out of his turf. Sullivan wants Robbo gone!” Casey elabo- rates, “We’ve seen so many 1920s musicals…Thoroughly Modern Millie and all this stuff. Let’s set it in the 1960s…I think it will be a lot more fun. 1960 through 1962, right at the height of swing. This music is so timeless. Every time one of these songs come on, you want to just get up and start dancing. Everyone thinks of the Rat Pack as cool. I think it’s about cool. It’s cool but you want to get a laugh too. There is also so much dance in it, which has really been fun for me.” Eric Schneider is familiar that his role of “Robbo”
was originally played by old blue eyes himself…Frank Sinatra. What sort of interpretation does Schneider look forward to presenting in this role? “A lot of these songs people know because of Frank Sinatra and the way that he did them. I think that would be a slippery slope to try to climb [to match Sinatra’s delivery]. It’s cool because the story is different. It’s adapted from the Rat Pack movie but it’s so different that I feel like I can completely create a new character. I can sing the songs with a nod to Sinatra because I know why people loved these songs and why they became so famous. But really…to make them Robbo’s songs as opposed to Frank’s songs you know. There’s definitely a style thing, the way these guys sang is something we’re definitely incorporating.” This new musical, Robin and the Seven Hoods, sounds
really hot and something which audiences should enjoy seeing. Director Casey Nicholaw explains his excitement about the upcoming production. “The most fun right now is just the style and the music and the buoyancy of the piece. Also, I love solving problems so it’s about figur- ing out the right balance of song and book and tone. It’s always going to be about getting the tone right.” Eric talks about the incredible batch of songs utilized
Director and Choreographer Casey Nicholaw. Photography courtesy of The Old Globe The film version of Robin and the Seven Hoods starred Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin,
and Sammy Davis Jr. These three men were affectionately known as part of the “Rat Pack.” They made several films together in the 1960s. The film was set in the 1930s and contained seven songs written by the long-standing songwriters of note, Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen. Fast forward to 2010 and the premise of the movie is now a new musical presented by The Old Globe Theatre. However, just the title, two songs (“My Kind of Town” and one number cut from the original film) and a bit of the original plot of the film remain.
Robin and the Seven Hoods now takes place in the
Chicago of the 1960s. The place…a nightclub that still has mob connections and a rivalry between gangs. Robin and the Seven Hoods is also chock full of 20 songs and they represent the finest work of Cahn/Van Heusen. “Ring-a-Ding Ding” is right! But, let’s let star Eric Sch- neider and director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw flesh out the details. Why the time period change for the stage musical? Eric explains, “Basically it takes away some
of the 1930s Zoot Suit stuff. We’re going more for a slick early 1960s kind of Mad Men kind of look. My character Robbo runs a couple of nightclubs. He is a nightclub owner and a big celebrity in the neighborhood. He’s a gangster. He does some things on the side. But, he’s a good dude with a heart of gold who loves giving back to his neighborhood. There’s Robin and the seven hoods and then a bigger crime boss named T.J. Sullivan. Sul- livan basically runs Chicago. He’s trying to muscle Robbo
in the musical. “A lot of the musical numbers take place in the nightclub. We have unbelievable showgirls who come out and do numbers for the crowd at the nightclub. There are over 20 songs…it’s a big musical production. Songs like ‘Ain’t That a Kick in the Head,’ ‘Come Fly With Me’ and the show opens with ‘My Kind of Town.’ There is some really cool stuff.” Rupert Holmes (book) really did an amazing job of connecting the dots and making these songs work for the show.” Director Casey Nicholaw also shared with us what he enjoys about the book adaptation for the new musical stage version. “Rupert has the job of trying to wedge all these great songs into the show, weaving them together and developing char- acters based on who would sing what song. He’s taking this great music and making a story out of it all. I’m really excited about presenting our work.”
Robin and the Seven Hoods The Old Globe Theatre July 14-August 22 619.234.5623
oldglobe.org
JULY 2010 | RAGE monthly 17
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