignored the part about him being a murderer in favor of thinking wow he loves me more than her. I mean you can't have a more perfect real life version of this in the fact they are somewhat overshadowed by the previous version (wife). Much like the unamed protagonist on one hand people will expect you to fill the shoes but also like unnamed protagonist perhaps this will come out and be loved on it's own.
Rebecca the Musical is a tube ride away from me? Time to save up for tickets!! :D
I'm seeing it for my birthday/anniversary! :D
I have tickets for 25th October, I was really excite to see the pyrotechnical effects :(
i would love to hear you talk about the new But Im a Cheerleader Musical !!
I just wanted to tell somebody that I bought tickets to see Rebecca after watching this video. No one in my life is in the loop so I had to come here.