Howard's musicals
Howard Goodall's is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary musical theatre. His musicals are performed all over the world in productions of every conceivable scale and ambition. Many have won awards, and all leave an indelible impact on the performers who make them their own. His musical influences are various and unorthodox for a writer of musicals: English folk song, Lennon-McCartney, the operas of Mozart, Baroque Passions, Victorian choral music, George Gershwin and Kurt Weill.
[you can link here to each musical: THE HIRED MAN, GIRLFRIENDS, DAYS OF HOPE, CATWALK, SILAS MARNER, THE KISSING-DANCE, THE DREAMING, A WINTER'S TALE & TWO CITIES]
[Howard is a member of Mercury Musical Development]
"I'd rather see a play, an opera, a film or a concert than a musical, which may seem strange for someone who enjoys writing them so much! This may be because I come from a generation that found the relentless 'lightness' of the form, the preoccupations with show-business and fantasy of musical comedy unsatisfactory. It may be that most of the great popular songwriters of the last 25 years, who were my living influences, like Paul Simon or Lennon-McCartney, chose to express themselves (until recently) outside the theatre. Or it may simply be that the musicals I did like seemed to come from a totally alien culture and tradition from my own, and were therefore inimitable. I could no longer see myself writing the next West Side Story or South Pacific than becoming a Cosmonaut... It seemed to me, when I started out, that musicals were full of pastiche and panache, gush and glitz - qualities I had never had in generous quantities."
Goodall tried his hand at a 1940s parody whilst at university - a musical of Evelyn Waugh's novel The Loved One - with book & lyrics by his university pals Richard Curtis and Frank Doelger, and he'd also written three children shows of CS Lewis's Narnia books at school. It was seeing a play, however, that triggered Howard's interest in writing a stage musical. The play was Brian Friel's Translations, and it inspired Howard to begin work on The Hired Man...
Queen Margaret University's production at the Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh in 2007, directed by Rita Henderson. Photo by Robin Mitchell.
At 26 Goodall teamed up with Melvyn Bragg to turn Bragg's novel, The Hired Man, about a Cumbrian mining community, into a West End musical. Good notices and Andrew Lloyd Webber as backer didn't ensure a long run, but it was the kind of risk-taking enterprise Goodall enjoys - cast of 20, no stars, uncommercial subject -and all part of the learning process.
"The trouble with musicals is there are no ground rules. You can never say this works, that doesn't work. Every piece has to be treated as a separate form. Musically I'm more influenced by things like Handel's Oratoria and the St Matthew Passion than other musicals I've seen."
Goodall enjoys listening to pop and classical, but as a composer he derives more nourishment from the latter. "I have more affinity with the English choral tradition than Broadway razzmatazz, which is why I don't think I could ever pull off the big glitzy musical. My music is quite tough and modern, but I hope it also has warmth and lyricism. "Pop is useless in terms of any depth or layering, it's so one-dimensional. Sondheim is a brilliant writer, but I don't listen to him and think I can't go on. I have something else to offer. If I tried to write hits like Lloyd Webber or Sondheim I'd fail. You can only write the piece you want to write. Because those two figures dominate the scene, it's even more important to be yourself."
Classical expertise and a thriving career in TV incidental music (including the theme for Blackadder) help Goodall keep a clear head about the frustrations of producing a stage musical. "If you've had a classical training you're painfully aware of the immense talent that has preceded you. If ever I do feel pleased with something I've written, I force myself to remember the finale of Act II of The Marriage of Figaro. It helps me to see things in perspective."
Howard's musicals:
THE MIDNIGHT FOLK, based on the book by John Masefield, with book & lyrics by David Carr (1975).
THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE, based on the book by C S Lewis, with book & lyrics by David Carr (1976).
THE LAST BATTLE , based on the book by C S Lewis, with book & lyrics by David Carr (1978).
THE LOVED ONE; A musical after Evelyn Waugh's book of 40s Hollywood, with book & lyrics by Richard Curtis and Frank Doelger, performed by the Oxford Theatre Group at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe of 1977. Songs: Hollywood, The Englishman in Hollywood, Dead Pets, Stars on Parade, He needs a Face, The American Dream, Knock, Knock (Behind that door), Sambo, The Cutest Sensation (Crazy with love) Whispering Glades, Geronimo, Nutburgers, To cease upon the midnight (Aimee Alone).
