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Description:
Broadway style contemporary musical based on the lives of Bonnie
and Clyde. Although the composer appears to be French, the
music is similar to Andrew Lloyd Webber, with pop and rock
influences.
Comment: The
music is very polished and strong. At times I wished for
more distinction between the songs, but some are top notch.
You'll have to wait for MP3 downloads, and the music is not true
rock, or else this nice work might be placed higher. |
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Description: Rock
musical vampire tale. Music is rock, reminiscent of U-2,
with broad, airy, reverberating sound and jazzy guitar.
Comment: Taken
as a whole, this is a very nice creative piece. Some songs
are quite strong, with high sound quality. The Web page
offers excellent original artwork. Expect lengthy downloads
of MP3s, but if you follow the "Story" link you can read
the story as you wait. |
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Area
51 http://www.area51show.co.uk/ |
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Description:
Fun rock/pop musical based on the legendary Area 51 in Nevada,
written by a young promising Scottish composer by the name of
Daniel O'Brien. The work has won several new musical awards
in England and is currently being recorded by prominent performers
with the backing of pofessional management.
Comment: I
wish there were more music samples, but the two provided are quite
good. This looks to be a possible hit in the making.
Bravo Daniel! (Only criticism: Web site is a little slow and
clunky.) |
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Description: A high energy depiction of the life of Evel Knievel.
Comment: This show has received several very enthusiastic reviews from Los Angeles area newspapers. The video on the web site shows a nicely staged production. Musical excerpts are located on the myspace link. |
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Description: PRIME weaves 19 songs through a story of love, ambition, inspiration, desperation, sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. The upbeat, high energy soundtrack features male and female lead vocals, saxophone and guitar solos, with blues, jazz and pop flavors.
Comment: The music sounds good with nice instrumentation. Lisa Taylor can really sing. It's a little hard to parse a story line, and unfortunately the web page does not provide a synopsis. Song samples can be found at CD Baby. |
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Audio
Format: MP3 |
Sample: "Joker"  |
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Description:
Earth has blown up and groups on two competing space ships enter
into a strained collaboration to colonize Mars. You'll find
mainly instrumental music, similar to rock music from the 70s.
Comment: There
is some admirable music here with fine instrumental work
(especially piano). This is a complete show, with good story
line and nice character interaction. Unfortunatley, marginal
sound quality hinders us from fully enjoying the wide selection of
samples from the show. |
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Grunt http://www.gruntthemusical.com/ |
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Description: Retelling of the life (and death) of Jesus through the eyes of a fictional hunchback character named Grunt and others surrounding Jesus.
Comment: A nice variety of songs with catchy tunes, some of them really rocking. The website also offers some helpful video from a production of the show. A show for churches and secular venues as well. |
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Description: “Marilyn, In Her Own Words” is a Multi-Media rock musical about the life & times of Marilyn Monroe. Many of the songs start with audio from her life, and give the music a historical documentary quality.
Comment: The music seems well suited to the character of Marily Monroe. The video trailer gives an idea of how the multimedia mixes with the music. |
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Description: A retelling of the events surrounding 9/11, where unscrupulous politicians purposely stage a terrorist attack upon the United States for their own benefit. Songs tend to have a techno beat, but with a mixture of piano, guitar and synthesized sounds. Many of the songs are half spoken.
Comment: Very interesting work, ready for staging. |
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Anthem
http://www.anthemthemusical.com/index.html |
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Description: This is a retelling of Ayn Rand's classic tale of individualism versus collectivism.
Comment: Very impressive Flash website. Songs are strong and have a voice, but tend to be somewhat repetitive. Definitely worth the visit. |
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Description: Though labeled a "pop opera," there is enough rock to satisfy most purists. This is the story of Sky and his girlfriend who has fallen ill. A cutting edge doctor convinces them to enter a fantasy techno world to cure her. The show received very positive reviews.
Comment: Nice Flash website. "Merge As One" is a great song. Sound clips are available on the website.
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Description: This musical is a retelling of the traditional werewolf story. It is self-described as "a seductive, action-packed musical thriller that weaves a new beginning to a timeless horror classic."
