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Martin Guerre (musical)
Encyclopedia
Martin Guerre is a two-act musical with a book by Claude-Michel Schönberg
and Alain Boublil
, lyrics by Alain Boublil and Stephen Clark, and music by Claude-Michel Schönberg.
Written in the operatic style similar to the creative team's previous efforts, Les Misérables
and Miss Saigon
, the bulk of the show is sung-through
, with little spoken dialogue between the musical numbers. It failed to match the box office success of its two predecessors.
and the 1982 film The Return of Martin Guerre
he inspired, the story is set in early modern France
in the anti-Protestant
town of Artigat
, where young Martin Guerre is forced into an arranged marriage with Bertrande de Rols in order to produce a Catholic heir. Martin is unsatisfied with the marriage, complicated by the fact that a childhood friend, Guillaume, is secretly in love with Bertrande. Beaten by the priests due to his failure to consummate the union, Martin abandons his home and Bertrande to fight the Protestant Huguenots, and it is during the skirmishes that he befriends Arnaud du Thil with whom he shares his history, beginning the story at this point, seven years later, in medias res
. When Martin appears to die in battle, Arnaud goes to his village to inform Bertrande of her husband's death but, mistaken for the deceased soldier by the residents, he decides to play along with their error and becomes involved with Bertrande. Aware of Arnaud's deception, Bertrande decides to keep his secret and the two discover a mutual romantic attraction while Arnaud takes the name "Martin Guerre" for himself. Guillaume, who had until now hoped for a chance with Bertrande romantically, becomes envious of the supposedly returned soldier. As Bertrande, secretly converted to Protestantism
, also turns Arnaud to her faith, Guillaume uncovers their beliefs and so they are assaulted by a roused mob. Before Arnaud is killed, however, Benoit, the knowing village idiot
, reveals that he is not truly Martin Guerre, but rather, an imposter. The authorities arrest Arnaud—still claiming that he is Martin—under charges of deception and at the end of the trial, Martin Guerre himself, having apparently survived the war, appears as the last witness. In prison, Arnaud, however, is freed by Martin who forgives him for stealing his identity, noting the legitimacy of Arnaud and Bertrande's love for each other. The mob, though, sets the town ablaze and Guillaume stabs Arnaud before he can escape. As Arnaud dies in Bertrande's arms, Martin and Bertrande sing mournfully about love and the two part for good. The town contemplates their own xenophobic
actions remorsefully.
, who had produced their earlier works, expressed little interest in producing the project as it existed. Only after several dramatic revisions, in which the character of Guerre became more heroic and greater emphasis was placed on the theme of religious intolerance, did he become enthusiastic about its potential.
, directed by Declan Donnellan
and choreographed by Bob Avian
, opened on July 10, 1996 at the Prince Edward Theatre
. It was a spectacular production, but not only were the reviews mixed, there were also some major concerns expressed by the public and the creative team alike. In the early weeks, the creative team worked hard and quickly to clarify the narrative, rearrange some of the material, and remove one pretty, but nonessential song.
The mostly brutal reviews prompted the producer to examine carefully all the problems and take dramatic action to fix them. While the cast continued to perform the show, the creative team - now augmented by additional lyricist Clark - virtually rewrote it, adding new scenes and songs, shortening the overly long beginning, providing a happier ending, and shifting the focus to Bertrande. In order to make more radical changes, the show closed from October 28–31, 1996, and the production was completely revised. This revised version opened after a week of previews on November 11, 1996. The critical response was significantly improved, and the revised show went on to win the 1997 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical and Best Choreography.
In June 1997 some further changes were made to the production to coincide with the cast change. The production closed on February 28, 1998 after 675 performances.
in Leeds was the new home for a completely rewritten version of Martin Guerre. The Artistic Director Jude Kelly invited the writers Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg to rework their musical there, and in a co-production between The West Yorkshire Palyhouse and Cameron Mackintosh, Martin Guerre opened on December 8, 1998. The libretto was rewritten extensively, a number of new songs were added, and many of the original tunes were retitled, repositioned, and/or were given new lyrics. The physical production was trimmed considerably to make it more intimate and less blockbuster. In addition, the logo was changed from the original red to a black background.
It then embarked on a national tour which ended in Bristol on August 7, 1999 after 227 performances. The tour also played Newcastle, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Norwich, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Llandudno, Nottingham and Plymouth.
in Minneapolis on September 29, 1999, for an 8-week engagement. The Artistic Director Joe Dowling welcomed the opportunity for a co-production between the Guthrie Theater and Cameron Mackintosh so that Martin Guerre could be fine-tuned for its first American audience.
