On the 40th anniversary since the release of the first Clash album in 1977, “London Calling” a musical with music by The Clash and book by Peggy Lewis will premiere at The Hudson Theatre during the Hollywood Fringe festival in June.
London Calling is a gritty musical inspired by music of The Clash based on the events of our lives and others, and a youth spent playing in bands, living in squats and pursuing dreams, in Holland and Canada.
The lyrics of the songs are the dialog, that propel the story forward. A story of aspirations, disappointment and redemption, The Clash’s impact on a generation can not be disputed, and their music continues to influence and inspire.For more information go to: http://www.London-Calling.com
A "Clash" Jukebox musical is an unbelievable premise. By honoring its musical creators, it holds the potential to be a seminal musical for our times. It reminds us that political crisis forged The Clash into a layered and lyrical band. The cast with a refreshing mix of ages, had me jumping. It's inspiring. As Punk was. This concept has true Tony potential and is prescient for our times, but its pedestrian book breaks my heart. I humbly hope in future iterations, it considers where this music came from and incorporates more of the layered brilliance and versatility that blew me away in numbers like, "Rock The Casbah" and "Lost in the Supermarket" where dripping irony reflects the reason these songs were written. There's a deep story there, in history and in these songs. Scream it. Slam it.
This was an AMAZING musical! The songs supported the story line, and gave it life. I really cared about the characters; their struggles and triumphs. I'm looking forward to seeing the extended performance in Northern California.
A fast paced, thoroughly entertaining Rock N' Roll musical featuring the terrific music of The Clash. If you are a fan of musicals, you will enjoy this show. If you like rock musicals in particular, you will adore this show. If you are fan of The Clash, you will love this show. You might love it even if you are none of these things! It's a super entertaining evening of theater that had me smiling and tapping my feet all the way through. There's so much good about it, I don't know if I can mention everything. The acting and singing – great. The choreography – loads of fun. The staging of the whole show – extremely creative. What they did here is take The Clash's music and create a story line around it, so that the songs tell the story. The way they integrated the songs into the story was terrific. In several instances, they manipulated the arrangement of the song so it fit the story line better, and it worked beautifully. The show is extremely well-paced. Lots of humor intersperses the action. The actor/singers are all thoroughly immersed in their characters and some play multiple roles. Special mention to the two punk rock “chorus” girls who enhanced every scene they were in even though they weren't the main characters. They gave 110% and the audience loved it. All the songs were well staged, and some of them were brilliant. I enjoyed every musical number, and some standouts for me were “Lost in the Supermarket” and “Should I Stay Or Should I Go,” and I have to say I never saw a more entertaining version of “Rock The Casbah.” It had me laughing my ass off. I could go on and on about this musical, but you really should just go see it. It's a fantastic rock n' roll show. I left the theater feeling very happy!
"I hate the army and I hate the RAF.... / I hate the civil service rules / I won't open letter bombs for you." — "Career Opportunities," The Clash LONDON CALLING, the Clash musical, might have been better with a live band onstage, but the erratically recorded and mixed instrumental tracks guiding the performers through a dozen or so songs by Strummer, Jones, Simonon, and Headon are somehow more appropriate to the loose, kids-putting-on-a-show feel of what goes on in the Hudson Theatre's backstage space. The actors are underrehearsed, the singing is provisional, the choreography is makeshift, and the plot is familiar: four mates from an English backwater form a band, and life—girlfriends, drugs, crime, prison, the army—intervenes. But before all is lost, the lads come to their senses and regroup. And yet, if you love the Clash (who's lyrics make up 90% of the show's dialog), it's all wonderful. For ninety minutes, from "Garageland" through "Gates of the West," everyone in the room, onstage and off, is having a great time. LONDON CALLING was conceived by Mark Hensley, and the book is by Peggy Lewis. "Tom," the lead, is played by British actor Sam Meader, the one true singer in the ensemble.
As a longtime fan of The Clash, I really wanted this musical to succeed, but the ten years invested in creating it has not produced a strong, cohesive production. The program says, “The lyrics of the songs are the dialog, they propel the story forward...” Sorry, they don't. In some cases they might, if you could hear them, but the show is run by a sound engineer from the house who doesn't seem to notice his singers can't be heard. They are also singing to pre-recorded tracks, which feels disingenuous when you're watching a show about a band if the audience never gets to see them perform. We're meant to take them at their word when they say they are brilliant but they never actually play together onstage. Show us, don't tell us. It's much more powerful storytelling.
I love 1970s & 80s UK music, so the incorporation of the Clash's music in telling the story was very compelling and had me tapping my foot to the music all throughout the show. The cast is charismatic, with amazing stage presence and they each perform the vocals with panache! I love how the songs helped to drive the story too! A fun evening of great songs, energetic performances and an entertaining story. It's a fun entertaining rock opera that will have you rocking along with the cast! If you love The Clash, you will really enjoy this show.
Fantastic ensemble, music, direction, writing, & choreography! Loved the way the 2 gal dancers moved the show along with their movement and set pieces! Great chemistry with the actors! They had me feeling ecstatic…especially watching the characters jumping for joy in certain scenes! There's nothing better than seeing someone's dream coming true…through the eyes of a character!
