Marilyn The New Musical

The late Marilyn Monroe is a legend to so many but it takes someone with both passion and courage to create a musical based on her life.  Although she died over fifty years ago she remains a Hollywood Icon and is still of interest to both men and women worldwide. Movies, books and songs have been written about her and merchandise with her likeness continues to sell in large numbers. Marilyn Monroe's style is timeless. You can't say that about many.

Tegan Summer who is the Writer, Producer, and Director of Marilyn The New Musical is a classic film and stage enthusiast who says he has always been fascinated by Marilyn Monroe. Not the star but who she was when the cameras were turned off, which fueled his desire to write this show.  Co-Producer Michael Donovan secured the fantastic cast and Gregory Nabours provided additional songs and lyrics. Choreography by Ferly Prado.

Friday night was the official premier of Marilyn The New Musical in Las Vegas at the Paris Theater. This show is a fully authorized production by Authentic Brands Group, which owns the estate of Marilyn Monroe. Although it has been previously worked on in both Vegas and L.A., the show officially debuted on the Las Vegas Strip. 

I think love and work are the only things that really happen to us. - Marilyn Monroe

It is incredibly challenging to bring an original musical to the stage. Very few are willing to take a chance on a new show because they want guaranteed formulas for hits. I'm pleased that in this case Prospect House Entertainment and Caesars Entertainment did. There's no reason Las Vegas can't originate major Broadway style productions. Anyone who says otherwise has probably never seen or met any of the high caliber talent including writers, directors and producers who live here.

There is truth and honesty to this show that touched me. Set and stage adjustments could make it more powerful but the talent, the songs and the story are all there. So was an eight piece orchestra that helped create the feeling of going back to another time and place. It all gets to the heart of who Marilyn Monroe was and what it was like during her life to be a woman on her own in show business back when men ran everything. 

The story opens with Marilyn's driver Charlie, (the talented and melodic Frank Lawson) singing how he's got The Best Job in Town but also humorously bemoaning the fact that because Marilyn is always late he is always waiting. Charlie continues as narrator throughout. Many times the household staff of famous people know them better than anyone else and in such this character provides a unique perspective.

We are then introduced to Norma Jeane at age 16, before she was Marilyn (played by Brittney Bertier). We see she is being sent away from her foster home and told she has nowhere else to go so she should marry her neighbor Jim. I would have liked the story of Norma Jeane to be a little longer and show us more of the adolescence that shaped her.

Norma Jeane continues to appear throughout the show as a shadow following Marilyn as she goes through life. This scenario works. The Norma Jeane and Marilyn combo has been used before in other productions. It's a relatable theme, as many of us adults try to shed who we were as children, with varying levels of success. 

Ruby Lewis as Marilyn Monroe

We then meet Ruby Lewis, our Marilyn Monroe. A lot of actresses think they can portray her but that is only true if they understand Marilyn on a deep level, and also have that X factor that Marilyn possessed. A women who plays her has to internalize her history of having been sexually abused and neglected with lifetime problems of anxiety, insomnia, and addiction. Yet also being someone who continued to strive to succeed. Ruby embodies this. She's a real talent and although at times she sang like Marilyn and other times much better than Marilyn ever did, it worked and the audience was quick to applause even at times shouting out their enthusiasm after a number. Especially in songs such as The Time of My Life, Someone Else Ago, and Don't Wanna Be Me. Ruby is in better shape than Marilyn was and she'd be best served not to get any thinner in this role so as to not lose the Marilyn-esque curves that define her physical persona.

As I once wrote in an article about Marilyn she was not only sexy but was funny as hell. Anyone who has seen "Some Like It Hot" would not dispute that. Little of this side of her is shown in the production but is an element I would have liked to have seen more of because it truly helped set her apart.

This show highlights some of her dealings with men such as the tyrannical studio head Darryl Zanuck, (played by the ever potent Randal Keith), and her first shoot with photographer Milton Greene who would later become a partner in her production company, (portrayed by gifted vocalist Travis Cloer).

It also sheds light on some of her most meaningful relationships such as her first love Bill Pursel (Chris Fore), a man who wanted to save her, but also wanted her out of the spotlight, as many men after him would; and her ill fated marriages to Joe Di Maggio (Christopher Showerman), and Arthur Miller (Matthew Tyler). 

There was also a lovely performance of I Ain't Stoppin', by Chanel Edwards-Frederick as Ella Fitzgerald in a little known story about her and Marilyn performing at the same venue. 

Was Marilyn Monroe's life a success or a tragedy? It think it was both, like many people's.  Monroe has been quoted as saying Hollywood is a place that will pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul. She was right. It's a beautiful and ugly business at the same time and you've got to have backbone to survive it intact. In Marilyn's case perhaps if she'd had lasting love and been able to have a child, which she very much wanted, she would have had the long life of some of her contemporaries like Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren. But that was not to be. 

I was pleased the show didn't end on the death scene. She was so much more than the moment she slipped away.

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