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Platinum (musical)
Encyclopedia
Platinum is a musical
with a book by Will Holt
and Bruce Vilanch
, music by Gary William Friedman
, and lyrics by Holt. Set in a Hollywood recording studio, it centers on Lila Halliday, a star of 1940s and 50s movie musicals who is attempting a comeback. In the process, she falls for a young rock star named Dan Riley.
in Buffalo, New York
. The production, with a book by Louis LaRusso II, was directed by Tommy Tune
. When the musical evolved into Platinum and moved to Broadway
, only the songwriters, Alexis Smith
, Lisa Mordente
, and ensemble member Christine Faith remained with the production.
Directed and choreographed by Joe Layton
, the Broadway production of Platinum opened on November 12, 1978 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre
, where it closed on December 10, 1978 after 33 performances and 12 previews. Despite its short run, it garnered Tony Award
nominations for Smith and Richard Cox and Drama Desk Award
nominations for Cox and Mordente. (A revised version of the original Sunset was presented off-Broadway
at the Village Gate in November 1983. Starring Tammy Grimes
and directed by Andre Ernotte it closed after one performance and 13 previews.)
In August 2010, a newly revised version of Platinum being developed by UnsungMusicalsCo. Inc. will play the New York International Fringe Festival
. It will be directed by Ben West with choreography by Rommy Sandhu.
Cast
Act One
Act Two
Cast
Cast
1978 Drama Desk Award nominations
said, "I have a feeling that if Platinum could just get rid of its book, its songs, its microphones and its almost arrogantly messy setting, it would be light miles ahead."
John Simon
, reviewing in the New York Magazine wrote that Alexis Smith "acts with great poise and style, and exudes in equal measure grace and sexiness." He noted that the "score proves disappointing, perhaps because the lyrics supply insufficient challenge."
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with a book by Will Holt
Will Holt
Will Holt is an American singer, songwriter, librettist and lyricist known first and primarily as a folk performer during the 1950s and 1960s and as an interpreter of the music of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht in performances and recordings with Martha Schlamme...
and Bruce Vilanch
Bruce Vilanch
Bruce Vilanch is an American comedy writer, songwriter and actor. He is a six-time Emmy Award-winner Vilanch is best known to the public for his four-year stint on Hollywood Squares, as a celebrity participant; in the entertainment industry he is best known as head writer for the show...
, music by Gary William Friedman
Gary William Friedman
Gary William Friedman is an American musician and composer. He completed his undergraduate work at Brooklyn College, and did advanced training in electronic music at Columbia University....
, and lyrics by Holt. Set in a Hollywood recording studio, it centers on Lila Halliday, a star of 1940s and 50s movie musicals who is attempting a comeback. In the process, she falls for a young rock star named Dan Riley.
Production history
Platinum was originally titled Sunset when it made its world premiere in 1977 at the Studio Arena TheaterStudio Arena Theater
- History :Founded in the 1920s in Buffalo, NY by a group of local enthusiasts, the Studio Theatre evolved as both a theatre and a theatre school into Western New York's only professional regional theatre....
in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. The production, with a book by Louis LaRusso II, was directed by Tommy Tune
Tommy Tune
Thomas James "Tommy" Tune is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won nine Tony Awards and the National Medal of Arts.-Early years:...
. When the musical evolved into Platinum and moved to 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...
, only the songwriters, Alexis Smith
Alexis Smith
Alexis Smith was a Canadian-born stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in several major Hollywood movies in the 1940s and had a notable career on Broadway in the 1970s, winning a Tony Award in 1972.-Life and career:...
, Lisa Mordente
Lisa Mordente
Lisa Mordente is an American actress, singer, and dancer.Born in New Hyde Park, New York to choreographer and television director Tony Mordente and actress/dancer Chita Rivera , Mordente made her Broadway debut opposite Alexis Smith in the short-lived 1978 musical...
, and ensemble member Christine Faith remained with the production.
Directed and choreographed by Joe Layton
Joe Layton
Joe Layton was an American director and choreographer known primarily for his work on Broadway.-Biography:Born Joseph Lichtman in Brooklyn, New York, Layton began his career as a dancer in Wonderful Town , and he appeared uncredited in the ensemble of the original live TV production of Rodgers and...
, the Broadway production of Platinum opened on November 12, 1978 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre
Mark Hellinger Theatre
The Mark Hellinger Theatre is a generally used name of a former legitimate Broadway theater, located at 237 West 51st Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City. Since 1991, it has been known as the Times Square Church...
, where it closed on December 10, 1978 after 33 performances and 12 previews. Despite its short run, it garnered Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nominations for Smith and Richard Cox and Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
nominations for Cox and Mordente. (A revised version of the original Sunset was presented off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
at the Village Gate in November 1983. Starring Tammy Grimes
Tammy Grimes
-Early life:Grimes was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, the daughter of Eola Willard , a naturalist and spiritualist, and Nicholas Luther Grimes, an innkeeper, country-club manager, and farmer. She attended high school at the then-all girls school, Beaver Country Day School, in Chestnut Hill,...
and directed by Andre Ernotte it closed after one performance and 13 previews.)