There was some more reworking for this production. Some musical numbers were moved and there was a general softening of the village characters to make them more likable and more individualized. According to Mackintosh "Forty percent of the current material was not in the original." The production starred Hugh Panaro
, Erin Dilly
and Stephen R. Buntrock in the US
tour in 1999-2000. The tour played Minneapolis, Detroit, Washington, Seattle and Los Angeles.
A planned Broadway
opening never materialized.
near Newbury
, England
, ran in July 2007. There was a company of 12 actor/musicians, starring Andrew Bevis
and directed by Craig Revel Horwood
. Based largely on the London version that had premiered in November 1996, there were further lyrical changes, and "Live With Somebody You Love" from the touring version was inserted into the score. This production made one central change to the premise of the previous versions of the musical; Bertrande does not (appear to) know that the imposter is not her returning husband until the court scene in act 2. The character of Martin was made far more hostile in this version. This production also had more spoken dialogue, a conscious decision made by the composers, who reworked the show whilst they were in rehearsals for The Pirate Queen
.
# Songs included on the UK Tour Cast Album
For the US tour, the positioning of the songs 'Live With Somebody You Love' and 'Without You As A Friend' were swapped, and 'The Day Has Come' had re-written lyrics and was titled 'Alone'.
newspaper reported that Cameron Mackintosh
has announced that having been inspired by Craig Revel Horwood’s production of Martin Guerre at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury he is planning to revive the musical in London's West End at some point in 2011.,
Claude-Michel Schönberg
Claude-Michel Schönberg is a French record producer, actor, singer, songwriter, and musical theatre composer, best known for his collaborations with the lyricist Alain Boublil.These include the musicals:...
and Alain Boublil
Alain Boublil
Alain Boublil is a musical theatre lyricist and librettist, best known for his collaborations with the composer Claude-Michel Schönberg for musicals on Broadway and London's West End...
, lyrics by Alain Boublil and Stephen Clark, and music by Claude-Michel Schönberg.
Written in the operatic style similar to the creative team's previous efforts, Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
and Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
, the bulk of the show is sung-through
Sung-through
Sung-through refers to a musical or opera with no spoken dialogue, except perhaps for some occasional lines included in some part of a song, but never as stand-alone dialogue...
, with little spoken dialogue between the musical numbers. It failed to match the box office success of its two predecessors.
Synopsis
Loosely based on the real-life historical figure Martin GuerreMartin Guerre
Martin Guerre, a French peasant of the 16th century, was at the center of a famous case of imposture. Several years after the man had left his wife, child, and village, a man claiming to be Guerre arrived. He lived with Guerre's wife and son for three years. The false Martin Guerre was tried,...
and the 1982 film The Return of Martin Guerre
The Return of Martin Guerre
The Return of Martin Guerre is a 1982 French film directed by Daniel Vigne and based on historical events in France during the 16th century. .-Synopsis:...
he inspired, the story is set in early modern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the anti-Protestant
Anti-Protestantism
Anti-Protestantism is an institutional, ideological or emotional bias, hatred or distrust and against some or all forms and divisions of Protestantism and its followers.- History :...
town of Artigat
Artigat
Artigat is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France.-Geography:The Lèze flows northward through the middle of the commune, then forms part of its northern border.-Population:Inhabitants of Artigat are called Artigatois....
, where young Martin Guerre is forced into an arranged marriage with Bertrande de Rols in order to produce a Catholic heir. Martin is unsatisfied with the marriage, complicated by the fact that a childhood friend, Guillaume, is secretly in love with Bertrande. Beaten by the priests due to his failure to consummate the union, Martin abandons his home and Bertrande to fight the Protestant Huguenots, and it is during the skirmishes that he befriends Arnaud du Thil with whom he shares his history, beginning the story at this point, seven years later, in medias res
In medias res
In medias res or medias in res is a Latin phrase denoting the literary and artistic narrative technique wherein the relation of a story begins either at the mid-point or at the conclusion, rather than at the beginning In medias res or medias in res (into the middle of things) is a Latin phrase...
. When Martin appears to die in battle, Arnaud goes to his village to inform Bertrande of her husband's death but, mistaken for the deceased soldier by the residents, he decides to play along with their error and becomes involved with Bertrande. Aware of Arnaud's deception, Bertrande decides to keep his secret and the two discover a mutual romantic attraction while Arnaud takes the name "Martin Guerre" for himself. Guillaume, who had until now hoped for a chance with Bertrande romantically, becomes envious of the supposedly returned soldier. As Bertrande, secretly converted to Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
, also turns Arnaud to her faith, Guillaume uncovers their beliefs and so they are assaulted by a roused mob. Before Arnaud is killed, however, Benoit, the knowing village idiot
Village idiot
The village idiot in strict terms is a person locally known for ignorance or stupidity, but is also a common term for a stereotypically silly or nonsensical person. The term is also used as a stereotype of the mentally disabled...
