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May 24, 2002/Sivan 13 5762, Vol. 54, No. 36
Picture-book stories come to life on stage
LEISAH NAMM
Assistant Editor
Valley audiences will serve as a test market for a new theater experience in which picture books come to life.
"Pinocchio and Mounette," the first production by Picture Book Productions, created by Emmy Award-winning writer, composer and producer Allan Jay Friedman, will be staged and workshopped May 28-June 6 at Scottsdale Community College.
This new art form - a Picture Book Musical - presents picture-book stories onstage with full, prerecorded orchestration. When the curtain rises, the audience sees a colorful stage-size opened picture book. Special lighting and effects make the characters come alive as the actors step off the page to perform.
Friedman, a Los Angeles resident, decided to use Phoenix as a "home base" to launch the program because "it's fresh, the people are nice (and) it's got a healthy environment.
"I think it's ready to explode, and it could be the cultural home for America if it's developed right. ... I think this can be one of the cultural meccas of the world," he says.
A Picture Book Musical may be cloned easily because of the way it is packaged, Friedman says. It starts with an actual picture book containing the story and two compact discs: one with visuals and the other with audio. With a projector, the visuals, done by top artists, can be transposed onto a screen, Friedman explains. The audio compact disc provides the music the actors sing with, similar to karaoke. "All we need is a screen and a projector and a CD setup, and you can do entire operas and musicals," Friedman says.
After the show is perfected in Scottsdale, Friedman plans a national tour. "Each show that we do will have a major star attached to it, and we plan to develop local talent in every city in which we go," he says. Each star will receive a copy of the picture book so "we can bring in a star to sing with us and to perform with us with virtually no rehearsal," he explains.
He plans to hold future productions at small venues, such as community colleges and high schools throughout the country and give back a percentage of ticket sales to art and culture programs at the school. "We want to perpetuate culture," he says. A scholarship fund has been set up for the SCC production, which is under the direction of James O'Brien of SCC's Maricopa Institute for Arts & Entertainment Technology.
"Pinocchio and Mounette" is a musical love story that offers a new take on the children's story "Pinocchio." Friedman wrote the original story and the score and collaborated on the book and lyrics with Bob Merrill, whose musical resume includes Broadway hits "Carnival" and "Funny Girl."
Friedman's theatrical productions include "Winnie the Pooh," "The Hobbit," "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Count of Monte Cristo." He also won an Emmy Award for the ABC television special "The Young Man from Boston," about John F. Kennedy, and has written several motion screenplays and books. Past collaborators and partners include comedian Steve Allen and actor Gene Kelly.
Picture Book Musicals is the first subsidiary of Picture Book Productions. Other subsidiaries in development are Picture Book Seminars, hosted by stars featuring legends from their respective areas; and Picture Book Biographies, about such noted figures as Frank Sinatra and Kennedy.
"I wanted to do something that I could do by myself, without Hollywood and New York, and without great expense and yet would look beautiful and be classy and magical and mystical," Friedman says. "Everything we do is to inspire, entertain and educate."
Details
- What: "Pinocchio and Mounette"
- When: May 28-June 6
- Where: Scottsdale Community College Performing Arts Center, 9000 E. Chaparral Road
- Cost: $15
- Call: 480-423-6399
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