Da Boyz

Synopsis

For the first time in musical theatre history, the rights have been gained to update a musical still held in copyright.Da Boyz will mark the end of the celebrations of Richard Rodgers' centenary year, bringing the magic of his music to a young audience through hip-hop, R'n'B, bashment and garage remixes. Inspired by Jay-Z sampling from the musical Annie, and Bustah Rhymes looping from Oliver!, the creative team have pushed the concept further by sampling an entire Broadway musical. The result is a Hip-Hop Concert. Classics from Rodgers' and Hart's The Boys from Syracuse such as 'Sing for your Supper' and 'Falling in Love with Love' will still be recognisable to fans of the original, but the music is placed firmly in East London 2003. The Boys from Syracuse cried out to be revamped for the 21st Century: irreverent and ironic, the story deals with love and betrayal, the sense of belonging, being an outsider and a love of home.

Our Review:

8 May 2003

For a show that claims to be a Hip-Hop reworking of Rodger’s and Hart’s The Boys from Syracuse, there is precious little Hart and virtually no Rodgers. Moreover this second or third hand reworking of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors bears only a passing resemblance to the original plot.

But if you forget classic musical comedy conventions, even forget Rodgers and Hart, and accept this marvellous piece of contemporary theatre on its own terms I guarantee that you will have a marvellously exhilarating and energising evening.

This deconstruction of the musical genre by the creative team of DJ Excalibah, MC Skolla and director Ultz, samples and remixes the original score to a repetitive but curiously mesmerising rap beat, using basic themes and bass lines and descanting melody and treble lines to stunning vocal arrangements by Marylyn Gentle. This is indeed musical theatre, Jim, but not as we know it.

The story of the Antipolus twins and their servants, sepa...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com (80.46.176.9) - 13 May 2003:

This is the most energising, dynamic, life affirming show I have seen on the stage in a long long time. Anyone who thinks that the theatre is a dying art should get themselves down to Stratford to see how this genre can be made relevant and vital to a wonderfully young and diverse audience. ...

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