A DOCUMENTARY:
TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO MUSICAL HAS GONE BEFORE...
Behind the scenes of “Beware The Eyes Of Mars”
He shows how he made the musical's message so strong that it binds the cast and crew together as one family, united in an almost impossible goal...to stage a new kind of musical with no budget!
In addition, the show broke new ground for the musical genre itself. As of the date of this writing, it is still the first and only full fledged stage musical with extraterrestrials as the main characters. The (2006) staging also included the first known use of singing robots and ray-guns in a stage musical!
Only through tears, fear, luck and a lot of hard work will we see an opening night.
But will the show go on?
And can you mastermind a cult musical?
Composer David Mann reveals the creative process of how this new modern musical was made and how the live footage evolved into a promotional film.
See backstage footage and lots of behind the scenes drama! When the show gets too long and when the musical's alienation theme gets clouded (or dated) by the anti-war message, we learn why some deleted scenes must end up on the cutting room floor.
And when groups of tweens and teens come to see the show a second and third time dressed as the main characters do the producers fully realize the kid appeal of the show!
Witness a catfight between the lead actors that devolved live onstage!
Best (or worst of all), see what happened on opening night that brought in the police and the fire department!
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"Alienated: A Fantastical Movie Musical" and the documentary "To Boldly Go Where No Musical Has Gone Before" will premiere as a double feature at Cinema Paradiso in the near future.
A word from the composer:
Driving home from a gig one night after playing "Born In the USA" at the dueling piano bar where I performed, I learned that G. W. Bush had won a second term. Angered by his reelection and the U.S. occupation of Iraq, I drove home with inspiration. On my way home, I turned on my iPod and listened to the music of a play I had staged almost a decade ago.
Driven by new songs and a completely rewritten storyline with alienation as its theme and the 1960's peace movement as its setting, I set out to do the hardest thing you could possibly imagine...A task harder than forming a company; harder than running a race; harder than any class or course...the staging of a new and modern musical!
Unfortunately the show was staged in my hometown Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where any unknown show that does not involve menopause, Fiddler On The Roof or Jerry Herman does not fare well, no matter how great (no offense to the great Jerry Herman; being Jewish myself I appreciate these kinds of plays but that is not the kind of music that I write. Also, there happens to be one Jewish character in my musical as well as a few original late 1960's styled songs that helped comfort the more mature south Florida crowd).
However, we had several well attended and well received weekend shows that made it all worthwhile and allowed us to work out the kinks of the new show. We also learned that the show had great kid appeal as we saw groups of tweens and teens coming to see the show a second and third time! Any future staging however, would be better served in a metropolitan city such as New York, Los Angeles or Chicago where they appreciate and cultivate modern musicals. Once it has more name recognition and a bigger budget, I think it could attract a larger south Florida audience.
From editing the live footage of the stage musical, I realized that the show would work very well as a film. This prompted me to create a promotional film of the show and subsequent documentary to garner interest in producing it as a movie musical feature film.
-David Mann