Carmen Goes to Cirque

Stage

If you’re a fan of Cirque du Soleil——or Las Vegas shows——you probably know of Franco Dragone. From 1985 to 1998, he directed 10 Cirque productions, including O and Mystere, still running on the Strip. In 2000, he formed his own company so he could do outside projects, including Celine Dion’s acclaimed Vegas show and La Rêve at the Wynn casino.

Those outside projects now include musical theater, and San Diego gets his first entry: Carmen, the Musical at La Jolla Playhouse (June 5–July 22). It’s not Bizet’s popular opera——though it’s based, like the opera, on the 1845 French novella by Prosper Mérimée. This new version features a score by John Ewbank, lyrics by AnnMarie Milazzo and book by Sarah Miles, who’s also doing the choreography.

Miles, a Los Angeles native who lives in Amsterdam with her producer-husband, Robin de Levita, says she first envisioned the show as a dance project some eight years ago. About four years later, she met with Ewbank, one of The Netherlands’ most popular and prolific songwriters. They submitted their idea to Playhouse artistic director Des McAnuff, whom Miles and de Levita knew from previous collaborations. De Levita also knew Dragone, who eagerly signed on.

Miles says she loves the original story of Carmen, but “It doesn’t have a lot of depth.” And of course, the opera is based on just one part of the novella. “Who are these characters, particularly Carmen?” she wonders. Now she hopes her script will help answer such questions. “Audiences today are just smarter,” she says, “so we have to provide them more meat.”

The music, Miles says, will be modern. “John is a pop-rock writer,” she says, adding that they may “honor the opera” by including some of its melodies. To evoke 1830s Spain, she says, “There will be lots of percussion and flamenco-based music.”

Miles is thrilled Dragone has chosen this as his first venture into musical theater. “He looks at things from a different angle and does not like anything that’s normal,” she says with a laugh, recalling his early statement: “I will challenge everyone.”

FOR A DECADE OR SO, at Broadway’s Tony Awards, Old Globe artistic director Jack O’Brien seemed to be jinxed. Three times he was nominated as outstanding director, including two in 2001, and thrice he lost. Finally, in 2003, he emerged a winner, for helming Hairspray. Unfortunately for us, that musical didn’t show locally until its national tour in 2004. It’s swinging around again as part of Broadway/San Diego’s schedule this month (June 5-10).

The two other offerings in a busy B/SD month also have San Diego connections. Stomp (June 12-17) includes Chris Fabian Rubio, also with the troupe in its March 2005 visit. Born and raised here, he founded Rubio’s Dance Studio in El Cajon and inspired Michael Landis, a Santana High School grad who’s been with the tour for more than a year. The company of All Shook Up (June 26–July 1), the jukebox Elvis musical here for the first time, includes San Diegan Kyle Vaughn, who was in San Diego Opera’s 2006 The Barber of Seville. And All Shook Up is directed by Christopher Ashley, newly named artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse.

THE THEATRE IN OLD TOWN has been shuttered since January, as negotiations with possible tenants continue. But those who miss its musicals can look to the North Coast Rep. Miracle Theatre’s artistic director Paula Kalustian, who staged many of the company’s popular works, is bringing up Baby (May 26–June 24) for NCR. The Richard Maltby Jr.–David Shire tuner, which garnered six 1984 Tony nominations, charmingly centers on three couples from three generations all contemplating parenthood.

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