When I first heard about the 70’s Sly Stallone movie being made into a musical, I laughed and rolled my eyes. Then, when I found out that Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime, Once on This Island, The Glorious Ones, Seussical) were involved, I stopped laughing. I went from being intrigued by how bad this could be to excited that this could be as good as the movie.
The noted duo have written some of my most favorite Broadway songs, many of them from the incredible OoTI, as it turns out. They have a knack for creating songs that seem to come from the very guts of the character and in turn they get a very deep emotional response from me. And with Rocky, their brilliance continues.
Up for 4 awards at tonight’s Tony Awards (CBS @ 8pm PST) “Rocky” is the story of a struggling boxer, Rocky Balboa (Andy Karl) who gets the break of a lifetime when reigning heavyweight champ, Apollo Creed (Terence Archie) offering him a shot at the belt. It is the ultimate underdog story. You can’t help but to root for him tk win the match and to get the girl.
Stand out numbers for me are Adrian’s (Margo Seibert) “Raining” and “I’m Done,” Rocky and Adrian’s charming duet “Flip Side of Me,” and Rocky’s beautiful ballad “Keep on Standing.”
Can it be on tour already? I am currently impatiently waiting until it does. The images in the booklet are so striking that I try to force them to move. So far, it hasn’t been working.
I guess for now I will have to settle with watching the source material and placing the songs in mentally.
But not tonight. CUZ THE TONY’S ARE ON!!!
The Actorvist 