This one was the top show I wanted to see. I built it up so much in my head that anything less than spectacular would have been a letdown. This was NOT a letdown. This is everything I hoped it would be and it still left me wanting more.
As a longtime fan of The Clash, I really wanted this musical to succeed, but the ten years invested in creating it has not produced a strong, cohesive production. The program says, “The lyrics of the songs are the dialog, they propel the story forward...” Sorry, they don't. In some cases they might, if you could hear them, but the show is run by a sound engineer from the house who doesn't seem to notice his singers can't be heard. They are also singing to pre-recorded tracks, which feels disingenuous when you're watching a show about a band if the audience never gets to see them perform. We're meant to take them at their word when they say they are brilliant but they never actually play together onstage. Show us, don't tell us. It's much more powerful storytelling.
This one was the top show I wanted to see. I built it up so much in my head that anything less than spectacular would have been a letdown. This was NOT a letdown. This is everything I hoped it would be and it still left me wanting more.
A "Clash" Jukebox musical is an unbelievable premise. By honoring its musical creators, it holds the potential to be a seminal musical for our times. It reminds us that political crisis forged The Clash into a layered and lyrical band. The cast with a refreshing mix of ages, had me jumping. It's inspiring. As Punk was. This concept has true Tony potential and is prescient for our times, but its pedestrian book breaks my heart. I humbly hope in future iterations, it considers where this music came from and incorporates more of the layered brilliance and versatility that blew me away in numbers like, "Rock The Casbah" and "Lost in the Supermarket" where dripping irony reflects the reason these songs were written. There's a deep story there, in history and in these songs. Scream it. Slam it.
This was an AMAZING musical! The songs supported the story line, and gave it life. I really cared about the characters; their struggles and triumphs. I'm looking forward to seeing the extended performance in Northern California.
A fast paced, thoroughly entertaining Rock N' Roll musical featuring the terrific music of The Clash. If you are a fan of musicals, you will enjoy this show. If you like rock musicals in particular, you will adore this show. If you are fan of The Clash, you will love this show. You might love it even if you are none of these things! It's a super entertaining evening of theater that had me smiling and tapping my feet all the way through. There's so much good about it, I don't know if I can mention everything. The acting and singing – great. The choreography – loads of fun. The staging of the whole show – extremely creative. What they did here is take The Clash's music and create a story line around it, so that the songs tell the story. The way they integrated the songs into the story was terrific. In several instances, they manipulated the arrangement of the song so it fit the story line better, and it worked beautifully. The show is extremely well-paced. Lots of humor intersperses the action. The actor/singers are all thoroughly immersed in their characters and some play multiple roles. Special mention to the two punk rock “chorus” girls who enhanced every scene they were in even though they weren't the main characters. They gave 110% and the audience loved it. All the songs were well staged, and some of them were brilliant. I enjoyed every musical number, and some standouts for me were “Lost in the Supermarket” and “Should I Stay Or Should I Go,” and I have to say I never saw a more entertaining version of “Rock The Casbah.” It had me laughing my ass off. I could go on and on about this musical, but you really should just go see it. It's a fantastic rock n' roll show. I left the theater feeling very happy!
"I hate the army and I hate the RAF.... / I hate the civil service rules / I won't open letter bombs for you." — "Career Opportunities," The Clash LONDON CALLING, the Clash musical, might have been better with a live band onstage, but the erratically recorded and mixed instrumental tracks guiding the performers through a dozen or so songs by Strummer, Jones, Simonon, and Headon are somehow more appropriate to the loose, kids-putting-on-a-show feel of what goes on in the Hudson Theatre's backstage space. The actors are underrehearsed, the singing is provisional, the choreography is makeshift, and the plot is familiar: four mates from an English backwater form a band, and life—girlfriends, drugs, crime, prison, the army—intervenes. But before all is lost, the lads come to their senses and regroup. And yet, if you love the Clash (who's lyrics make up 90% of the show's dialog), it's all wonderful. For ninety minutes, from "Garageland" through "Gates of the West," everyone in the room, onstage and off, is having a great time. LONDON CALLING was conceived by Mark Hensley, and the book is by Peggy Lewis. "Tom," the lead, is played by British actor Sam Meader, the one true singer in the ensemble.
I love 1970s & 80s UK music, so the incorporation of the Clash's music in telling the story was very compelling and had me tapping my foot to the music all throughout the show. The cast is charismatic, with amazing stage presence and they each perform the vocals with panache! I love how the songs helped to drive the story too! A fun evening of great songs, energetic performances and an entertaining story. It's a fun entertaining rock opera that will have you rocking along with the cast! If you love The Clash, you will really enjoy this show.
Fantastic ensemble, music, direction, writing, & choreography! Loved the way the 2 gal dancers moved the show along with their movement and set pieces! Great chemistry with the actors! They had me feeling ecstatic…especially watching the characters jumping for joy in certain scenes! There's nothing better than seeing someone's dream coming true…through the eyes of a character!