In August 2010, a newly revised version of Platinum being developed by UnsungMusicalsCo. Inc. will play the New York International Fringe Festival
New York International Fringe Festival
The New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, is a Fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It takes place over the course of two weeks every August, spread across several neighborhoods in downtown Manhattan, notably the Lower East Side, the...
. It will be directed by Ben West with choreography by Rommy Sandhu.
2010 FringeNYC production
Musical Numbers- Nothing But
- Back With a Beat
- Sunset City
- Destiny
- Moments I
- Movie Star Mansion
- Disco Destiny
- 1945
- Platinum Dreams
- Too Many Mirrors
- Moments II
- Good Time Song
- This One's for Me
Cast
- Lila Halliday - Donna Bullock
- Dan Riley - Jay WilkisonJay WilkisonJay Wilkison is an American movie, television and stage actor.Wilkison was born in Nashville, Tennessee. He played Riley Colson on the ABC soap One Life to Live from February 24, 2003 through June 8, 2005....
- Crystal Mason - Sarah LitzsingerSarah LitzsingerSarah Elizabeth Litzsinger is an American actress and singer, best known for her career in musical theatre.Litzsinger's family is from Carmel, Indiana. She made her Broadway debut in 1983 at age eleven, as the understudy for Young Norma Jean in the short-lived Marilyn: An American Fable...
- Jamie Bradbury - Wayne WilcoxWayne WilcoxWayne Wilcox is an American actor/singer who appeared in the film version of the musical RENT as Gordon, a member of Angel and Tom's AIDS support group....
- Jeff Rollins - Bruce Sabath
1978 Broadway production
Musical NumbersAct One
- Back With a Beat/Nothing But
- Sunset
- Ride Baby Ride
- Destiny
- Disco Destiny
- I Am the Light
- Movie Star Mansion
Act Two
- Platinum Dreams
- Trials and Tribulations/I Like You
- 1945
- Too Many Mirrors
- Old Times, Good Times
Cast
- Lila Halliday - Alexis SmithAlexis SmithAlexis Smith was a Canadian-born stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in several major Hollywood movies in the 1940s and had a notable career on Broadway in the 1970s, winning a Tony Award in 1972.-Life and career:...
- Dan Danger - Richard Cox
- Crystal Mason - Lisa MordenteLisa MordenteLisa Mordente is an American actress, singer, and dancer.Born in New Hyde Park, New York to choreographer and television director Tony Mordente and actress/dancer Chita Rivera , Mordente made her Broadway debut opposite Alexis Smith in the short-lived 1978 musical...
- Jeff Leff - Stanley KamelStanley KamelStanley Kamel was an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Charles Kroger on the American television series Monk.-Biography:...
- Schultz - Tony Schultz
- Snake - Ronnie B. Baker
- Minky/Alan Fairmont - Jonathan Freeman
- Boris - John Hammil
- Avery - Avery Sommers
- Robin - Robin Grean
- Wenndy - Wenndy Leigh Mackenzie
- Christine - Christine Faith
- Damita - Damita Jo Freeman
1977 world premiere production
Musical Numbers- Sunset City
- Nothing But
- Back With a Beat
- Rock is My Way of Life
- Destiny
- Disco Destiny
- Waltz
- Retreat
- Moments
- Montage
- Trials and Tribulations/I Like You
- True Music
- Retreat (Reprise)
- Good Time Song
- Finale
Cast
- Lila Halliday - Alexis SmithAlexis SmithAlexis Smith was a Canadian-born stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in several major Hollywood movies in the 1940s and had a notable career on Broadway in the 1970s, winning a Tony Award in 1972.-Life and career:...
- Randy Gold - Buddy Vest
- Crystal Newcomb - Lisa MordenteLisa MordenteLisa Mordente is an American actress, singer, and dancer.Born in New Hyde Park, New York to choreographer and television director Tony Mordente and actress/dancer Chita Rivera , Mordente made her Broadway debut opposite Alexis Smith in the short-lived 1978 musical...
- Jamie Bradbury - Bill Starr
- DJ Rollins - Ronald Perlman
- Twin - Yolanda Ray Raven
- Twin - Terry Rieser
- Session Singer - Cheryl Alexander
- Session Singer - Christine Faith
- Session Singer - Diva Gray
Awards and nominations
1978 Tony Award nominations- Best Actress – Alexis Smith
- Best Featured Actor – Richard Cox
1978 Drama Desk Award nominations
- Best Featured Actress – Lisa Mordente
- Best Featured Actor – Richard Cox
1978 critical reception
Walter KerrWalter Kerr
For the RN admiral see Lord Walter KerrWalter Francis Kerr was an American writer and Broadway theater critic. He also was the writer, lyricist, and/or director of several Broadway plays and musicals.-Biography:...
said, "I have a feeling that if Platinum could just get rid of its book, its songs, its microphones and its almost arrogantly messy setting, it would be light miles ahead."
John Simon
John Simon (critic)
John Ivan Simon is an American author and literary, theater, and film critic.-Personal life:Simon was born in Subotica, Bačka, County of Bačka, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later, known as Yugoslavia . He is of Hungarian descent...
, reviewing in the New York Magazine wrote that Alexis Smith "acts with great poise and style, and exudes in equal measure grace and sexiness." He noted that the "score proves disappointing, perhaps because the lyrics supply insufficient challenge."