For Muscles Into Musicals

[hulkmuscle]

For those guys in the tri-state area, just wanted to let you know the Second Annual NY Musical Theatre Festival is on in Manhattan, showcasing new works by new writers. Over 79 new musicals, presented at various venues now through October 2.

Works from last year's fest that have gone onto bigger venues include The Great American Trailer Park Musical and the scrump-deli-icious Altar Boyz.

Shameless plug: my ex-boyfriend Joe Zellnik is premiering his new musical Yank!, a funny and moving show about young love between GI's during WWII, that's also a love song to 40's platoon flicks and 40's Broadway. Just got back from seeing it tonight, and it's a heartfelt hoot. For those guys who miss seeing dream ballets, this one's for you.

Muscular physiques should support the arts as well as big weights. ;-)

The 2005 NY Musical Theatre Festival

[CelticMuscle]

Originally Posted by hulkmuscle

Muscular physiques should support the arts as well as big weights. ;-)

I've been in "Ruddigore" by Gilbert and Sullivan as the 9th Baron of Ruddigore and am about to be a 18th century baker and a 19th century stockbroker in a musical version of "A Christmas Carol"

[hulkmuscle]

Originally Posted by CelticMuscle

I've been in "Ruddigore" by Gilbert and Sullivan as the 9th Baron of Ruddigore and am about to be a 18th century baker and a 19th century stockbroker in a musical version of "A Christmas Carol"

Break legs on Christmas Carol! Are you doing the Alan Mencken version?

[Mdlftr]

A few years ago, the Washington Opera did "Julio Caesare" a very early opera by.....? Handel, I think.

Bizarre show. The male first and second leads (Julio Caesare and Octavian), respectively, are written to be sung by castrati (young men with their testes surgically removed so their voices don't change at puberty). In this production, for some arcane reason, Julio Caesare was sung by a woman (a trouser role) and Octavian was sung by a man with the highest first tenor voice I have ever heard. He played Octavian as so languid and effeminate and catty that it was very distracting from the music.

The muscle came in when they had Octavian carried around the stage on his couch by four muscular guys with shaved heads. The concept sounds better than it looked, unfortunately.....


Not every show bats a thousand.......

[hulkmuscle]

I've never really been a huge opera fan although I do listen to it occasionally, mainly the basic Puccini/Verdi stuff (I really dig the overripe stuff) and some Strauss (Salome's pretty phantasmagorical).

Someone not long ago mentioned that Jose Cura, the opera tenor, used to be a bodybuilder/trainer, and I know that pianist Tzimon Barto was also a builder. I've looked on the web to see if there are any photos from Cura's early days to no avail.

Barto had done some photo sessions about a decade ago were he was flashing his torso (might as well focus on your target demographic), but I haven't been able to find any of those photos either.

[Mdlftr]

Originally Posted by hulkmuscle

I've never really been a huge opera fan although I do listen to it occasionally, mainly the basic Puccini/Verdi stuff (I really dig the overripe stuff) and some Strauss (Salome's pretty phantasmagorical).

Someone not long ago mentioned that Jose Cura, the opera tenor, used to be a bodybuilder/trainer, and I know that pianist Tzimon Barto was also a builder. I've looked on the web to see if there are any photos from Cura's early days to no avail.
.

..AHEM! The prior reference to Cura would be from moi.

I had the good fortune to be in a Washington Opera production of Samson and Delilah where Cura played Samson. He DID used to be a bodybuilding instructor in Argentina before he won several singing competitions and got his big breaks. He is tall, about 6'1" to 6'2" or so, around 220#, I'd guess, VERY good looking, and has a terrific voice! [Picture Mike Mentzer with longer hair and a beard]

Unfortunately, all the backstage photos I have of him are in costume. The closest thing to what you want would be a production picture of him in Act II, when Samson, blinded and bound to a mill wheel, is in a prison. His muscular torso is partially revealed by the torn shirt he is wearing. At the end of the opera, he literally brings down the "house" (Temple of Dagon) by pulling on the chains that are bound to his wrists. As he does his 'cable flyes', to a crescendo from the orchestra, the large stone pillars of the temple of Dagon come flying down, the ceiling stones collapse, the gigantic statue of Dagon falls and all the chorus (many of whom were serious chubbolas) are all crushed, to the stirring sounds of Saint-Saens.

You want corny and over-ripe, this opera has it! Also, some GREAT music! {e.g., Samson's rallying cry to the Hebrew prisoners at the beginning}

Mdlftr

[Mdlftr]

...Samuel Raimey in "Mephistophele"!

He emerges from the orchestra pit at the beginning of the opera. Playing Mephistopele, he is tastefully attired in red paints, shoes and sox, with small discrete horns sprouting from his forehead. His bare, hairy torso and face and arms are painted red to match the clothes. He is sinewy and muscular, without the bulk of Cura, but very toned. Think long distance runner who lifts.

Great singer, great body (lot of sighs of rapture from the audience. Nothing like a lust-struck opera groupie. Truly proves the adage that sex can sell anything, and the most unlikely people can get turned on in the most unlikely places!!)

