Studio 54 The Musical

[JussiK]

There's a huge led screen up in the centre of Milan, advertising an upcoming "Studio 54 The Musical". A mirror ball flashes, a scantily clad female body spins around and around. Does anyone know what this is all about and will there be this Italian production only?

[Videoskooter]

http://www.teatronuovo.it/Nuovo/2005...tudio%2054.htm

It's a worldpremiere and it's possible this one goes on tour if it is successful in Italia.

The music clip on the site is not bad, but they probably won't use the original music. It's covertime but I think it's a great night out.

[DJ Jimmy M]

Im scared to even know... :lol:

[Voyage]

As much as I'm a 54 fan (club/movie) just by looking a the pics they have in the site...makes me think it looks so 90s revival of the 70s....and then why do some ppl have an erroneous concept of disco....aka like the pics on the Pure Disco albums!

Voyage :P

[DJ Jimmy M]

Originally Posted by Voyage

As much as I'm a 54 fan (club/movie) just by looking a the pics they have in the site...makes me think it looks so 90s revival of the 70s....and then why do some ppl have an erroneous concept of disco....aka like the pics on the Pure Disco albums!

Voyage :P

Well Voyage it's real plain and simple...cause the masses/mainstream, whatever you'd like to call em are very.. non educated to put it in kind terms

[JussiK]

Just like Fame or Grease this Studio 54 thing cannot of course be expected to be realistic in it's depiction of the era in question - and in the case of the Studio all the better since the grey business suits and naff evening elegance of the ladies that went to 54 would not a colorful spectacle make. Trust the Italians to get it right with masses of unrelated chorus girls in silver bikinis, ott camp scenarios, political incorrectness, incomprehensible comedy interludes and risque dance moves. And more bikinis. Anyone who's ever watched any Italian television on a Saturday night will know what the musical is going to be like - totally fab entertainment!

[Voyage]

I totally agree with you Jimmy and Jussik! One the masses are for instance at times uneducated about Disco and oother stuff, then maybe sometimes us when we don't know about something very well. Then what do we do, we try to find out what we don't know :) Process of self-education...okay I don't wanna get here in an educational discussion.

Yeah Jussi you made me realize what's the reason to have colorful polyester shirts, chains, and silvery bikinis...to attract the general audience. I mean some ppl can just be attracted to 54 because of the jet set crowd that frequented it and period, but others need a bit more.

And yeah the Italians surely know how to have fun! Both on TV and on the street! Oh Rome I miss it!

Voyage :P

[Videoskooter]

I'm repeating this:look at the pics, the guys and the girls and you simply know it's gonna be a beautiful night if you are going to watch it with the right attitude and that simply is: "Disco-time".

If you expect the movie or the real Studio "54" live on stage then you will be dissapointed of course.

[judydoggie]

Remember, everyone. Aren't we here to keep disco alive. After 25 years in the business of promotion, must I remind you all that EVEN BAD P/R is good P/R?!!! For those of you not in the public relations business, even if the message that gets sent out and heard by the public ("P/R") is not exactly what YOU want them to hear, it usually works out improving things for your business/cause/etc. in the end.

Love,

JudyDoggie

P.S. (Crap, now I have a feeling that all the Queens out there who like Latins are going to skim this message and agree with me, e.g.; "P/R always improves things in MY end, honey!" -- sorry, everyone; I just couldn't resist a chance for a politically incorrect, racist, homophobic joke that would have gone over really, really well at Studio 54 in its hey-day) Any and all insulted parties may vent their rage at my personal email for such purposes: shaogo@snet.net. But I'd rather just hear from the people who want to laugh WITH me. The ones who want to complain can send money to the ACLU or something like that.

[Salsoul1975]

Judy,

I laughed! :P

To comment on earlier posts, I was born in 1975, so I do remember some things about disco when it was really happening, like my mom playing the SNF album while vacuuming the living room, buying Gloria Gaynor's "Love Tracks" and Peaches & Herb's "2 Hot!" albums because my aunt had bought them (my mom had bought Village People's "Macho Man" album earlier on), Donna Summer's "On The Radio" album on 8-track, and the "A Night At Studio 54" album. I knew who Chic was, having seen their commercials for their albums on TV. Growing up in the city (Queens, NY) in those days, even as young as 3-4 years old, I was exposed to these things.

