Tag: musical

Lost in Translation: The German Musical That Preceded ‘Hamilton’ but Remained Unknown

Did you know that before ‘Hamilton’ there was a musical dedicated to Barack Obama… that was performed exclusively in Germany?

Surely you’re familiar with ‘Hamilton’. It was the musical that brought Lin-Manuel Miranda to success and garnered acclaim and awards wherever it went, blending history with modernity through its hip-hop and pop rhythms. Many rightfully applauded the unique blend it presented, and quite a few were captivated by its charm. You can even watch the complete production on Disney+! Yes. But. Did you know that before ‘Hamilton,’ there was a musical dedicated to Barack Obama… that was exclusively performed in Germany?

Spotify DOWNLOAD

Yes, we can… dance!

20th of January, 2009. Barack Obama wins the election and becomes the 44th President of the United States of America. At the same time, in Cologne, Germany, a man named Randall Hutchins decides that this momentous occasion deserves not just a play, but a full-blown musical. With his expertise in musical composition, he begins to fill pages and staffs with songs, eventually completing ‘Hope! Das Obama Musical’. One year after the presidential election, in January 2010, it premieres in Frankfurt to a surprisingly packed audience.

The story begins in the suburbs of Chicago and gradually makes its way to the 2008 elections. John McCain shouts, “I’ll see you in November!” Hillary Clinton promises to be “ready on day one,” and Sarah Palin sings and dances with a group of performers while calling herself the “Pitbull mom.” But the musical had one more surprise: it was interactive.

And by “interactive,” I mean that each seat was equipped with either a percussion system for everyone to play certain songs with the orchestra or maracas. Thousands of people making noise at the same time. The first performance of ‘Hope’ filled all 2,000 seats in the theater, received applause, and was covered by the press around the world. And then, what happened? How is it possible that there was a musical about Obama and you hadn’t heard about it until now?

Well, after that first performance, there wasn’t much more. Despite plans for a tour in Germany and the United States, it remained a brilliant premiere followed by a subsequent downfall, apparently due to a lack of sponsors. Songs like ‘Yes we can’ or ‘Rock the vote’ faded from the collective imagination, and Obama would never have his own musical. Or maybe…?

“Barack Obama exclaims, ‘Of all the musicals about my presidency, this is one of them'”: This is the promotional phrase for ’44, the Obama musical,’ which was performed for a few months in the United States and is more of a parody than anything else. But at least the legend of ‘Hope’ has a successor. Whether he likes it or not.

Spotify DOWNLOAD

Some of the links added in the article are part of affiliate campaigns and may represent benefits for Softonic.

From Stage to Screen: The Untold Story of MechaMew2

Welcome to an unforgettable journey: that of that Pokémon that was born and died, never to be rescued again, in the American musical based on the Japanese anime based on the Game Boy video game.

If you’re of an age and you’re humming “I’ll catch ’em all without exception”, I’m sure you can’t help but follow it up with “Get all the Pokémon“. But, although it may surprise you, the Pokérap, that song that listed the 151 creatures of the first generation, didn’t include all of them… Nor was it the only song made based on the anime. Welcome to an unforgettable journey: that of that Pokémon that was born and died, never to be rescued again, in the American musical based on the Japanese anime based on the Game Boy video game. There’s a lot to process here.

Get them all

September 22, 2000: the two Twin Towers were still looking down on a New York that had just entered the new millennium infected by a fad that many thought was passing: that of Pokémon. In this absolute crazy Pokemania of the 90s, Michael Slade, a scriptwriter of children’s plays and soap operas who had absolutely no idea who or what Pikachu was, saw the premiere of Pokémon Live!, an absolutely lysergic hour-and-a-half musical that would end up opening at Radio City Music Hall… And which was advertised as the only place to see a new Pokémon. It was true. That way.

The musical, and I can’t stress this enough, was official, even if the plot is the craziest thing you’ve ever heard: Giovanni, the head of Team Rocket, challenges all trainers to beat him in exchange for winning the new Diamond medal. But his goal is not to fight, but to make the new Pokémon he has created, capable of copying any move, become unstoppable. His name, MechaMew2.

If it doesn’t ring a bell, it’s perfectly logical: the creature has never left the stage to get into any kind of Nintendo product. The thing is, MechaMew2 only has two moves left to learn: Lightning and Thunder Impact, which, apparently, only Ash’s Pikachu knows. The thing is that the Paleta Town trainer loses and is about to die by a MechaMew2’s Hyper Lightning, but Mewtwo appears out of nowhere and saves him with a force field, showing, by the way, Ash’s happy memories to the bug. You’re not expecting the ending.

Visual Boy Advance DOWNLOAD

Well I’m dying

After learning what love is, MechaMew2 learns to talk, self-destructs in front of Giovanni and Ash, who does not hide his attraction for Misty (and vice versa: his is the song “I want to tell you what I feel, and tell you that I love you”), gives him the Diamond medal. How do you feel? The Pokémon Company didn’t want to know anything once the musical was released and only released a letter with his face inside the LCG… and unofficially.

The very Pokémon fans see their theories more or less rewarded during these 90 minutes, where it is discovered that Ash’s mother had a relationship with Giovanni when they were both teenagers, although he is not his father. Or is he. Who knows. The theory is still up in the air. The musical, which you can find at very low quality on YouTube, mixed songs from the two albums of the franchise with original tunes, and were sung by people… who were not well.

Andrew Rannells (Girls, The prom) played James, from Team Rocket, in the provincial tour, and more than once has stated that he regrets every day of his life, going so far as to say that he would rather have done snuff or porn. For his part, Michael Slade, the screenwriter, said that he only had six months to write the script while attending very long meetings where they discussed everything from Pikachu’s height to what he could do (or not) in the plot.

Apparently, no one stopped him in time when he said “Hey, I have an idea: How about the name MechaMew2?”. Get them all. Except one.