, reveals that he is not truly Martin Guerre, but rather, an imposter. The authorities arrest Arnaud—still claiming that he is Martin—under charges of deception and at the end of the trial, Martin Guerre himself, having apparently survived the war, appears as the last witness. In prison, Arnaud, however, is freed by Martin who forgives him for stealing his identity, noting the legitimacy of Arnaud and Bertrande's love for each other. The mob, though, sets the town ablaze and Guillaume stabs Arnaud before he can escape. As Arnaud dies in Bertrande's arms, Martin and Bertrande sing mournfully about love and the two part for good. The town contemplates their own xenophobic
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
actions remorsefully.
Productions and background
When first approached by Schönberg and Boublil, Cameron MackintoshCameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...
, who had produced their earlier works, expressed little interest in producing the project as it existed. Only after several dramatic revisions, in which the character of Guerre became more heroic and greater emphasis was placed on the theme of religious intolerance, did he become enthusiastic about its potential.
London (1996 - 1998)
Six years in the making, Mackintosh's $6 million West End productionWest End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, directed by Declan Donnellan
Declan Donnellan
Declan Donnellan is a British theatre director and writer. He is co-founder of Cheek by Jowl theatre company. In 1992 he received an honoris causa degree from the University of Warwick and in 2004 he was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his work in France...
and choreographed by Bob Avian
Bob Avian
Bob Avian is an American choreographer and a theatre producer and director.Born in New York City, Avian's spent his early career dividing his time between dancing in such Broadway shows as West Side Story, Funny Girl, and Henry, Sweet Henry and working as a production assistant on projects like I...
, opened on July 10, 1996 at the Prince Edward Theatre
Prince Edward Theatre
The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster.The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone, with an interior designed by Marc-Henri Levy and Gaston Laverdet...
. It was a spectacular production, but not only were the reviews mixed, there were also some major concerns expressed by the public and the creative team alike. In the early weeks, the creative team worked hard and quickly to clarify the narrative, rearrange some of the material, and remove one pretty, but nonessential song.
The mostly brutal reviews prompted the producer to examine carefully all the problems and take dramatic action to fix them. While the cast continued to perform the show, the creative team - now augmented by additional lyricist Clark - virtually rewrote it, adding new scenes and songs, shortening the overly long beginning, providing a happier ending, and shifting the focus to Bertrande. In order to make more radical changes, the show closed from October 28–31, 1996, and the production was completely revised. This revised version opened after a week of previews on November 11, 1996. The critical response was significantly improved, and the revised show went on to win the 1997 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical and Best Choreography.
In June 1997 some further changes were made to the production to coincide with the cast change. The production closed on February 28, 1998 after 675 performances.
Madrid (1998 - 1999)
The Salesian Atocha Theatre produced the Spanish Language version of the London production of Martin Guerre in 1998. A cast album was made of this production and is the only Spanish recording aviablable of the show - conducted by Miguel Angel Lopez.UK Tour (1999)
The West Yorkshire PlayhouseWest Yorkshire Playhouse
The West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, England is a theatre which opened in March 1990 as part of the regeneration of the Quarry Hill area of the city...
in Leeds was the new home for a completely rewritten version of Martin Guerre. The Artistic Director Jude Kelly invited the writers Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg to rework their musical there, and in a co-production between The West Yorkshire Palyhouse and Cameron Mackintosh, Martin Guerre opened on December 8, 1998. The libretto was rewritten extensively, a number of new songs were added, and many of the original tunes were retitled, repositioned, and/or were given new lyrics. The physical production was trimmed considerably to make it more intimate and less blockbuster. In addition, the logo was changed from the original red to a black background.
It then embarked on a national tour which ended in Bristol on August 7, 1999 after 227 performances. The tour also played Newcastle, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Norwich, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Llandudno, Nottingham and Plymouth.
US Tour (1999 - 2000)
The North American premiere was at the Guthrie TheaterGuthrie Theater
The Guthrie Theater is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the result of the desire of Sir Tyrone Guthrie, Oliver Rea, and Peter Zeisler to create a resident acting company that would produce and perform the classics in...
in Minneapolis on September 29, 1999, for an 8-week engagement. The Artistic Director Joe Dowling welcomed the opportunity for a co-production between the Guthrie Theater and Cameron Mackintosh so that Martin Guerre could be fine-tuned for its first American audience.
There was some more reworking for this production. Some musical numbers were moved and there was a general softening of the village characters to make them more likable and more individualized. According to Mackintosh "Forty percent of the current material was not in the original." The production starred Hugh Panaro
Hugh Panaro
-Life and career:Panaro was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and resided in the East Oak Lane section of the city with his family. As a schoolchild, he attended St. Helena’s parochial school in the adjoining Philadelphia neighborhood of Olney. He played organ for the parish church from age twelve...
