Tony Tuesday: Bandstand

This week we’re only going back a couple of years but getting into some post wartime swing. This week’s TONY Tuesday is:

“Nobody” from Bandstand at the 2017 TONY awards ceremony.

Bandstand is set in post-second world war America and tells the story of a group of veterans, who are all struggling with the after effects of combat, form a band to help them deal with their mental struggles. They compete in a national patriotic radio contest with the hope of winning, having their song performed in Hollywood and becoming a household name. The musical itself is certified by “Got Your 6”, which is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the accurate representation of war veterans in film, television and theatre. Bandstand was the first musical to receive this certification. The show has music by Richard Oberacker and a book/lyrics by Oberacker and Robert Taylor.

The show was first workshopped in 2014 featuring Jarrod Spector, Laura Osnes, and Beth Leavel; the latter two of whom would remain in their roles throughout the entire journey of the show. After the workshop, the production gained investment and secured a run at The Papermill Playhouse as the newly retitled ‘The Bandstand’. The production, again directed and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler, opened for previews on 8 October 2015, running until 8 November,2015. The lead role of Donny Notvitski was played by Corey Cott.

The musical finally made its way to Broadway 18 months later, opening at the Bernard B Jacobs Theatre once again as ‘Bandstand’ with scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Paloma Young, lighting design by Jeff Croiter, sound design by Nevin Steinberg and orchestrations by Bill Elliot and Greg Anthony Rassen. The show opened for previews on 31 March 2017. The majority of the Papermill Playhouse cast returned and the show opened to mixed reviews. As such the show failed to find an audience and closed on 17 September the same year.

The musical received a cast recording and was also professionally filmed, airing a year later in movie theatres across America for two limited engagements. Playbill also made the film available on their website during the COVID-19 pandemic as a charity fundraiser for the Actors Fund of America. The musical was nominated for two 2017 TONY awards, winning for best choreography. A US national tour launched in 2019 and closed on 12 March 2020 due to the pandemic. It was later announced that it would not return when it was safe to do so.

I was fortunate enough to see Bandstand on Broadway. It was an incredibly powerful and moving show that will remain with me for a long time. If the filmed recording ever goes out again Besties, I urge you to watch it. In the meantime, get involved with the cast recording as it is full of some absolute gems.

The cast recording is available on Spotify and AppleMusic.

FACTS:

Music: Richard Oberacker

Lyrics: Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor
Book: Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor
Theatre: The Bernard B Jacobs
Run: 31 March 2017 – 17 September 2017 (24 previews, 1666 regular performances

TONYS:

(NOMINATED) Best Orchestrations – Bill Elliot and Greg Anthony Rassen

(WON) Best Choreography – Andy Blankenbuehler