..Betcha you'll be checking out the programs at Lincoln Center, now, Hulkmuscle! You don't know what you've been missing!



Mdlftr

[hulkmuscle]

Originally Posted by Mdlftr

..AHEM! The prior reference to Cura would be from moi. ...

Picture Mike Mentzer with longer hair and a beard

O, sweet mistery of life at last I found you...!

(Poor Madeline Kahn, she never got her due).

[glammaman2000]

...(there's a new baritone who does"Billy Budd"&"Streetcar")but I know a surprising number of bodybuilders who are opera fans.Something about the"epic"quality.I used to dance with City Opera&the Met(sometimes in the same night!)&I HATE"Samson"!Couldn't get the music outta my head!The aria you referred to was:"Israel,ronte chiens!"(Israel;break your chains!)We decided it sounded like a pep-rally tune&made new lyrics,"Hail to thee,Israel High!"A classic.

[Corwin]

When I met MassingUp in NYC, we went to see WICKED (night after the opening). Does that count for anything?

As for nicely muscled men in musicals, the jail scene of Bombay Dreams isn't bad, nor are the beach boys in Mamma Mia.

[hulkmuscle]

Originally Posted by Corwin

When I met MassingUp in NYC, we went to see WICKED (night after the opening). Does that count for anything?

Yes Corwin, you get two gold sequin stars on your membership card. Get 10 and you win a cappuccino maker!

On a similar note, I forgot ex-Mr. Olympia Chris Dickerson is/was an opera singer. I don't know what's on his resume, but I do see him and his lover (I assume it's his lover) from time to time out and about.

[Corwin]

[QUOTE=hulkmuscle]Yes Corwin, you get two gold sequin stars on your membership card. Get 10 and you win a cappuccino maker!/QUOTE]

I heart Cherry Jones. If that doesn't get me the deluxe cappuccino maker (and a toaster oven), nothing will.

[CanadianGordon]

Ahem. All this talk about muscles and musicals, and you've forgotten about one very Homoerotic director : John Logan.


Think the Navy boys in South Pacific.. The football players in All American.

Yum.

And I saw a production of Gypsy recently (Shaw Festival-Canadian...) just last month and at one point four well built chorus boys came out as part of the striptease section near the end of the show. Let's just say it made me like the production a lot more. Alas they were already scantily clad, and couldn't remove anything else without ruining the production.. And they hadn't advertised full nudity....

[Corwin]

www.ibdb.com

[Corwin]

So, after finding the ibdb, I had to search for my ex. he's a set designer, and has a broadway credit (he also is in the imdb).

Both my ex (aka Timmy) and my current partner of 10 years (Champy) have an ex in common. He's a chorus boy who was in Contact and does lots of Broadway Cares works. So, I ibdb'ed him too, and it looks like he's opening in a new musical -- Jersey Boys. He plays Bob Crewe. I'm thinking of surprising Champy and take him to NYC to see his ex. The musical premieres next month and opens in November.

[Mdlftr]

Originally Posted by Corwin

So, after finding the ibdb, I had to search for my ex. he's a set designer, and has a broadway credit (he also is in the imdb).

Both my ex (aka Timmy) and my current partner of 10 years (Champy) have an ex in common. He's a chorus boy who was in Contact and does lots of Broadway Cares works. So, I ibdb'ed him too, and it looks like he's opening in a new musical -- Jersey Boys. He plays Bob Crewe. I'm thinking of surprising Champy and take him to NYC to see his ex. The musical premieres next month and opens in November.

Hmmm... Maybe a friendly 'warning' before you spring this surprise, Corwin? I've had some surprises when I ran into old girlfriends---there's a REASON you're "Ex-es" to each other!

Just a thought.....



Mdlftr

[Corwin]

Originally Posted by Mdlftr

Hmmm... Maybe a friendly 'warning' before you spring this surprise, Corwin? I've had some surprises when I ran into old girlfriends---there's a REASON you're "Ex-es" to each other!

Just a thought.....



Mdlftr

Nah, they're all still friends. Timmy and Champy even get along. They feel they have a common adversary. ME

[hulkmuscle]

Originally Posted by Corwin

Nah, they're all still friends. Timmy and Champy even get along. They feel they have a common adversary. ME

Timmy? Champy?!? Did you date two of the seven dwarves (dwarfs)?

At least it's nice to have something in common.

Bit of trivia from ibdb: Steve Reeves (Hercules himself) had bit parts in the musicals Kismet, a sumptuous hit inspired by the Arabian Nights, and The Vamp, a notorious flop starring Carol Channing.

[Corwin]

Originally Posted by hulkmuscle

Timmy? Champy?!? Did you date two of the seven dwarves (dwarfs)?

Greggy,

1) all Tim's are actually the same person
2) any gay man has dated way more than seven dwarves
3) yes

Originally Posted by hulkmuscle

At least it's nice to have something in common.

yes it is.

Did I mention that said Chorus Boy turned Supporting Player has one hard body?

[glammaman2000]

...."Li'l"...."Abner"....discuss.

