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VARIETY - Posted: Sun., Mar. 7, 2004, 6:00am
PT
Witching hour
NEW YORK -- Here's a strange pairing: the author of "Annie" and the mind behind Spy magazine.
But, yes, Martin Charnin and Kurt Andersen have just put the finishing touches on their new musical "Broomhilda," based on the long-running cartoon strip.
The two scribes are unlikely collaborators, and have aptly diverging description of their musical baby.
"It's 'Brigadoon' for the 21st century," says Charnin, the veteran lyricist-director.
"It's 'Men in Black' meets 'Harry Potter,' " says Andersen, who makes his book-writer debut with the project. Considering the edgy sensibility that he brought to Spy, New York magazine and the novel "Turn of the Century," Andersen is the first to admit surprise at his sudden interest in the musical-comedy form.
"It was never a burning ambition," he says. Back-to-back exposure to "Urinetown" and "Hairspray," however, led to a legit epiphany. "Man, if musical comedy can have this kind of modern sensibility.... Now I rush off to every musical that opens to look at it with new eyes," Andersen says.
As for "Broomhilda" being "Brigadoon," Andersen describes his witch story a tad more intriguingly. "It's as if Walt Disney and the Bush administration controlled the world, and Broomhilda and her magical creatures are about to be squeezed out of existence. This is the final battle," he concludes.
Composer on "Broomhilda" is the late Leroy Anderson. Charnin secured the rights to such instrumental classics as Anderson's "Blue Tango," "Syncopated Clock" and "The Belle of the Ball," and has given them original lyrics.
"And left Anderson's music absolutely intact," he insists.
Which makes the "Broomhilda" exercise unlike what "Mamma Mia" did to Abba or how "Kismet" riffed on Borodin.
While "Broomhilda" awaits its first reading, Charnin recently secured a berth for one of his other musical projects. "Robin Hood" opens this November outside Seattle at the Village Theater, the Goodspeed of the Pacific Northwest.