Archive

Identifier: LOVE2003

Inclusive Dates: 2000 - 2003

Extent:

Roundabout Theatre Company staged the musical revue, The Look of Love: The Love Songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, featuring the music of Burt Bacharach and Hal David and conceived by David Thompson, Scott Ellis, David Loud and Ann Reinking, with first preview April 4, 2003, opening night May 4, and closing night June 15, 2003. Special thanks were given to Clear Channel Entertainment, Horipro, Inc., Nederlander Presentations, National Artists Management Company, and East of Doheny, Inc. for their support of the project.

Under different iterations, Roundabout organized 2 workshops and co-produced a related project, What The World Needs Now, that featured the songs of Bacharach/David with choreography (in this case, by the choreographer Gillian Lynne). What the World Needs Now was staged at the Old Globe in San Diego, CA in 1998.

Critical response to The Look of Love was mixed - some critics appreciated the nostalgic look at the music of this songwriting duo but most found the production's concert style lacking in theatrical content. Charles Isherwood, writing for Variety, noted that "the songs were not written to hold a stage, and they don't...the songs shine brightest in laid-back pop arrangements and smooth, unforced vocal performances ideally served by records." [Variety, May 5, 2003]  

Directed by Scott Ellis, with music direction and arrangements by David Loud, choreography by Ann Reinking, set design by Derek McLane, costume design by Martin Pakledinaz, lighting design by Howell Binkley, sound design by Brian Ronan, orchestrations by Don Sebesky, and music coordination by John Miller.

Performers: Capathia Jenkins, Eugene Fleming, Jonathan Dokuchitz, Kevin Ceballo, Janine LaManna, Liz Callaway, Shannon Lewis, Rachelle Rak, Desmond Richardson, Farah Alvin, Nikki Renee Daniels. Swings: Allyson Turner and Eric Jordan Young.

Musicians: Sue Anschutz, Philip Fortenberry, Chuck Wilson, Kenneth Dybisz, Mark Thrasher, Jon Owens, Matt Peterson, Stephen Benson, Benjamin Franklin Brown, Dave Ratajczak, Bill Hayes, Paul Woodiel, Ella Rutkovsky, Jonathan Dinklage.
 

"Many people have tried to get Burt Bacharach's music onto the stage. The Roundabout Theatre Company approached Scott and myself [David Thompson] since we had done the Kander and Ebb revue, The World Goes 'Round, together, and we had done a Sondheim project for Carnegie Hall. So we looked at the material and found that Bacharach and David [Hal] had written 66 Top 40 hits, which is an enormous catalog. But almost all of that music was written for the radio. It's unlike working with a musical theatre composer, where you're dealing with music that was inherently built for character, inherently built for the stage. The challenge was to figure out how to make their songbook theatrical - we learned very quickly that Bacharach and David's music is already incredibly theatrical. Each lyric's narrative is usually a character singing about a situation from a point of view. Immediately we knew that we could get it onto the stage." [Excerpted from Love Talk, Roundabout Theatre Company's Upstage Guide, Spring 2003]

 

The production records consist of 4 Hollinger boxes spanning 22 folders. The production has extensive stage management documentation (calling script, full lighting bible/set bible, score) as well as related documents from previous workshops and an out-of-town co-production at the Old Globe in San Diego, CA, featuring similar work, titled What the World Needs Now. Taken in total, the records give a comprehensive overview of the creative and artistic choices made over the course of several years, culminating in the Broadway musical vevue. Production records include 2 Playbills, color cast/crew photo, direct mail flyers and disks containing both sound and light content.

Digital file includes:
Education file (PDF scan of study guide and memos) (1.01 MB)
General Management files (contract related) (207 KB)
Media file (re-mastered b-roll, official b-roll, audio interviews with Pakledinaz and Brinkley) (53.4 GB)
Playbill file (JPG scans of playbill) (78.9 MB)
Press file (PDF/A scan of select reviews and features) (1.38GB)
Photograph file (includes 25 color JPGs and select headshots (17.5 MB)
Show art file (includes TIF of windowcard) (3.99 MB)
Stage management file (includes memos, contracts, etc.) (5.43 MB)

Marketing file includes:  
Mock ups of artwork and ad placement discussions

Orchestra file includes:
2 additional copies of Piano Vocal score

Access Restrictions: Open and available for research by appointment only, except as where noted.

Preferred Citation: Look of Love, The (2003), Roundabout Theatre Company Archives