White Noise: A Cautionary Musical
Encyclopedia
White Noise: A Cautionary Musical is a musical
about a White Supremacy rock duo making their way to the top of the music charts. Created by Ryan J. Davis
, The show is directed by Sergio Trujillo
, and produced by Whoopi Goldberg
. The music and lyrics were written by Robert Morris
, Steven Morris
, and Joe Shane and the book was written by Matte O'Brien. The musical was inspired by the true story of Neo-Nazi folk duo Prussian Blue
who gained a following singing songs with undertones of their racist idealism. A satire
, the musical seeks to challenge not only the lyrical content found in today's music industry, but also the responsibility of the individual to critically listen to and evaluate their musical selections.
The production first appeared in 2006 at the New York Musical Theatre Festival
with music by Joe Drymala and directed by Ryan J. Davis
. It was then presented as a full-scale musical with the current creative team in 2009 onstage of the Thrust Theatre at the University of New Orleans. After receiving warm reviews, "White Noise" moved to its next home at the Royal George Theatre, where it played until May 15, 2011.
and presented at the 2006 New York Musical Theatre Festival, with music by Joe Drymala and additional songs by seven other writers. A full-scale production, with the current writing team in place, was mounted in New Orleans in July 2009, where it sold out.
Trujillo, choreographer of the currently-running Memphis, Jersey Boys and The Addams Family, was not involved in the show's previous incarnations. And he had not expected such a risky project to be his first show as a director. At the show's inception, the musical's creators started receiving hate mail from White Supremacy groups as backlash to their creation of a show about Prussian Blue
.
Producer Whoopi Goldberg
, star of the film Sister Act
and The View, came onto the production after its critical success in New Orleans. "After hearing from a variety of different folks who had seen the production in New Orleans, I read the script and listened to the music. I knew this was a show I needed to be a part of. White Noise smacks you in a challenging, emotional and entertaining way and explores social issues in a way I don't remember ever seeing before on a stage."
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...
about a White Supremacy rock duo making their way to the top of the music charts. Created by Ryan J. Davis
Ryan J. Davis
Ryan J. Davis is an American theater director, writer, political consultant, and progressive activist. In 2006, a musical he conceived, White Noise received positive reviews and was featured on Good Morning America and ABC Primetime Live...
, The show is directed by Sergio Trujillo
Sergio Trujillo
Sergio Trujillo is a Colombian dancer and choreographer for the theatre and opera who was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography for Jersey Boys.-Career:...
, and produced by Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
. The music and lyrics were written by Robert Morris
Robert Morris
Robert or Bob Morris is the name of:* Robert Hunter Morris , Lieutenant Governor of Colonial Pennsylvania from 1754 to 1756* Robert Morris , English writer on architecture...
, Steven Morris
Steven Morris
Steven Morris is an American-born Honduran footballer who currently plays for Baton Rouge Capitals in USL Premier Development League.-Youth:...
, and Joe Shane and the book was written by Matte O'Brien. The musical was inspired by the true story of Neo-Nazi folk duo Prussian Blue
Prussian blue
Prussian blue is a dark blue pigment with the idealized formula Fe718. Another name for the color Prussian blue is Berlin blue or, in painting, Parisian blue. Turnbull's blue is the same substance but is made from different reagents....
who gained a following singing songs with undertones of their racist idealism. A satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, the musical seeks to challenge not only the lyrical content found in today's music industry, but also the responsibility of the individual to critically listen to and evaluate their musical selections.
The production first appeared in 2006 at the New York Musical Theatre Festival
New York Musical Theatre Festival
The New York Musical Theatre Festival is an annual three-week fall Festival which presents more than thirty new musicals at venues in New York City's midtown theater district...
with music by Joe Drymala and directed by Ryan J. Davis
Ryan J. Davis
Ryan J. Davis is an American theater director, writer, political consultant, and progressive activist. In 2006, a musical he conceived, White Noise received positive reviews and was featured on Good Morning America and ABC Primetime Live...