[hulkmuscle]

Reeves screentested for Lil Abner (there are some wonderful photos of him that I'll try to post when I find them) but got passed over by Peter Palmer on Broadway AND the movie.

Unfortunately for our big boy, Steve's muscle flexing was more musical than his singing voice.

[glammaman2000]

...there was nothing wrong with Steve Reeves'SPEAKING voice!The rumor got passed around that his voice was odd,because it was dubbed in the"Hercules"films.But that was the custom in Italy;where the cast might speak five different languages."Dub everybody!"

[hulkmuscle]

In the inimitable words of Lina Lamont: "I CAHN'T stan'im!"

[Mdlftr]

Hey, Janice Joplin (late 1960s rocker for you newbies who probably weren't even conceived yet!!) had a horrible, scratchy, growly voice but she made a classic of "Oh Lord, Wontcha Buy Me A Mercedes Benz!"


It's all in how you put over the song! See Rex Harrison in "My Fair Lady". He speaks/declaims his songs. And he's the definitive version!

Steve Reeves was a looker, that's for sure. I met him once at a signing, and he was still very handsome - great bones, terrifice teeth, fit (he was dressed) big arms. Who cares about the voice?

Trivia bit: ever hear Clint Eastwood sing "They Call the Wind Maria" from "Paint your Wagon"? He's good! And his career took a different path..

Mdlftr

[Corwin]

Originally Posted by hulkmuscle

In the inimitable words of Lina Lamont: "I CAHN'T stan'im!"

That's Singing in the Rain, not L'il Abner.

Two new words: Rocky Horror

Scott, rose tint my world, keep me safe from the trouble and pain...

[hulkmuscle]

It's beyond me, help me Mommy!

(Sorry, get me started on quoting lyrics, and I'm a goner...)

As a singer whose voice is less than stellar, I know you don't have to sound like Domingo (or God forbia an American Idol contestant) to sell a song. My strength was always in interpreting lyrics, bending them to the context of the narrative, "acting" them to fit the moment, and ultimately building a rapport with the audience. Bernadette Peters, Andrea Marcovicci, and the great Julie Wilson are two masters of that.

Bernadette Peters in particular was astounding in <i>Gypsy</i> even if you thought she was miscast as Mama Rose. She mined those words for every nuance and color and was even able to sell the songs when her voice was completely ragged and worn (as, unfortunately, it was most of the time).

Similar to the way you adapt workouts and routines to address specific bodyparts. Pretty apt metaphor, eh?

See, muscles...musicals...not so very different.

I talk about this in greater detail on my blog (also have some nifty performance shots of me when I was a wee slip of a thing):

Hulkmuscle's Stage Antics

[Corwin]

Originally Posted by hulkmuscle

I talk about this in greater detail on my blog (also have some nifty performance shots of me when I was a wee slip of a thing:

Hulkmuscle's Stage Antics

I see you were in Fiddler. One of the things we want to see is Harvey (and Rosie? ) on Broadway, but I digress. You're lucky you weren't in the original cast. With Bea Arthur as the original Yenta, you wouldn't have stood a chance. Maybe now that you've bulked up, but definitely not then.



Did you think you'd get a prince?
Well I do the best I can.
With no dowry, no money, no family background
Be glad you got a man!

[hulkmuscle]

Originally Posted by Corwin

I see you were in Fiddler. One of the things we want to see is Harvey (and Rosie? ) on Broadway, but I digress. You're lucky you weren't in the original cast. With Bea Arthur as the original Yenta, you wouldn't have stood a chance. Maybe now that you've bulked up, but definitely not then.

Rosie just went into Fiddler recently as Golde. No reports yet on how she is.

Bea Arthur was livid during the original tryout of Fiddler because Jerome Robbins kept cutting her role down; it was much larger out-of-town. She doesn't have anything nice to say about him in her one-woman show. I think she refers to him as "a horrible man."

And yes, unfortunately, I don't think I'd be physically right for Motel any longer unless I went on an extreme diet and didn't work out. And we know that ain't happening. *Sigh*

Guess I'd have to settle for Perchik...

[Corwin]

Originally Posted by hulkmuscle

Guess I'd have to settle for Perchik...

Or Golde if Rosie doesn't work out...

p.s. we loved Bea's one woman show when we saw it. and her recipe for lamb is sublime

[glammaman2000]

EVERYBODY thought Jerome Robbins was a horrible man.There's a classic story about the entire cast of"West Side Story"calmly watching as Jerry accidently stepped backwards into the orchestra pit while chewing them out in rehearsal.Nobody said a word.

[hulkmuscle]

Originally Posted by hulkmuscle

Reeves screentested for Lil Abner (there are some wonderful photos of him that I'll try to post when I find them) but got passed over by Peter Palmer on Broadway AND the movie.

Unfortunately for our big boy, Steve's muscle flexing was more musical than his singing voice.

Here are some publicity stills Reeves took but to no avail.

Steve Reeves as L'il Abner
Steve Reeves as L'il Abner 2
Steve Reeves as L'il Abner 3

[glammaman2000]

..."to no avail"?We're still drooling,aren't we?