Comment: Nice instrumentation. Nice web page. |
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Description: A bit of social commentary regarding a young couple that divorces and the negative effects upon the children. Prog rock with piano, guitar and instrumentals.
Comment: This show has received quite a few positive reviews. |
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Description: More
pop than rock, this epic musical depicts the life of Abraham
Lincoln during the Civil War.
Comment: Very
short snippets of songs in the samples make it difficult to judge
the work as a whole. Review of the entire CD, however,
demonstrates a substantial work. Although there may seem to be
something a bit incongruous about Abraham Lincoln and pop music,
the musical stlye grows on you. Expect fairly long downloads
of the wave files. |
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Audio
Format: .WAV |
Sample:
"Clip
#1" |
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Description:
This work is the result of a unique collaboration between German
and American composers, depicting the life of Galileo.
Music is influenced by 70's and 80's rock, especially Queen.
Comment:
Interesting work. The music is pretty darn good, but would
be improved by stronger vocals. They've got something going
here and the show has much potential. Needs to be staged and
fully worked out. |
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Description: A rock opera about a man who is writing a rock opera based upon the medieval story of Everyman. Prog rock with guitar, piano and instrumentals. Described as a combination of Genesis and The Who.
Comment: This piece has quite a bit of good music. It would be worth ordering the CD. There is some question, however, regarding how well this would work on the stage. |
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Description: This is a historical musical that recounts the events leading up to the U.S. backed coup in Iran that deposed the then democratically elected prime minister and replaced him with the Shah.
Comment: This work was presented in the 2004 New York International Fringe Festival and received some good press. |
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Description: The Soma 7, a waning art collective in the all-too-near future, accidentally starts a suicide art movement that propels a draconian political party to power. The show is performed by the members of the band and presents a mixture of musical styles, including rock, grunge, funk and country.
Comment: This work won Best of Fringe at the San Francisco Fringe Festival. There is some very nice guitar work. |
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Description: A rock concert wrapped up in a play, ROCKSHOW explores a night in the life of New York rock band, Group Therapy. The band's relationship gets pushed to the limits as they teeter on the brink of success.
Comment: This show is hard rock and provides an adrenaline rush. It may not appeal to the average theatre-goer. There is some nice guitar work. |
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Description: A rock opera that tells the tale of a rising star in the world of rock music. A powerful and secret cabal vying for world domination tries to seduce him to the dark side and use him to their own ends. The music is varied and includes stadium rock, techno, chant, reggae and hip hop.
Comment: Nice songs with nice instrumentation. The web page includes material for both the musical and Chris Prince's home page, so you'll have to parse them out. |
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Description:
This is a somewhat whacky group with a variety of sounds, from
alternative rock to piano and classical guitar. The lead
vocalist leans toward John Lennon.
Comment:
I don't know how the music fits in with the life of Buster Crabbe,
but this group has put together a nice collection of songs.
There is a unique, distinct voice. One senses that with
further development and refinement, these artists could be top
notch. |
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Description: Rock opera by Peter Gallai and Peter Fabri.
Originally produced in Hungary, the show is now headed for production in the States
by Freedom Productions.
Comment: This
looks to be a complete show. The three clips suggest pop
rock with an ethnic flair. The songs sound quite well done. |
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Description:
Story about a child who is born from a unique love affair
during the Vietnam War. The music is contemporary with
subtle Far Eastern influences.
Comment: This
project gets very high marks for its wonderful and artistic Flash
Web page. However, the musical is not really rock-based.
Site was also a little slow on my 56K modem. |
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Audio Format: Flash |
Sample:
Available on website. |
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Description:
Evensong is a vampire rock opera
which tells the story of star-crossed lovers in colonial New
England who are placed under a deadly curse by Legion (the Devil).
The show mainly provides a mixture of rock and acoustic
guitar work.
Comment: There
are some nice songs here, with some standing out as partucularly
good. The ballad tunes, in particular, work well (especially
when sung by the female vocalist). However, the work falters
in other areas: The story line is a bit hard to follow, the
show feels long, and the lead male vocalist may not have the vocal
qualities to sustain an entire show. |
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