As I mentioned over the weekend, I saw and enjoyed "Head Over Heels" on Broadway. The entire cast is very strong -- Peppermint's singing voice aside -- but Broadway newcomer Bonnie Milligan is certainly a delight as the bodacious full-of-herself beauty Bonnie.
I was the only hardcore fan in my group that saw "Head Over Heels" that day. So everyone was asking me what I thought of the musical choices and if anything was blatantly "missing." My response was that it was a little heavy on the post-reunion catalogue but that there were no obvious omissions. Knowing that the producers had to tell a story with songs that were already written makes the choices understandable -- "Beautiful" and "Good Girl" are perfect as Pamela and sister Philoclea, respectively -- although it did seem like "This Town" would have been the perfect theme for Arcadia. (The music is used as an interlude, however.)
And if you're wondering, "Vacation" and "This Old Feeling" were probably used to the greatest effect, but I won't spoil how!
Four out of five Go-Go's were great on "CBS Sunday Morning" ...
The Go-Go's made a surprise appearance on Broadway last night, where I hear they performed "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "Head Over Heels" with the cast of their new musical. The New York Times did a fun piece about five of the show's songs, -- producer Richard Gottehrer is pretty bitchy about the "Vacation" album(!) and Belinda Carlisle had this to say about the title track:
That was the beginning of the end, that album. We were run ragged, we didn’t know how to say no. The song has an upbeat, cheerful melody and lyrically it really captures the darker side of fame and fortune — I had an appreciation for the lyrics then but not like I do now in hindsight.
I'm slated to finally see a preview of the show a week from tomorrow!
They've got the beat: Kathy Valentine, Charlotte Caffey, Jane Wiedlin, Belinda Carlisle and Gina Schock
The world's head was a little less lost Monday night when Kathy Valentine reunited with the Go-Go's for a short concert at Bowery Ballroom to promote "Head Over Heels," the upcoming musical heading to Broadway featuring 17 of the band's songs.
An inspired mash-up of posh and punk, "Head Over Heels" is an unpredictable, Elizabethan romp about a royal family that must prevent an oracle's prophecy of doom. In order to save their beloved kingdom, the family embarks on an extravagant journey wrought with mistaken identities, jealous lovers, sexual awakening, scandal and self-discovery, where everything (and everyone) is not quite what it seems.
Insider buzz on “Head Over Heels” is strong. The show’s had a few workshops since it premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015. It’s gotten better each time, sources say.
It did hit a bump in the road when the original writer, Jeff Whitty, left the production. Whitty, who wrote the script to “Avenue Q,” is a talented writer. And at the Go-Go’s concert Monday night, people involved in the show told me much of his original script was “great fun” and “brilliantly theatrical.”
But it was long. “Head Over Heels” ran three hours in Oregon, prompting one of the Go-Go’s to remark, “I love the Go-Go’s. I’m in the Go-Go’s. But I can’t take three hours of the Go-Go’s.”
James Magruder stepped in to streamline the script, under the supervision of director Michael Mayer, who won the Tony for his terrific production of “Spring Awakening.”
While “Head Over Heels” uses Go-Go’s music, it’s not the band’s story. The show is based on “Arcadia,” a 16th-century prose poem by Sir Philip Sidney, and is set in a magical land of dukes, oracles, lions, bears -- and more than a couple of cross-dressers. The cast includes Jeremy Kushnier, Taylor Iman Jones, Andrew Durand, Rachel York and Peppermint (of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” fame).
While it's no secret I'm not a big musical theater goer, I don't know that there was anyone more excited to be there than I was -- especially with this guy by my side.
Damian's future's so bright ...
Legendary MTV veejay Mark Goodman spoke with director Michael Mayer -- who described the show as the perfect escapist antidote for today's troubled times -- before introducing the band.
And then out came the ladies ...
who launched into "Vacation," Kathy's classic written for her old band the Textones ...
followed by "How Much More," which Charlotte wrote with Jane ...
Andy Cohen and Sandra Bernhard -- (S)Andy -- were to my right, loving every minute of it ...
Was a little surprised that they then did "Mad About You," which was technically written (by replacement Go-Go Paula Jean Brown) for the band's first post-Jane album before ending up on Belinda's solo debut ...
Then came their cover classic, "Cool Jerk." Belinda really seemed to get into the song with Kath and her bad, bad bass ...
The play's title track was next -- a Caffey/Valentine collaboration ...
Followed by the one-two "Beauty and the Beat" punch of "Our Lips Are Sealed" (Wiedlin/Terry Hall)
... and "We Got the Beat” (Caffey).
Afterward we got to spend a little time with Kathy ...
And I confronted Mark Goodman about his missing trademark curly locks. (He hates them and gets his hair straightened these days!)
Miss Guy -- my all-time favorite deejay -- did not disappoint ...
Then I bumped into Charlotte and showed her the photo I took of her when my friend Mark and I stalked the Go-Go's on their 1984 tour. She was so tickled she went running -- with my phone -- across the venue (with no warning) to show her posse, laughing and saying, "That was definitely 'Talk Show' hair!"
It remains to be seen if "Head Over Heels: The Musical" is my cup of tea -- the music's obviously great and the cast is adorable, so that helps! -- but seeing these five women onstage again most definitely is. Here's hoping they continue to play together. We wouldn't want them to be rusty (or estranged) when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finally comes knocking.
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