Batman: The Musical (Shadows in the Gloom)

[Ultimatehero]

This is an excerpt of a much larger piece I'm working on. It uses tons of songs Batman fans have affiliated with the mythos over the years. I'm seeing Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark tomorrow which, needless to say, inspired me to think of Batman: Shadows in the Gloom. I approached it very much the same way. I wanted to see - how could you pull off something like this without making it overly corny? Is that possible? Musicals that came to mind instantly were Sweeny Todd, Phantom Of the Opera, and Jekyll & Hyde. All dark. All gothic. All would be, at least in my opinion, the perfect route for Batman. Rather than writing new songs, I went the 'Rock of Ages' route' in that they're all well established and I'll let the prologue/scene I speak for itself:

The Beginning is the End is the Beginning

(See song below)

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

OPEN TO:

EXT. GOTHAM CITY - NIGHT

CITIZENS drag themselves past the grimy streets of a city falling apart. They swing their closed handed arms, similar to a straight jacket, back and forth as they chant the anthem of a dying city.

CITIZENS
Send a heartbeat to, the void that cries through you.

BRUCE WAYNE (20s) kneels in an alley. A spot light reveals a flashback of a THUG killing his family.

CITIZENS
Relive the pictures that have come to pass. For now we stand alone.

Lights refocus on police officers beating innocent victims senseless as GORDON (30s) is forced to watch.

VICTIMS
The world is lost and blown. And we are flesh and blood disintegrate. With no more to hate.

Gordon walks away. The Officers eye him in distrust. Citizens crowd around him.

CITIZENS
Is it bright where you are? Have the people changed?

Lights refocus on a comedy stage. JACK (20s) nervously tries to get a rise from the audience.

JACK
Does it make you happy?

HECKLERS
You’re so strange!

The audience boos him off. Citizen mope past.

CITIZENS
And in your darkest hour.

Lights dim to reveal criminals running rampant in the streets. Homeless people dying on the streets.

CITIZENS
I hold secrets flame. We can watch the world devoured in it’s pain.

PROJECTED NEWS ARTICLES PROCLAIM: GOTHAM’S PRODIGAL SON, BRUCE WAYNE RETURNS.

CITIZENS
Delivered from the blast. The last of a line of lasts.

PROJECTED ARTICLES: ECONOMY IN RUINS. CRIME ON THE RISE. Bruce treads through, using a coat to cover himself.

CITIZEN 1
(From a balcony)
The pale prince of a palace cracked.

CITIZEN 2
(Among the homeless)
And now the kingdom comes.

CITIZEN 3
(From a alley)
Crashing down undone.

BRUCE
And I am master of a nothing place. Of recoil and grace.

The Citizens reach out to him for help.

CITIZENS
Is it bright where you are? Have the people changed?

Bruce remains motionless, unsure how to respond. Jack faces himself in a store window.

JACK
Does it make you happy you’re so strange?

Jack punches the glass causing it to shatter. Citizens gather around him as he treads away.

CITIZENS
And in your darkest hour. I hold secrets flame. We can watch the world devoured in it’s pain.

The lights dim to focus on Bruce kneeling before his parents’ graves. He lays a rose down beside it. Citizens watch on, within the dim lighting of the city.

BRUCE
Time has stopped before us.

He’s haunted by the city’s cries reaching out to him:

CITIZEN 1
The sky cannot ignore us.

CITIZEN 2
No one can separate us.

CITIZEN 3
For we are all that is left.

CITIZEN 4 signals a gun to his head.

CITIZEN 4
The echo bounces off me.

BRUCE
The shadow lost beside me.

ALFRED (60s) walks towards him with an umbrella.

ALFRED
There’s no more need to pretend.

Alfred guides him away.

ENSEMBLE
Cause now we can begin again.

The lights dim to refocus on a group of cops. The CAPTAIN (60s) faces a distressed Gordon, he’s not pleased at all.

CAPTAIN
Is it bright where you are? Have the people changed? Does it make you happy you’re so strange?

Gordon reluctantly swallows his pride.

GORDON
And in your darkest hour, I hold secrets flame.

In a apartment, Jack gazes out the window. An utter mess. His pregnant wife yells out to him from across the room.

JACK
We can watch the world devoured in it’s pain. Strange.

Bruce sees the mansion for the first time. His legacy.

BRUCE
Strange.

JACK & BRUCE
Strange.

Both men at the end of their wits.

----------------

It will premiere officially around the same time as The Dark Knight Rises.

Joker is the star of the show, we really get into his origins.

The Killing Joke mixed with Batman Year One.

For those wondering, Batman really won't sing that much. Mainly it's the Joker's show in those regards. As per Batman design and how that wouldn't look odd - just imagine a more operatic form of his costume, very Phantom of the Opera-ish. That's the one musical that told me it was possible.

[danlav05]

Very interesting - the song certainly fits the story.



Batman The Musical has certainly been mooted before, but as a BIG TIME musical theatre fan, I look forward to seeing how this unfolds

[Ultimatehero]

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH: THE WRITER

WHAT EXACTLY IS YOUR BACKGROUND?

I managed a virtual series for a main Supernatural fan site for four years, then I went on to one of the top five film studios where I pitched them my script and idea for 'Mighty Max,' which the Vice President loved but unfortunately couldn't buy due to having another similar project in the works. I'm currently writing three screenplays to return to said company with over the summer.

I also wrote a Spider-Man 4 screenplay here which fans loved and thought was on par with Spider-Man 2.

As per Batman connections, this year I'm a background actor in 'The Dark Knight Rises.'

WHY A BATMAN MUSICAL?

I saw Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and liked it a lot. It made me wonder what other superhero could possibly translate onto the stage. And the one that stood out to me the most was surprisingly Batman.

Everyone is hesitant when they hear Batman and musical mentioned in the same sentence. But, I love challenges. Thus, I set about making it a reality.

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT?

I think fans will be very surprised when they see it and give it a chance. It remains very faithful to source material, the characters, and their journeys.

The main villain of the show is the Joker. He provides most of the entertainment. And believe me when I say, you haven't seen Joker like this before. His background stems primarily out of 'The Killing Joke.' And we really dive into how he could become the villain we all love to hate. To me, he's a lot like Sweeney Todd - albeit a lot more psychotic.

There's also a romantic sub-plot between Bruce Wayne and Salina Kyle that takes some of it's cues from 'Batman: Year One.' In many ways this is an origin story exploring how these three characters came to be.

SO WE WILL SEE BATMAN SINGING IN COSTUME?

Sometimes. *Laughs* Sometimes. But I tried to stay away from that. But, I approached it in a way very similarly to Phantom of the Opera. Do we laugh when the Phantom sings? No. Then why would we when Batman sings? I think it's all part of the design process and the tone of the piece. You make it gothic and operatic, it's going to just seem natural to who he is.

WILL THERE BE ANY ORIGINAL SONGS?

Sadly, no. I'm not really a song writer. This will follow the formula of musicals that utilize already pre-existing songs. Many of which can be found on various Batman soundtracks, comic books, and other mediums.

ANY CLOSING WORDS?

Batman: The Musical. Many would say "what the hell is he smoking?" But taking another look - it's the most natural thing in the world. Just look at Sweeney Todd and Phantom of the Opera. Both very gothic and both very very dark. It's based heavily on the source material in such a way that I think/hope fans will find these characters just fascinating as I do.

It's a classic tale we all know. Of how things began, but with a new twist. Look for it in July. Peace out.