Chaplin - Musical

Chaplin the Musical is a Broadway play that started out in 1981. The story of the play was based on the life of the Hollywood legend, Charlie Chaplin. Born in London, Chaplin is perhaps one of the most celebrated actors and comedians of all time. His singing style, top hat and toothbrush mustache is his signature, and it is recognized by people anywhere, of any age. He defined the silent film age and was the lone star on the screen until the World War I ended. He was known to perform obvious visual comedies such as miming, and other slapstick routines. He even carried on his career well into the talking era in film. After that, he worked primarily as a film producer and director. Chaplin the Musical focuses on the actor’s early life.
 
Chaplin’s life began in the small town areas of London. It is almost unbelievable to deduce that someone who came from such a life would rise to such fame in Hollywood—for a feat of this nature was near to impossible in the years that he lived. Chaplin the Musical is attempting to bring to the stage the struggle and hard work he had to go through in order to achieve the status he received. The musical consists of a cast of 22 people who together want the audiences to know who the true Chaplin was. Behind the comedy and the genius was a real man who altered completely what the American audiences thought of the film industry.
 
The book for the musical has been written by Thomas Meehan who has won a Tony Award for his writing works three times. He has also written for other famous musicals like “The Producers” and “Hairspray”. Christopher Curtin has co written the book and has provided the lyrics and music. The choreographer and director of the music is Warren Carlyle who has worked on other theatre shows such as “Follies” and “Back on Broadway” before. The role of Charlie Chaplin will be played by Rob McClure. Chaplin the Musical tickets have begun to be sold for the previews which will take place through most of August. The full length Broadway premiere is expected to initiate in September of this year.
 
When the musical was announced in 1981, it was Joe Layton who serves as the choreographer and the director. The musical was being produced at the time by the popular Don Gregory. Their take on Charlie Chaplin was quite simple because they believed that an imitation of the actor was not required. Because the story focused on his early life, they could assume that the actor was not the silent movie star that the world knows him as. Although the producer insisted that they do not plan to make this play a psychological study, it cannot be ignored that the aspects of Chaplin’s life they chose to focus on were his sadness and his discovery of humor. They wanted the focal point to be Chaplin’s take on life in his early days—how he would find solace in comedy and how he was able to hide his sadness by being funny. It was this take that intrigued audiences and what helped them sell thousands of Chaplin the Musical tickets.
 
In the 80s, the role of Chaplin was played by an actor called John Rubinstein. Chaplin the Musical was divided into three acts. The first act consisted of the actor in a music hall in his hometown where he grew up. The second would comprise of the actor migrating to Hollywood to try and become a movie star. The third act would follow him to his peak in his career when he took on the role of “The Little Tramp”, a title which he would withhold for years and years to come.
 
Finally, after much preparation and rehearsal, Chaplin the Musical tickets were sold for its Broadway premiere in 1982. It did however face many financial troubles which prevented the musical from carrying on. Unfortunately, the play had to stop altogether due to lack of funds. It was resurrected in 1993 when a smaller production was staged in Miami. There, it even won the Carbonell Award in the category of “Best New Work”. The producer for this production was Paul Bartz. Another modern production is being attempted this year as the musical is being returned to its home in Broadway. Fans of the actor and the musical can attend the show and gain new insight into the actor’s life.