. It was then presented as a full-scale musical with the current creative team in 2009 onstage of the Thrust Theatre at the University of New Orleans. After receiving warm reviews, "White Noise" moved to its next home at the Royal George Theatre, where it played until May 15, 2011.
Overview
The show has a book by Matte O'Brien and a score by Robert Morris, Steven Morris and Joe Shane, and one of the producers is Whoopi Goldberg. It has undergone considerable change since it was conceived by Ryan J. DavisRyan J. Davis
Ryan J. Davis is an American theater director, writer, political consultant, and progressive activist. In 2006, a musical he conceived, White Noise received positive reviews and was featured on Good Morning America and ABC Primetime Live...
and presented at the 2006 New York Musical Theatre Festival, with music by Joe Drymala and additional songs by seven other writers. A full-scale production, with the current writing team in place, was mounted in New Orleans in July 2009, where it sold out.
Trujillo, choreographer of the currently-running Memphis, Jersey Boys and The Addams Family, was not involved in the show's previous incarnations. And he had not expected such a risky project to be his first show as a director. At the show's inception, the musical's creators started receiving hate mail from White Supremacy groups as backlash to their creation of a show about Prussian Blue
Prussian blue
Prussian blue is a dark blue pigment with the idealized formula Fe718. Another name for the color Prussian blue is Berlin blue or, in painting, Parisian blue. Turnbull's blue is the same substance but is made from different reagents....
.
Producer Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
, star of the film Sister Act
Sister Act
Sister Act is a 1992 American comedy film released by Touchstone Pictures. Directed by Emile Ardolino, it features musical arrangements by Marc Shaiman and stars Whoopi Goldberg as a Reno lounge singer who has been put under protective custody in a San Francisco convent and has to pretend to be a...
and The View, came onto the production after its critical success in New Orleans. "After hearing from a variety of different folks who had seen the production in New Orleans, I read the script and listened to the music. I knew this was a show I needed to be a part of. White Noise smacks you in a challenging, emotional and entertaining way and explores social issues in a way I don't remember ever seeing before on a stage."
Synopsis
White Noise follows a top-selling music producer who stirs up an explosive cocktail of shock and spin with a touch of controversy to package talented artists into blockbuster stars. Steadily baited by fame and power, two diametrically opposed groups – a pop band that churns out catchy tunes of coded rhetoric and a hip-hop-turned-gangsta rap duo – meet at the top of the charts and collide with consequence.Inspired by real life, White Noise is a timely and cautionary tale that challenges conventional notions of free speech, media and the power of pop culture.Musical numbers
- "Welcome to Eden" - Eva, Ensemble
- "Life, Liberty & Happiness" - Dion, Tyler
- "Big Bang" - Eva, Eden, Duke
- "Mexican Vacation" - Eva,Eden,Duke
- "Welcome to Eden Reprise" - Eva,Eden,Duke,Ensemble
- "N.G.S" - Dion,Tyler
- "Live for the Kill" - Max, Jake
- "W.T.F." - Eden,Eva,Duke,Jake,Ensemble
- "Love Stories" - Eva, Eden, Ensemble
- "Mondays Suck" - Eva, Eden, Duke, Jake, Ensemble
- "Not Your Enemy" - Laurel, Eva, Eden
- "Showtime"- Dion,Tyler,Ensemble
- "Hip-Hop Country" - Dion,Tyler,Ensemble
- "City on a Hill" - Eva, Eden, Dion, Tyler, Duke, Ensemble
- "Life Around" - Jake,Eden
- "Mondays Suck Reprise" - Eva, Eden, Duke, Ensemble
- "Master Race" - Duke,Dion
- "Fine" - Tyler,Laurel,Jake,Eva,Ensemble
- "I am America" - Eva, Company
Productions
- 2011 Chicago Royal George Theatre
- 2009 New Orleans
- 2006 New York Musical Theatre Festival
External links
- White Noise: A Cautionary Musical, Official Website
- Debating The Ugly Without Exalting It
- White Noise A Cautionary Musical Aiming for Broadway in 2009
- White Noise Emanates From Chicago
- A First Look at White Noise With MacKenzie Mauzy and Emily Padgett in Chicago
- White Noise Review
- White Noise Online