Der Glöckner von Notre-Dame: Opera Factory Switzerland 1983
A music-drama based on Victor Hugo's book 'Notre-Dame de Paris', with book & direction by David Freeman & songs by Howard Goodall.
[Lesley Stephenson as Esmeralda in Luzern]
[Quasimodo pilloried in Luzern]
This was later re-shaped into an English version by Stephen Fry, The Bellringer of Notre-Dame, performed at Uppingham School, directed by Christopher Richardson & Neil, musical director Ralph Allwood, with a cast featuring Julian Barclay, Duncan Brown, James Owthwaite, John Judge, Terry Robins, Stephanie Ciappara, Melissa Goldsmith, Emma Dunstone, Gillian & Joanna Schlich, Tamsin Wade, Tania Anderson & Rachel Woods.
The Enchanted Lovers, a modernisation of Henry Purcell's 1700 opera Dido & Aeneas, for ITV's South Bank Show (1986), starring Peter Straker, Debbie Bishop, Miquel Brown, Seeta Indrani, Alsion Limerick, Moya Griffiths, Janet Kay, Lyn Kieran, Joanne Campbell & Tim Woodman; directed by Daniel Wiles and John Retallack, conducted by John Owen Edwards; band John Harle, Dave Roach, Keith Thompson, Kaye Young, Andy Read, Kevin Fitzsimmons & Ian Laws; costume designs (by Vic Symonds) above.
[PERUSAL SCRIPT OF THIS HERE]
Maggie!, a satirical musical for television (May 1989), part of Ten Glorious Years!, to mark Margaret Thatcher's 10 years in power as Prime Minister. Book & Lyrics by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor.
Musicals for Oxford Stage Company (for young people):
The Witch and the Magic Mountain (1989) book & lyrics by Renata Allen (premiere Warwick Arts Centre): Directed by John Retallack, designed by Julian McGowan, starring Andrew Fairlie, Jan Alphonse, Clive Duncan, Mark Lloyd, Carol Russell, Christopher Ashley.
The Princess and the Monkey Palace (1990) book & lyrics by Renata Allen (premiere Warwick Arts Centre), directed by Martin Jameson, designed by Ruari Murchison, movement by Roger Ennals, starring Lorraine Brunning, Joe Hall, Maureen Marsh, Luke Sibley, Mark Hollander, Angela Lloyd, musical director Gary Williams.
The Magic Storybook (1991) book & lyrics by Renata Allen (premiere Oxford Playhouse), directed by John Retallack, designed by Kathy Strachan, choreography Eusebia, mime coach Clive Duncan, movement Ben Benison; starring Clive Duncan, Andrew Dennis, Penelope Dimond, Carol Redford, Nicola Burnett Smith, Jan Alphonse and Karl James, musical director Juliet E Hill.
FINANCIAL TIMES 23.12.91 " The Oxford Stage Company's The Magic Storybook is the first Christmas family show at the Oxford Playhouse for five years. It comprises five traditional folk tales stretching from mime to pantomime: fresh, exuberant and free from clutter. It is an utterly enchanting evening. John Retallack directs. The five pieces include Jack and the Beanstalk wonderfully mimed and narrated by the cast of seven in bold technicolour. They gather to become a tree or a pair of gates, and jump as the stage vibrates to the ogre's tread. Watch out for Andrew Dennis as the Ogre in brilliant miming form as he falls to earth when the beanstalk is cut, and Penelope Dimond as his long-suffering wife serving up cold fricassee of Englishman. Snake Magic, a violent African fable, tells of a brother (Karl James) and sister (Jan Alphonse) forced to choose between their father's worldly goods and his blessing; the girl takes the latter, the wicked brother the former. She becomes an outcast befriended by a wonderful sibilant snake (Carol Redford) who provides her with the requisite magic kit to win the prince, build the palace and lay on the banquet. Nicola Burnett Smith sings the narration (composed by Howard Goodall) beautifully. The Good Clown and the Bad Clown looks more like straight pantomime, although there is no cross-dressing (the only Dames in Oxford are DBEs). This tale also lets the audience contribute, so the North Oxford under-fives, some of whom will have penned a couple of their own pantos by now, fell to booing and hissing at the desired moments.
