THE IDEA of recounting the life of John Lennon in a major Broadway musical is
one of the most tantalising and risk-taking of theatrical gestures. Such is
the scale of Lennon’s legend, and so deep is the public’s emotional
investment in his image, words and music, that to circumscribe his myth in
such a way would appear self-defeating.
Lennon, however, which has been given the vital approval of his widow Yoko
Ono, is previewing to ecstatically enthusiastic audiences in New York. It
officially opens there next Sunday. From a technical point of view, the
production is as inventive as it is audacious. But many people will have to
take a deep breath before they consider the principal device that drives the
drama: that Lennon himself is played by not one actor but nine, comprising
three white and two black men and four women — an Asian, a Hispanic, one
black woman and one white woman. The actors take turns to narrate John’s
life story, their words taken from the archives of the many interviews given
by Lennon himself. The Beatles are played by women, and, at one point, Paul
McCartney is played by a black man.
It is difficult to think of a comparable project. Despite the recent trend for
musicals that celebrate the iconic figures of rock and pop, a venture such
as the Queen-inspired We Will Rock You, or last year’s exuberant
fantasy based on the songs of Rod Stewart, Tonight’s the Night,
are essentially feelgood tribute shows that have no responsibility to the
philosophies of a zealously guarded global hero. Add to this the artistic
problems of depicting Lennon onstage, not to mention the circumstances of
his death, and the complexities appear overwhelming.
Nobody has been more aware of the dangers than Yoko Ono. Sitting with her in
their apartment in the Dakota building, she is clearly aware that Lennon
could be an unmissable target to cynical critics. Already there have been
controversies: that the history is too one-sided in Yoko’s favour, or that
the other Beatles aren’t given enough credit.
“I know that I’m the ‘B-side’ of the story,” she says, “and that’s fine with
me. Because I really want people to come to this show, and I don’t want to
offend anybody. We’re not very optimistic, because there’s so much
controversy involved already. But we’re not trying to be controversial, we
are just trying to send a normal message. Don Scardino is the scriptwriter
and director, and this whole idea is his. And it’s remarkable, I think.
“I was immediately attracted to the idea. Usually, the problem is that they
want to show John’s story, but who are they going to find to play him? John
was here until quite recently, and so he is still clear in people’s
memories. But when Don and the producer Edgar Lansbury came to see me, they
explained that they understood the complexity of John, and that’s why they
wanted all nine actors to play him. John was always promoting the idea that
we are all one, and he would have loved to be an Asian John Lennon or a
black John Lennon — that was him.”
Without Yoko’s permission, Lennon would be impossible to stage. In approving
the idea of a culturally composite John, she has in effect pronounced that
John — or the idea of him — belongs to everyone. But Lennon
must still resolve fundamental collisions of opposing ideas. John Lennon
remains arguably the most popular icon of rock music’s capacity for
rebellion, for questioning the accepted order of beliefs, and asserting the
need for individual and collective action to bring about positive change.
How to retain the integrity of his beliefs within the traditionally upbeat
and uncritical medium of a Broadway musical? One answer is that John and
Yoko used all the media at their disposal, from billboards to free concerts
to chat shows, to promote their political beliefs. For Yoko, this musical is
a timely continuation of that process.
“I hadn’t been so aware of how clearly this would be another chance to remind
the world how world peace is important. But when the show was being laid
out, and I saw the songs, I realised that this is an important message now.”
In preview in New York, the speeches and songs relating to John and Yoko’s
campaign for world peace — notably Give Peace a Chance — were
received with cheers, whoops and standing ovations. There seemed little
doubt that for this particular audience the message had an immediate and
urgent relevance. It is yet to be seen whether the show will come to London,
and whether British audiences will be equally open to its message.
There is no suggestion in Lennon that anyone could equal John’s
performance of his own material. Rather, that the combination of John
Lennon’s radicalism with the exuberance and emotive spirit of a Broadway
musical creates its own heady drama. This is Lennon for the postmodern age
of pop and rock as entertainment rather than confrontation.
Audiences will decide whether any of the message is lost, but it is a
testament to Lennon’s genius as a musician and songwriter that his great
ballads appear effortlessly to transpose into the modern musical form — the Lennon
to Lion King axis is not so fraught as one might imagine.
It is also an exercise that asks Lennon purists to consider the musical
theatre as an extension, rather than a debasement, of their hero’s work. And
only the coldest of hearts would not thaw at the musical’s finale, in which
Lennon’s death is recounted by a cop, prior to a screen filling with John
and Yoko in the white music room at Ascot, with Lennon singing Imagine.
“In fact, John and I were thinking about making a musical based on our lives
as long ago as 1978,” says Yoko. “John was interested in the idea, and
started putting together some songs: he wrote Real Love, I Don’t
Want To Lose You and India, India. We were thinking of covering
from when we first met at Indica Gallery, whereas Lennon is about the
whole of his life story, which is far more interesting. I was surprised when
John suggested a musical, but not that surprised because he was always
interested in crossing over into different forms. Many of his songs are
theatrical, and of the rock musicians, there are very few who wrote so many
beautiful ballads — which are very much like songs from a musical.”
- Lennon is at the Broadhurst Theatre, New York from Aug 14 (001 212
239 6200)
ROCK MUSICALS: HITS AND MISSES
We Will Rock You
Freddie Mercury and Queen revived by Ben Elton. Its success
highlighted the current trend for tribute band musicals.
Tonight’s the Night
A stompalong fantasy, again by Ben Elton, held together by the songs
of Rod Stewart, to slightly less applause than We Will Rock You.
Mamma Mia
The relentlessly upbeat Abba musical, pleasing to both die-hard fans
of the Swedish pop group and connoisseurs of kitsch. Its success put
thoughts in the head of all pop stars with sizeable back catalogues fit
to plunder.
Taboo
The joker in the pack of West End musicals. Based on the gay
demi-monde of London’s club scene in the early 1980s, Boy George’s
autobiographical romp became an unlikely hit on both sides of the
Atlantic.
Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
An arty attempt to translate the appeal of Morrissey’s old group the Smiths
into a theatrical experience. Following last month’s London run, it goes
on tour in the autumn. Morrissey’s own suggestion was that the group
“should be buried in a shoe box in the garden”.