I never liked the whole "retro" approach to disco and the '70s pop culture when it arrived in the '90s. I always felt like there was a thinly-veiled ostracization regarding it in the fold, with regards to the clothes, hairstyles and attitudes and whatnot. As time went on, I realized that the actual footage from that time period was the ONLY source and that no re-creation could match it. That is why I never bothered to watch the "54" movie because I figured it would be just a '90s interpretation of what had gone on there, pretending it was the late 1970's again. Those days will NEVER come back, but the memories and the music will always remain.

[judydoggie]

Dear Salsoul 1975:

You've made my day, in fact, my whole weekend. This weekend, I will be seeing for the first time a woman I've not seen since about 1983. You were eight. When you were born I had been licensed to drive an automobile for three years. The woman I'm seeing this weekend was a great diva in club circles. Not just a regular; but one with a great, approachable personality. She and I and a few others are working on a project in which we're going to re-unite some very special people who were at the core of the disco business in NYC in the late '70s and early 1980s -- but that's another story.

In your post hereinabove you've successfully won the debate: Any old disco, or keep period pieces accurate?

Go see the Studio 54 movie. The entire premise is ridiculous; the "straight" bartender "gets the girl in the end." That's conveniently painting the fickle relationships and predominant homo-and bi-sexuality amongst the staff (I'm qualified to say this) so that the film'll sell tix in the Midwest. Well, a whole generation of midwestern moms and pops looked on as their adolescents watched the "Village People" gyrate on a fledgeling MTV and other stations, singing their songs, without a clue as to what was going on. These are the same moms and pops who agreed when President Reagan dismissed "the gay disease" before it became known as AIDS as a "niche problem" and all but actually said that "they brought it upon themselves." Then some of their little baby boys (and later their baby girls who were I/V drug users) got sick and reality hit them like an 18-wheeler full of cement blocks going 75.

Salsoul, you MUST see "Boogie Nights," the film featuring Mark Wahlberg that came out about 6 years ago. That, now, paints a much more realistic picture of a niche of an industry set not that far away from the discos of the time. Its the Ecstasy and the Agony. The money and the poverty. The daily grind culminating in one weekend day or so spent in the pursuit of pure unadulterated hedonism.

These days, I agree with you, we have but only fond memories of those times, dancing the night away to music that many consider "formula" but that we at this website have the insight enough to understand well because only the good stuff, talented and creatively produced; then put in the hands of an excellent dee-jay, can go from the "sound-alike" and become a special experience that makes even the most hale and hearty individual leave the club feeling hopelessly, happily spent, feeling nearly as if they'd had a sexual experience!

My dear Salsoul: Hold on to all the memories you have. You can go out and have fun and spare yourself the drugs and AIDS that did so many of my dear friends in. In fact, I've been handling suvivor's guilt in therapy for many years. So have fun with disco. All of the wonderful folks at this sight will guide you. Choose the members who've been hear a long time, like Quinny and Markedefad just to mention a few (sorry, those I didn't mention who've been so helpful and kind to me).

Write down what you learn. Accumulate your own written record. Collect photographs. Talk to people. Interview complete strangers. If you're still in NYC -- ask utter and complete strangers if they went out to the clubs. You can tell disco people; they sometimes dress like they're still locked in the '70s and '80s (or the guys at least are wearing their shirts a little too far open; their collars are a little too big; their shoes are a little out of style, and they're constantly combing their hair a' la' John Travolta...)

And by all means, do email me. Some of my projects include work (restaurants and music production - mostly live and in the jazz genre: www.asianfusion.net - get my contact email from there - and also a seasonally changing site dedicated to modern popular culture http://pages.cthome.net/paul888 (currently mounting a new exhibit so not yet for complete viewing) -- Winter exhibit will be combo warhol/pop with disco-based musical collage in background - it's called "dada" after the art movement based on taking found objects and creating pieces (typically collages).

Live, breathe, care, dance, party, live!

All the best,

Paul L. (a.k.a. judydoggie)