, Erin Dilly
Erin Dilly
Erin Dilly is an American actress. She is most noted for her portrayal of Truly Scrumptious in the 2005 musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and the Outer Critics Circle Award.Dilly was raised in...
and Stephen R. Buntrock in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
tour in 1999-2000. The tour played Minneapolis, Detroit, Washington, Seattle and Los Angeles.
A planned Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
opening never materialized.
Denmark (1999 - 2000)
A licensed production of Martin GUerre opened at the Odense Teater in Denmark on December 30, 1999 and it ran until March 6, 2000.Newbury (2007)
A revival of the musical at the Watermill TheatreWatermill Theatre
The Watermill Theatre is an award -winning, professional repertory theatre with charitable status. It is a converted watermill with gardens beside the River Lambourn, in Bagnor, near Newbury, Berkshire, England...
near Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, ran in July 2007. There was a company of 12 actor/musicians, starring Andrew Bevis
Andrew Bevis
Andrew Bevis is an Australian-born actor known for a wide range of theatrical roles. Beginning his career as a musician, Bevis was initially a musical director on the original Australian production of The Phantom of the Opera....
and directed by Craig Revel Horwood
Craig Revel Horwood
Craig Revel Horwood is an Australian-British dancer, choreographer, and theatre director in the United Kingdom.-Biography:...
. Based largely on the London version that had premiered in November 1996, there were further lyrical changes, and "Live With Somebody You Love" from the touring version was inserted into the score. This production made one central change to the premise of the previous versions of the musical; Bertrande does not (appear to) know that the imposter is not her returning husband until the court scene in act 2. The character of Martin was made far more hostile in this version. This production also had more spoken dialogue, a conscious decision made by the composers, who reworked the show whilst they were in rehearsals for The Pirate Queen
The Pirate Queen
The Pirate Queen is a musical written by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, best known for their adaptation of Les Misérables. John Dempsey is the co-lyricist. The Pirate Queen marks the first time Boublil and Schönberg have created a musical with American collaborators...
.
UK/US tour song list
- Prologue#
- Live With Somebody You Love#
- Your Wedding Day#
- The Deluge#
- I'm Martin Guerre#
- Without You As A Friend#
- Death Scene#
- The Conversion
- God's Anger#
- How Many Tears#
- Dear Louison
- Welcome To the Land#
- The Confession
- The Seasons Turn
- Don't*
- All the Years
- The Holy Fight#
- The Dinner
- The Revelation#
- The Day Has Come#
- If You Still Love Me
- The Courtroom#
- Who?#
- I'm Martin Guerre (Reprise)#
- All That I Love#
- The Imposter Is Here#
- The Final Witness#
- The Verdict#
- Justice Will Be Done#
- Benoit's Lament
- Why?#
- The Burning#
- The Killing#
- You Will Be Mine
- How Many Tears
- Live With Somebody You Love (Reprise)#
For the US tour, the positioning of the songs 'Live With Somebody You Love' and 'Without You As A Friend' were swapped, and 'The Day Has Come' had re-written lyrics and was titled 'Alone'.
Madrid Production Song List
- Tierras de Artigat
- Donde esta el bebe
- Martin Guerre
- Es la mañana
- La solución
- Quien me va a escuchar
- Louison - Ya esta aqui
- Despidete
- En Belen
- Y solo se
- Uno a uno
- El juicio
- Yo...
- Martin Guerre
- Alguien
- El impostor
- El ultimo testigo
- Van a perecer
- El ajuste de cuentas
- La tierra sagrada
2007 production song list
- Overture
- Working On The Land
- Where's The Child
- Martin Guerre (with new lyrics)
- Here Comes The Morning
- Sleeping On Our Own
- Duty
- When Will Someone Hear?
- Louison - Someone As Beautiful As Her?
- Thank God You're Here (uses the tune of Welcome Home/Now You've Come Home from original London production)
- What Do I Say? (Was "Tell Me To Go" in London and "Don't" on tour)
- The Seasons
- Live With Somebody You Love
- Bethlehem
- The Dinner
- One By One
- Live With Somebody You Love (reprise)
- The Courtroom
- Martin Guerre (Reprise) (more new lyrics)
- Someone
- The Imposters
- The Last Witness
- Here Comes The Morning (Reprise)
- The Sentence
- I Will Make You Proud
- The Jail
- The Reckoning
Possible West End Revival
On 14th October 2010 The StageThe Stage
The Stage is a weekly British newspaper founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the...
newspaper reported that Cameron Mackintosh
Cameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...
has announced that having been inspired by Craig Revel Horwood’s production of Martin Guerre at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury he is planning to revive the musical in London's West End at some point in 2011.,