The main producers and creators behind Live Aid music Just for one day, Which officially opened on Tuesday night at the Old Vic, has teamed up to ensure that 10 percent of every ticket sold goes to the Band Aid Charitable Trust set up by Bob Geldof and others to help alleviate hunger and poverty in Ethiopia.
The fund can also expect more money to flow into its coffers if and when the show moves from the Old Vic to the West End — and possibly to Broadway, where its capital will be several times larger than the roughly 6 million pounds ($7.6 million) it costs to develop and stage in London.
Old Vic (Baz Bamigbwe/Deadline)
The former Boomtown Rats singer who headlined the massive Live Aid rock concerts held at Wembley Stadium in London and at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia on July 13, 1985, which featured the biggest rock acts of the time – David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Queen. and Tina Turner, to name a few, on a deal that ensures the trust will be the largest donor before and after the redemption.
If the audience has as good a time as your columnist and his wife did at a recent preview show, the sun won’t set Just for one day Anytime soon.
Who knew that one would get the chance to see former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher come face to face with Geldof? dynamite.
It should be noted that executives from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s LW Theaters were also in attendance, and there are rumors that they have already earmarked one of the organization’s six West End houses for Just for one day transformation.
From left: John O’Farrell, Bob Geldof and Luke Sheppard in rehearsals for “Just For One Day” (Manuel Harlan)
I covered Live Aid at Wembley – an incredibly spectacular time because Bruce Springsteen played the same stadium the weekend before – and when I watched… Just for one day, it was as if I had stepped back in time, although the story of that day is seen through the prism of “ordinary people who are the heroes, and the people who set them,” as the show’s book writer John O. Farrell put it.
“I’ve always felt that we should recognize these people as well as the pop stars — the people who work the lights, the truck drivers… and all the people who volunteer to do so much,” O’Farrell said.
“I thought this was a better way to do it, and also a more democratic way to do it,” he told me when we spoke during a break from watching series director Luke Sheppard.And Juliet), making changes to the “melting pot of stories” with his team before the official first night.
“It’s such a huge, epic thing, such a massive day in history, so getting justice means a lot to us,” said Sheppard, who has another offer. Small big things, playing around town @sohoplace. Sheppard has also signed on to direct the Andrew Lloyd Webber remake Starlight Express And it has a hoped-for move to Broadway for Rob Madge My son is cranky (but what can you do?). He will also direct the new one Paddington The musical is being developed by Sonia Friedman Productions, Studiocanal and Eliza Lumley Productions for Universal Music UK. the Paddington The films were produced by Studiocanal and Heyday Films.
Luke Sheppard at The Old Vic. Photography – Baz Bamigboye/Deadline.
Sheppard told me it was necessary Just for one day It’s not like a tribute show because “we’ve never been interested in doing stuff like that” but “what’s important to us is the spirits of David Bowie or Freddie Mercury continuing in the hands of a new generation.”
He added that the show is about “giving a platform to artists who have their own unusual sounds and a whole new look at these songs and with a new interpretation.”
The structure of O’Farrell’s book combines tales of those who were there with stories of today’s youth who question the purpose of Live Aid.
As an author of historical and political books, O’Farrell knew that a musical about Live Aid was a high-stakes story.
“I’m very close to the material – I instantly know the context of every song, every bit of politics and personalities of the day,” he explained.
O’Farrell noted that when lead producer Jimmy Wilson called him ( Mrs. Doubtfire Musician) to write the screenplay, both insisted that “we couldn’t make it a big Bob Geldof hero story.”
Craig Els as Bob Geldof in Just for One Day (Manuel Harlan)
They find they have an unexpected ally in Geldof himself.
When O’Farrell visited Geldof at his home in Kent and was asked to tell him the story of the show, the singer responded in a visceral way. “He said, ‘This is trivial…it shouldn’t be a Bob Geldof story,'” O’Farrell recalls.
Producer Wilson said Geldof was beyond cooperative on the project. “Getting everyone to say yes” to releasing the rights to their songs was very difficult, Wilson said.
Even Queen turned down an initial request to use three songs, “and Geldof had to write a letter to Roger Taylor and Brian May” to help convince them otherwise.
Wilson smiled and said May had watched recordings of footage from some of the three workshops and said: ‘Don’t take three, take four!’ “You’ve got to have ‘We Will Rock You’ in there too,” joining “Radio Ga Ga,” “We Are the Champions” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Wilson said Bowie’s estate was the first to give permission. It’s interesting to see how his “heroes” and “rebel rebels” act.” It was introduced into the show.
Just for one day Boasting a fantastic ensemble that includes strong West End names such as Julie Atherton, Ashley Campbell, Jackie Clune, Ollie Dobson, Craig Els, James Hamid, Joel Montague, Jack Shallow, Daniel Steers, Rhys Wilkinson and some, but not all, who are new to me . They are Jason Battersby, Joe Edgar, Joe Foster, Colette Guitar, Naomi Katyo, Hope Keena, Freddie Love, Abiona Omunwa, Emily Aoi and Tamara Tari, with all cast by Stuart Burt and choreography by Ebony Molina.
‘Just for a Day’ cast (Baz Bamigboye/Deadline)
Echoing what Sheppard has previously noted, these are artists with extraordinary voices accompanied by musicians Patrick Hurley, Rachel Murphy, Nathaniel Adamson, Joe Evans, Matt Isaacs, and Cody Pham under the direction of Matthew Brind – who did the musical supervision and arrangement – and musical director. Patrick Hurtley with voice coach Charlie Hughes-Dyth.
The song rocked while I was there, and I was astonished that the audience – with the exception of one or two dopers – did not join in the singing until they were given permission to do so. One of the tasks Sheppard was doing during my training visit was to find a way to signal to the audience that it was okay to join in at some point.
Trips to many musicals have been ruined because some audience members think we paid money to hear them they Sing along with the show.
One look from Els, who said his portrait of Geldof “is the mild-mannered version,” should put these people on their best behavior.
He felt that the trick to Geldof’s portrayal “is that he is a wonderful human being…full of contradictions but also super-intelligent, huge-hearted, and extremely knowledgeable.” He doesn’t sit on the fence either. If there was an opinion, Bob would have it. So when an actor is trying to be Bob, you have to bring the passion and enthusiasm that goes with it.
Geldof attended rehearsals 70 percent of the time and was more interested in Els’s portrayal of his “essence” and less interested in his own. Spitting image From himself.”
Geldof was also at pains to mention that he couldn’t have done it without everyone else’s input, Els told me, saying: “He’s very humble about that.”
Most importantly, Els said he tried to balance the argumentative, and perhaps curmudgeon, side of Geldof with someone who is “passionate and someone who believes in something and someone who is cheeky.”
In my meetings and conversations with Geldof, it was an honor to be bombarded by him.
Els joked that he had never sworn in any production “as much as he swore in this production.”
However, he didn’t keep track of how many times he uttered the F-bomb. “I’ll have to count them one day,” he said.
And for heaven’s sake, hats off to Geldof. The problems in Ethiopia have not disappeared. “He spent Christmas there,” Els said. “He never walked away.”
The big thematic element to Just for one day“It’s about bringing people together” and “how when you put your mind to something when you bring people together, then you can make change,” Sheppard suggested.
The old and new faces I saw sitting around in the Old Vic watching the show suggested that Sheppard was on to something.
It’s nice to salute heroes, even if it’s just for one day.