The O2 Arena in London is putting on a very special show called Star Wars: A Musical Journey.

They will be featuring music and original costumes that have never been on tour before. Wow, this sounds incredible!

This video is full of Star Wars music, costumes and awesome trivia. A must see for all Star Wars fans!

[via BBC]

April Fools’ Day is past…this is no joke, Spiderman fans.

The webbed crusader is headed to Broadway. “Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark,” is due at the Hilton Theater in New York, January 2010.

But according to the show’s director, Julie Taymor, this isn’t going to be your typical Broadway Musical.

No sir, this $40 million dollar theater production features huge perspective-skewing sets, 3-D projections, more flying acrobatics than a circus, plus a large cast of heroes and villains from Marvel comic books.

Oh, did I mention that Bono and The Edge, famous U2 rockers, are going to compose the score?

The stage version of “Spider-Man” will not reflect the movie franchise but will have a comic-book, pop-up look and feel. The sets are huge and done in bright colors.

Peter Parker, of course, is the central part of the story, surrounded by a group of nerdy friends, who form a “geek chorus.” As Spider-Man, Peter will go head to head with a swarm of Marvel villains — Green Goblin, Carnage, Electro, Rhino, Swarm and Lizard. Spiderman will also be introduced to new villain, Swiss Miss, whose costume features rotating knives and swirling corkscrews.

Taymor describes her show as “circus rock-’n'-roll drama.” Hmmm…sounds interesting. I’m just wondering how the whole Broadway thing will affect Spiderman’s superhero image after people—and villains—see him singing and dancing in tights?

Kudos to the Miami Valley School! Their drama department will be performing Dr. Horrible’s Sing-along Blog next month. How cool is that?

I really like their promotional poster, it looks a lot like the original artwork:

This looks like so much fun! Apparently, they have the full support of Joss Whedon and his team, who gave them their blessing today on Twitter.

I hope they get the costumes right, and someone at the school reads our post about How to Make a Dr. Horrible Costume. That should get them pointed in the right direction!

If you haven’t had a chance to watch Dr. Horrible, you are really missing out on a great show. It’s available on Hulu for free!

Everyone’s favorite ogre is back in top form. Shrek the Musical opened on Broadway last night, an adaptation of the 2001 blockbuster movie about an ogre with a heart of gold.

The New York Times gave the show a mixed review. Critic Ben Brantley says, “Shrek, for the record, is not bad.”

But Brantley’s main objection to the show, interestingly enough, is the costumes.

“Then there’s the issue of performers having to dress up to resemble fantasy illustrations, a process that, to put it kindly, tends to cramp expressive acting. As the title character, a misanthropic green ogre who learns to love, the talented Mr. James is so encumbered with padding and prosthetics that your instinct is to rush the stage and tap his head to see if he’s really in there.”

I haven’t seen the show, but based on the photos and video I’ve seen, I think the costumes look really good. Great, in fact. This show looks like a ton of fun.

[via New York Times]

 
Shrek the Musical will run on Broadway through Dec. 21, 2008. If you are able to get to New York City, you can purchase tickets online from Telecharge.com. The show runs for 2 hours and 30 minutes and is fun for the whole family (ages 4 and up).

A new Shrek movie is scheduled for a theatrical release in 2010, aptly entitled, “Shrek Goes Fourth.” Glad to see our big green buddy isn’t going away any time soon!

The Fly. It’s a horror film classic, whether you prefer the 1958 original or the 1986 remake. It’s a great story about a scientist whose experiments go wrong, combining him with a fly into one horrible monster. “That’s old stuff,” some might scoff, preferring new horror about girls coming out of TV screens and ghosts with grudges. But this old story has been given new life as an opera, which premiered in the US earlier this month in Los Angeles. It’s an interesting blend of old and new, cult film and high opera.

Unfortunately, it’s received less-than-awesome reviews concerning the singing and score, but they had nothing bad to say about the set design, and of course, the costumes. I’m intrigued by what I’ve seen online. Transforming a man into a fly-monster onstage certainly can’t be an easy task, and his costumes reportedly become increasingly gross and horrific throughout the second act. Here are some images I was able to dredge up online:

Wow! Nasty! I feel sick just looking at them! I would have to call it a costuming masterpiece. The costumes may not be pretty, but are they ever amazing.