David Bryan & Joe DiPietro Join Orpheum Sidewalk of Stars

Awesome stuff for Bon Jovi's king of the keys and musical maestro David Bryan:

The Tony Award Winning duo David Bryan and Joe DiPietro, co-writers of MEMPHIS THE MUSICAL, will be added to the Orpheum's famed "Sidewalk of Stars" during a special presentation at the Orpheum Theatre on Saturday, April 27.

"MEMPHIS THE MUSICAL has sparked renewed interest in all the great things our City has to offer," said Orpheum President and CEO Pat Halloran, who will present the stars on Saturday. "We are proud to honor David and Joe for their significant contributions to both the arts and to the City of Memphis by adding two bright new stars to the Orpheum's 'Sidewalk of Stars.' "

Bryan and DiPietro will join the ranks of prestigious Orpheum performers such as Harry Houdini, Cary Grant, Mae West, Tyler Perry, and Carol Channing, to name a few.

Read the full article at Broadway World.

I'm not trying to stir the pot or anything but it's kind of interesting how Dave gets so much more respect and appreciation for his non-Bon Jovi endeavours. (Then again, Bon Jovi is Bon Jovi and it's never been overly "cool" to like them but they are still kicking around after three decades unlike many of their peers.)

Details on new DiPietro/Bryan musical

David Bryan and Joe DiPietro, who have collaborated on The Toxic Avenger and of course Memphis, appeared on Sirius/XM's Live on Broadway radio show hosted by Seth Rudetsky. From BroadwayWorld.com:

The Tony Award winning duo spoke with Rudetsky about their upcoming project now in the works; a musical about a group of songwriters during the early 1960's working in New York City's historic Brill Building. Considered a city landmark, the Brill Building was once the centerpiece of America's music industry, with writers, musicians, record companies and promoters calling the office space their home. The tale will follow a talented female songwriter who comes up against some harsh obstacles in a male-dominated industry. "The irony will be that after all her hard work, everyone will be out of a job once the Beatles invade America in 1964", explains DiPietro.

The writing team recalled MEMPHIS' long journey from its earliest beginnings in Palo Alto in 2003 to its 2010 Tony Award for Best Musical. "In a way, the buzz and anticipation for the show to come to New York was great for us", muses DiPietro. "The longer we didn't do it, the more people couldn't wait to see it". Adds Bryan, "We became urban legends".

Read the full article here. They also talked about the upcoming movie screenings of Memphis in the US and Dave performed Memphis Lives In Me.

More from Lefsetz + Memphis hits the big screen

I've posted a few things from the Lefsetz Letter on this blog in the past, most recently the Jon Bon Jovi vs Steve Jobs hoo-hah. Actually, when Lefsetz writes about Bon Jovi it's pretty much always about one of two things:

1. They're old school and need to get with the social media program; or
2. They're greedy and rip fans off.

I've expressed similar sentiments about my boys (on both counts) in the past, though I did think the abuse that raged all over the blogosphere after Jon's Apple Attack was a bit over the top. I haven't even seen the original article that started everything, and given it's sitting behind a pay wall, I suspect I'm not the only one who hasn't. But anyway, Lefsetz is writing about Bon Jovi again, and it's centred on a familiar theme:

You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution.

And it appears Bon Jovi is the former.

As he laments the passing of vinyl records and cover art, he’s overcharging and overtouring to the point where tickets have to be sold at a discount. This is good for business how?

And the reason I’m picking on Bon Jovi is he’s number one, the biggest touring act. And we depend on our leaders to lead, not to undermine the business.

Full post at this link.

In brighter news, David Bryan and Joe DiPietro's Tony-award winning hit Memphis will be screened exclusively at selected cinemas in the US:

The musical will show on 530 screens nationwide during an exclusive run on April 28 & 30 and May 3 at 7:30PM, and a special matinee on May 1 at 12:30PM.

As previously announced, the original Broadway cast of Memphis was captured live in performance from January 18 to January 21 at the Shubert Theatre, using multiple high definition cameras and 96 tracks of sound recording for this special Fathom event presentation.

For more info, visit Fathom Events. And check out the teaser trailer (yes, Dave is in it :P ).

New musical project for David Bryan

David Bryan and Joe DiPietro, who have collaborated on Memphis and The Toxic Avenger are reportedly working on their next musical, currently entitled Chasing the Song. According to DiPietro, it's "about songwriters in the early 1960s at the time period prior to the Beatles emerging and changing everything".

You can read more about the new musical on Playbill.com.

Playbill.com also revealed that Memphis is set to be made into a film after receiving "serious offers from big Oscar winners". DiPietro expects an official announcement in the next couple of months.

Read about it here.

A movie! Well done, Dave! Being in the wrong country, I've never seen Memphis but it sounds like the type of musical I'd want to see even if David Bryan hadn't been involved in it. Not to mention it features a great soundtrack.

Front Row: Memphis

Thanks to Hath for the heads-up. :)

Watch Front Row: Memphis on the Seattle Channel. Memphis is one of three musicals that David Bryan and Joe DiPietro have teamed up on. This program, which discusses the musical, goes for about an hour but is well worth it IMO. From a Bon Jovi perspective, it includes interview and performances featuring Dave.
http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=6010901



Being in Australia, I've never seen Memphis but it looks like something that would be right up my alley if I ever got the chance.

New Dave Bryan songs

Bon Jovi's own king of the keys David Bryan teamed up with Joe DiPietro to write The Toxic Avenger musical, based on Lloyd Kaufman's 1980s comedy horror film. It's running at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey from September 30 to November 2 and being the massive Dave fan I am, I'd love to go see it (I also wanted to see Memphis!). Actually -- I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with of course, but -- if you're in NJ and would like to get down there and make me a bootleg of the show, I would love you forever. :P But barring that, at least we can listen to the songs here.

Pretty cool/funny shiz. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea but I'm diggin' it.

"Brand New Day in New Jersey" (track 06) also has a few musical similarities to "Get Ready" from Bon Jovi's self-titled debut album. ;)
http://site.thetoxicavengermusical.com/flashmo.html