Alecky Blythe, Adam Cork, and Rufus Norris: Bring "London Road" to Broadway theatres.


Alecky Blythe, Adam Cork, and Rufus Norris: Bring "London Road" to Broadway theatres.
The Issue
On April 14, 2011, at the National Theatre in London, a visionary new musical was unveiled. From Wikipedia:
"The musical is set in and around London Road in Ipswich, Suffolk, during the Ipswich serial murders and subsequent trial of killer Steve Wright in 2006-2008. The piece is written in verbatim style, meaning the spoken text is reproduced by the performers exactly as recorded in interviews, in this case conducted by Blythe with the residents of London Road and some of the women who worked as prostitutes there, as well as members of the media who gathered in the area to report the news. The lyrics in the musical segments are similarly derived from the interviews as recorded, with the meter, pitch and rhythm of the music following the patterns of the original recorded speech as closely as possible.[1]
Neither the murdered women or their killer are depicted, nor are the murders themselves; rather, the piece is concerned with the residents as they cope with the events unfolding around them, the media attention drawn to their neighbourhood, and their attempts to rebuild and regenerate their community afterwards. The piece does not feature principal characters in the conventional sense; instead, an ensemble cast assume the roles of various locals, sex workers and reporters, and most characters are not referred to by name.
The score is orchestrated for woodwind ensemble, guitar, electric guitar, keyboards and percussion."
I actually stumbled on this musical by accident. Instantly, I was taken by the concept. A musical with lyrics comprised around actual interviews? It was like nothing ever seen on theatre, and it did not disappoint. And neither did the music. You can feel the power of the story, a story of concerned and fearful citizens trying to reconstruct their lives, through the real emotions of the lyrics. It was a smash hit in Britian, nominated for Best New Musical at the Laurence Olivier Awards, bes musical at the 2011 Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, and gained 5-star reviews near unanimously. What truly saddens me is that us Americans might never get to see this wonder on our stages. So, I am constructing this petition to show the showrunners that we Americans show interest in seeing this on Broadway, so that they may work on bringing it overseas.
The songs:
London Road in Bloom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOR5-EWo-3Q&feature=plcp
Everyone is Very, Very Nervous
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDRPglcQ-Dg&feature=plcp
It Could Be Him
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwYw5r5P_Mo&feature=plcp
And That's When it All Started
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMs9XNOdwaQ&feature=plcp
Ten Weeks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax7gfoju3rE&feature=plcp
Cellular Material
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPNq6WQ3gXk&feature=plcp
We've All Stopped
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snMQ3HJPuI4&feature=plcp
Shaving Scratch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_YVpOoF-Hw&feature=plcp
The Verdict
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj_issaz_Ms&feature=plcp
Everyone Smile
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAziWM0Ygt8&feature=plcp
London Road in Bloom/Ending
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd8stNo788M&feature=plcp
A real life interview that inspired "We've All Stopped":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKIUKAZg-yg&feature=plcp
The trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSfwOlm9yeI
Interview with Blythe, Cork, and Norris:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y3sEIeEuJs&feature=relmfu
And the audience reactions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI4mHoxCgdM&feature=relmfu
With your help I hope we can bring this groundbreaking production a little closer to home.
-Nana Amuah

The Issue
On April 14, 2011, at the National Theatre in London, a visionary new musical was unveiled. From Wikipedia:
"The musical is set in and around London Road in Ipswich, Suffolk, during the Ipswich serial murders and subsequent trial of killer Steve Wright in 2006-2008. The piece is written in verbatim style, meaning the spoken text is reproduced by the performers exactly as recorded in interviews, in this case conducted by Blythe with the residents of London Road and some of the women who worked as prostitutes there, as well as members of the media who gathered in the area to report the news. The lyrics in the musical segments are similarly derived from the interviews as recorded, with the meter, pitch and rhythm of the music following the patterns of the original recorded speech as closely as possible.[1]
Neither the murdered women or their killer are depicted, nor are the murders themselves; rather, the piece is concerned with the residents as they cope with the events unfolding around them, the media attention drawn to their neighbourhood, and their attempts to rebuild and regenerate their community afterwards. The piece does not feature principal characters in the conventional sense; instead, an ensemble cast assume the roles of various locals, sex workers and reporters, and most characters are not referred to by name.
The score is orchestrated for woodwind ensemble, guitar, electric guitar, keyboards and percussion."
I actually stumbled on this musical by accident. Instantly, I was taken by the concept. A musical with lyrics comprised around actual interviews? It was like nothing ever seen on theatre, and it did not disappoint. And neither did the music. You can feel the power of the story, a story of concerned and fearful citizens trying to reconstruct their lives, through the real emotions of the lyrics. It was a smash hit in Britian, nominated for Best New Musical at the Laurence Olivier Awards, bes musical at the 2011 Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, and gained 5-star reviews near unanimously. What truly saddens me is that us Americans might never get to see this wonder on our stages. So, I am constructing this petition to show the showrunners that we Americans show interest in seeing this on Broadway, so that they may work on bringing it overseas.
The songs:
London Road in Bloom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOR5-EWo-3Q&feature=plcp
Everyone is Very, Very Nervous
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDRPglcQ-Dg&feature=plcp
It Could Be Him
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwYw5r5P_Mo&feature=plcp
And That's When it All Started
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMs9XNOdwaQ&feature=plcp
Ten Weeks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax7gfoju3rE&feature=plcp
Cellular Material
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPNq6WQ3gXk&feature=plcp
We've All Stopped
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snMQ3HJPuI4&feature=plcp
Shaving Scratch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_YVpOoF-Hw&feature=plcp
The Verdict
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj_issaz_Ms&feature=plcp
Everyone Smile
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAziWM0Ygt8&feature=plcp
London Road in Bloom/Ending
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd8stNo788M&feature=plcp
A real life interview that inspired "We've All Stopped":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKIUKAZg-yg&feature=plcp
The trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSfwOlm9yeI
Interview with Blythe, Cork, and Norris:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y3sEIeEuJs&feature=relmfu
And the audience reactions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI4mHoxCgdM&feature=relmfu
With your help I hope we can bring this groundbreaking production a little closer to home.
-Nana Amuah

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Petition created on November 17, 2012