Staging
Character Breakdown
FATHER MACLEAN Age mid forties to early fifties.
Pimp, con man, petty crook and parish priest at The Church Of Our Souls. Not a lot is known about his shady past. He becomes Johnny’s manager and plots his murder. There’s more profit in a dead Prophet. There are three main facets to his character. The Master of Ceremonies - with a good line in stand-up comedy, the no nonsense rock manager, and the evil violent drunkard. Devilishly sinister but also immensely charming.
JOHNNY To play from 16 -21. A good looking boy. Born on the wrong side of the tracks. Passionate, naive and a fabulous rock/pop star. Must have a great voice and preferably be a good guitarist.
MARY Late 30’s /early forties Attractive,good body, great singer. Mary brings up Johnny alone and secretly works as a prostitute to make ends meet. A victim who learns to fight too late. A very kind and loving mother.
DESIRE Young beautiful, and very sexy. She first sees Johnny singing in church and becomes his most faithful disciple. A strange Gothic girl who’ll do anything to further Johnny’s career. Absolutely anything.
POPE LIBERTY III Age late forties onwards. Pope Liberty is an old fat American. The only thing that keeps him alive is his Sacred Heart pacemaker. A cross between Liberace, Gary Glitter and an obese Elvis, he has a back up band called ‘The Cardinales’. Great comedian and performer.
CHARLIE FORTUNE Sexy, black (?) (N.B. This character could also be played by a female) The cool slick head of the world media network ‘The XTC Entertainment Conglomerate’. He gives you what he knows you want! Excellent dancer singer who can handle the role of M.C.
THE ALTAR BOYS
MAL, NICK. (singer/actors) Mal is a nasty thug and acts as henchman to Father Maclean.
Nick is Mal's sidekick.
The boys double as two Papal Cardinales in Act Two. (N.B. One of these boys should understudy JOHNNY)
THE CHOIR GIRLS
FAITH, CHARITY
Two Catholic schoolgirls.
They double as singing/dancing Nuns in Act Two.
Pimp, con man, petty crook and parish priest at The Church Of Our Souls. Not a lot is known about his shady past. He becomes Johnny’s manager and plots his murder. There’s more profit in a dead Prophet. There are three main facets to his character. The Master of Ceremonies - with a good line in stand-up comedy, the no nonsense rock manager, and the evil violent drunkard. Devilishly sinister but also immensely charming.
JOHNNY To play from 16 -21. A good looking boy. Born on the wrong side of the tracks. Passionate, naive and a fabulous rock/pop star. Must have a great voice and preferably be a good guitarist.
MARY Late 30’s /early forties Attractive,good body, great singer. Mary brings up Johnny alone and secretly works as a prostitute to make ends meet. A victim who learns to fight too late. A very kind and loving mother.
DESIRE Young beautiful, and very sexy. She first sees Johnny singing in church and becomes his most faithful disciple. A strange Gothic girl who’ll do anything to further Johnny’s career. Absolutely anything.
POPE LIBERTY III Age late forties onwards. Pope Liberty is an old fat American. The only thing that keeps him alive is his Sacred Heart pacemaker. A cross between Liberace, Gary Glitter and an obese Elvis, he has a back up band called ‘The Cardinales’. Great comedian and performer.
CHARLIE FORTUNE Sexy, black (?) (N.B. This character could also be played by a female) The cool slick head of the world media network ‘The XTC Entertainment Conglomerate’. He gives you what he knows you want! Excellent dancer singer who can handle the role of M.C.
THE ALTAR BOYS
MAL, NICK. (singer/actors) Mal is a nasty thug and acts as henchman to Father Maclean.
Nick is Mal's sidekick.
The boys double as two Papal Cardinales in Act Two. (N.B. One of these boys should understudy JOHNNY)
THE CHOIR GIRLS
FAITH, CHARITY
Two Catholic schoolgirls.
They double as singing/dancing Nuns in Act Two.
NOTES ON BBJ
I originally conceived the show as a cross between a musical and a rock concert and it seems to work best this way. There should be no literal set changes and the setting should be simple rostrum. Locations should be suggested with lighting effects and simple light boxes, SFX etc. In other words we should never lose the basic concert feel.
The band should be positioned on-stage either side of a centre entrance. It works if they are illuminated during songs and then fade back to silhouettes for the acting scenes. The guitarists can then move forward when Johnny and the band are in concert mode.
The band set-up is 5 piece as follows:
Drums, Bass, piano/keyboards, sax and guitar (electric and acoustic) If the performer playing Johnny does not actually play guitar then another electric guitarist will be needed.
The score arrangements are only basic and approximate and have varied in different productions over the years. The keys can also be changed to suit the performers.
Underscoring keeps the show moving along and can be added using the main themes where ever the director so desires. On the last UK we found that it worked well to have some of the sound effects triggered on a drum pad by the drummer.
IMPORTANT:
The book is in rhyming couplets and therefore does not lend itself to paraphrasing, as this disturbs the rhythms and rhymes of the piece.
There was a simple video filmed of the 2010 UK tour of the show which might be some use in solving any staging problems. The PASSWORD to view is available from Origin Theatrical using the Contacts tab.
https://vimeo.com/18841257
Given the above, the staging is not set in stone and is open to imaginative interpretation.
So HAVE FUN!!
daniel abineri 2014
I originally conceived the show as a cross between a musical and a rock concert and it seems to work best this way. There should be no literal set changes and the setting should be simple rostrum. Locations should be suggested with lighting effects and simple light boxes, SFX etc. In other words we should never lose the basic concert feel.
The band should be positioned on-stage either side of a centre entrance. It works if they are illuminated during songs and then fade back to silhouettes for the acting scenes. The guitarists can then move forward when Johnny and the band are in concert mode.
The band set-up is 5 piece as follows:
Drums, Bass, piano/keyboards, sax and guitar (electric and acoustic) If the performer playing Johnny does not actually play guitar then another electric guitarist will be needed.
The score arrangements are only basic and approximate and have varied in different productions over the years. The keys can also be changed to suit the performers.
Underscoring keeps the show moving along and can be added using the main themes where ever the director so desires. On the last UK we found that it worked well to have some of the sound effects triggered on a drum pad by the drummer.
IMPORTANT:
The book is in rhyming couplets and therefore does not lend itself to paraphrasing, as this disturbs the rhythms and rhymes of the piece.
There was a simple video filmed of the 2010 UK tour of the show which might be some use in solving any staging problems. The PASSWORD to view is available from Origin Theatrical using the Contacts tab.
https://vimeo.com/18841257
Given the above, the staging is not set in stone and is open to imaginative interpretation.
So HAVE FUN!!
daniel abineri 2014