The best of the bunch is Anansi, the Brere Rabbit of East Africa (played by Andrew Dennis), who tricks a witch out of half her gold by sweeping up her house and guessing her name. It is really Rumpelstiltskin in the Augean Stables plus menagerie, for the other characters are all animals: Clive Duncan's underwear-eating goat and Jan Alphonse's strutting peacock are particularly good. This one is played, curiously, in Jamaican English, not African. Finally, where but in Cinderella can one find the golden line, "The Prince will marry whomsoever this shoe fits"? The ugly sisters, high-heeled horrors fresh from the cocktail party, hack at their feet to get the fit, but leave a trail of tell-tale blood in the aisle. Who said children's tales were long on fairy and short on grim? "
THE NEW STATESMAN December 1991 "The Magic Storybook presented by the Oxford Stage Company at the Oxford Playhouse to 5 January, which attempts to have its cake and eat it: Cinderella and Jack and the Beanstalk are performed alongside folk tales from Africa, America and the West Indies. In other words, the show is both traditional and multi-ethnic. And why peform one story in an evening when you can do five instead? Full of goodwill towards readers, in the never-ending quest for new stimulations to recommend, I entered the Playhouse as a lone adult in a sea of kids and parents. I might have been a paedophile on the prowl, but no-one in the audience seemed that bothered, so engrossed were they in events on the stage. There are no stars, crap or otherwise. Seven performers, mostly women, use little set or props, wear bright colours and tell their stories in a vivid and inventive way. The show is ideologically sound and enjoyed by children - impossible, you'd have thought."
Renata Allen, the writer of all three of the above shows (and of Days of Hope) can be contacted here.
Click below on the musical names to go to their own pages:
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CATWALK: Arts Educational School Tring Park November 1994
THE KISSING-DANCE: National Youth Music Theatre 1999
THE DREAMING: National Youth Music Theatre 2001-2
A WINTER'S TALE: The Sage Gateshead 2005
TWO CITIES: Salisbury Playhouse 2006
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LOVE STORY 2009-10
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The Challenge (a multi-writer project for the Mercury Workshop). Premiered at The Shaw Theatre 1992
"... in every way it already surpasses dozens of musicals professionally presented in recent years on either side of the Atlantic." Financial Times
A new musical by: Adele Anderson, Jason Carr, Stephen Clark, Brenda Cooper, Patrick Dineen, Anthony Drewe, Howard Goodall, Edward Hardy, Charles Hart, Kit Hesketh-Harvey, Paul James, Stephen Keeling, Guy Kitchenn, Paul Leigh, Martin Lowe, Andrew MacBean, Ben Mason, James McConnel, Shaun McKenna, Andrew Peggie, Paul Sand, Peter Spafford, Mary Stewart-David, George Stiles, Sarah Travis, Denise Wharmby, Eric Woolfson, Kate Young
Director Steven Dexter, Book Stephen Clark, Musical Directors Martin Koch/Steven Edis
Produced by Sacha Brooks (for The Mercury Workshop) and Kenneth Wax. Recordings of the show are available from The Mercury Workshop.
The Ten Commandments (another multi-writer project for the Mercury Workshop); lyrics by Stephen Clark.
Premiered at The Place Theatre 1993
"A chorus line of talent" Daily Telegraph
A new musical by: Adele Anderson, Stephen Clark, Brenda Cooper, Howard Goodall, Edward Hardy, Charles Hart , Kit Hesketh-Harvey, Paul James, Stephen Keeling, Paul Leigh, Martin Lowe, Ben Mason, James McConnel, Andrew Peggie, Peter Spafford, Mary Stewart-David, Denise Wharmby, Warren Wills, Kate Young
Conceived by Stephen Clark/Steven Dexter, Directed by Steven Dexter, Musical Director Chris Nightingale, Produced by Sacha Brooks (for The Mercury Workshop) and Kenneth Wax (for Imagination Entertainments Ltd).
