AboutOVERVIEW CharactersMusical NumbersCreatorsProducer/Presenters
The Time: Now
The Place: A television studio in a Big City
The Event: The final evening…
Since the birth of television, American audiences have had a love affair
with talent contests…from American Bandstand to American Idol and from Star
Search to Dancing with the Stars. Capitalizing on this cultural phenomenon,
Superstar is an exciting multimedia dramatic musical theater experience that
brings to life the story of six finalists in a heated talent competition. With
its original contemporary crossover score and lyrics, Superstar artfully blends
the on-stage reality show with all the backstage drama, incorporating romance,
conflict, plot-twists and of course…foul play – everything they don’t show you
on TV – captivating audiences of all ages – entertaining traditional and non-traditional
theater-goers alike. Driving the competition is THE AUDIENCE – an integral
part of the show itself. The experience begins long before they arrive at the
theater; the Superstar online experience will include photos, bios, video clips
of "past performances," chatting, and blogging – allowing the audience to become
fans of individual contestants before seeing the show and helping them develop
opinions about who they, THE AUDIENCE – will vote for – as ANYONE can win on
any given night. Upon arrival at the theater, the live entertainment experience
begins outside the venue, and continues inside the lobby, as merchandise "hawkers" urge
fans to buy items supporting their favorite contestant. As the audience moves
into the theater itself, the excitement continues; rather than the typical static
pre-show setting, the theater is alive with the sights and sounds of a TV show
about to begin. The "Stage Manager" warms up the audience as other cast members
scurry throughout the house. The Show begins with the frantic ensemble number, "The
Final Evening", which introduces the audience to six nervous finalists, a Stage
Manager under pressure, a frustrated Reporter, 3 Background Singers who have
seen it all, and Spencer Hamilton (Sex and the City’s Mario Cantone), our perfection-obsessed
host who makes "manic" look like a cakewalk.
It’s the final evening of the now-nationally televised Superstar talent competition,
and Superstar will beat out that other show in sweeps week ratings if it’s "the
last thing Spencer Hamilton does!" And, it’s going to take a lot more than
shoddy interviews and bad song choices to stop that from happening!
In Act One, each of the six contestants has one shot to wow the audience
with an "on-camera" performance. Trisha Neville, correspondent on the show’s
own "Superstar Access Tonight-night-night-night", is a woman-with-a-mission,
providing the vehicle through which the backstory and backstage drama are revealed – the “what
they don’t show you on other reality shows.” And, of course, by the end of Act
One, there’s plenty of that. (Does anyone ever really read a contract before
they sign it?) Then the AUDIENCE VOTES (via an electronic voting mechanism at
their seats) and only three of the six contestants "survive", setting the stage
for Act Two; and the ensuing mad frenzy in the lobby during intermission. (Backstage,
the cast preps for Act Two based on the results of the audience voting.) As
we near the beginning of Act Two, the show’s "Stage Crew" begins to scurry about,
again interacting with the audience. House lights dim, Act Two begins with the
ensemble’s cell phone exclamation, "You Won’t Believe It!", followed by the
background singers’ hilarious complaint, “What About Us?!”
The beauty of Superstar comes to fruition as the three surviving contestants
are revealed, and each permutation of finalists brings a different series of
plot developments, outcomes and songs. Each of the contestants has his/her own
second-act song that is only performed if he/she is one of the finalists. Additional
songs are performed no matter which contestants move into Act Two as "finalists." The
three “eliminated” contestants still appear in Act Two to move various plotlines
forward. This all highlights the unique premise of the show and its carefully
constructed storyline which provides the audience the possibility of seeing a
different Act Two and a different ending each time they see the show. The drama
that has been building throughout the show reaches its climax near the end of
Act Two and the AUDIENCE VOTES again, this time to select a winner. As confetti
explodes over the crowd and the cast sings a final reprise of the show’s most
infectious song, the audience leaves dancing, singing and clapping down the aisles…….as
they head towards the merchandise stands. The post-event experience includes
the on-site sale of the Superstar CD with the picture of that night’s winner
on the cover, and hopefully a return to the website for more chatting and blogging,
and an eventual return to the show, again and again.
