I know I just wrote my first post, but I felt it was more of an overview than anything else. I wanted to follow up with this one, which takes me back to my days as an entry-level employee in the Theater & Musical Theater disciplines at the National Endowment for the Arts. I support government funding of the arts and, therefore, I support the NEA. I definitely wish people could find funding elsewhere, but the NEA definitely supplies some much-needed support to “excellent” artists across the country. The NEA, however, has its fair share of detractors, many of which are United States politicians.

The NEA announces its grants to the public twice a year, if I remember correctly. A few years back, the NEA supported the development of a musical tentatively titled Disposable. The musical, by Jessica Hagedorn (a well-respected playwright) and Mark Bennett (a well-respected composer), was “loosely based” on the murderous rampage of Andrew Cunanan, who killed Gianni Versace in 1997 before taking his own life.

The anti-NEA politicos heard about this and all hell broke loose. It was their way to ignite conversations urging an end to government arts funding. They made comments about how the musical would glorify the murders and the murderer by turning Cunanan into some tap-dancing hero. If they looked beyond the ends of their noses, though, they’d see that there is a long history of murder in musicals — and in well-known and respected ones at that!

To cover their butts, the NEA decided to say this was a piece of “music theater,” which is apparently different than a regular old run-of-the-mill “musical.” To me, that’s like saying “bullcrap” is different than regular old run-of-the-mill “bullshit.” Nonetheless, it seemed to cover all bases and everything blew over in a matter of weeks. The show went on to be developed at La Jolla Playhouse, with NEA support I suspect, and has since been renamed Most Wanted. It’s currently in development at the Sundance Institute, a highly regarded theatrical development program (The Light in the Piazza is one famous alum), and will be given a full production at La Jolla Playhouse in the fall of 2007. Apparently, the show is now barely even based on Cunanan… He seems to only have been an inspiration.

I heard a selection from the musical at the TCG Annual Conference this past June and it seems very interesting. We’ll see if the politicians who lambasted the grant, the musical, and the NEA remember their opinions when they attend opening night in La Jolla on October 2nd.

During this whole hullabaloo at the NEA, I wrote an “internal memorandum” (i.e., it was only meant for the eyes of my closest coworker buddies) showing the history of murders/murderers in musicals. Many people, including the higher-ups, at the NEA heard about this. I hope they got a kick out of it.

Here’s a sample….

1) Chicago — Based on the real-life murderers Beulah May Annan and Belva Gaertner. Went on to win multiple Tony Awards and Oscars. The revival has run on Broadway for over 10 years.

2) West Side Story — Gang murders. Large body count by the end.

3) Fiddler on the Roof — Russian pogroms, anyone?!

4) Parade — Based on the real-life murder of Mary Phagan and the hanging of Leo Frank.

5) Candide — There is an entire song called “Auto-da-fe.” Look it up.

6) Les Miserables — One of Broadway’s longest-running musicals, known specifically for a very large, rotating barricade, upon which a revolution takes place. Said revolution results in the deaths of umpteen chorus boys (and Eponine).

7) Jekyll & Hyde — Mr. Hyde is not a fan of people in general. The song “Murder, Murder,” really gets to the heart of that show.

8) The Lion King — Scar throws Mufasa off a cliff. Simba is thrown to the wildebeests. Great example to set for the kids, Disney!

9) Jesus Christ Superstar — What better way to go to your crucifixion than by singing an Andrew Lloyd Webber rock score?!

10) Pippin — The conquests of the Holy Roman Empire, as sung and danced by Ben Vereen.

11) Little Shop of Horrors — I’ve stayed away from all singing plants since seeing this.

12) The Capeman — Sure, it was Paul Simon’s one and only musical (it opened and promptly closed), but it told the story of Salvador Agron, a gang member who killed two New York teens in 1959. And it starred a pre-JLo Marc Anthony.

13) The Civil War — ’nuff said.

14) The Scarlet Pimpernel — The show opens with a few random Frenchmen (and women) being guillotined. Nice.

15) Sweeney Todd — A barber kills people instead of shaving their faces and then bakes them into pies — which he sells and eats!! Look for the Tim Burton film in 2007, starring Johnny Depp.

And, finally….

16) Assassins — Stephen Sondheim’s award-winning ode to Sara Jane Moore, Leon Czolgosh, Samuel Byck, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, Giuseppe Zangara, Charles Guiteau, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Wilkes Booth, and the presidents they killed (or attempted to).

I wonder how many of those politicians and pundits who dissed Disposable have given these shows standing ovations.