Earlier this month (June 1 to be exact), a new musical interpretation of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, featuring new songs by Stephen Merritt, made its debut. The show took its first bow at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in lower Manhattan, and here I am, reminding you that the show is scheduled to run through July 5 just in case you forgot about it.
Coraline, already widely digested as both novella and film, made the switch to musical theatre, and playwright David Greenspan couldn’t be more satisfied with his musical collaborator, stating that Merrit is “a wonderful story-teller. He is able, in song, to not only develop character and advance plot, but to create moments of emotional expansion.” Coraline, a story about a young girl who discovers an alternate reality, contains all the usual gloominess that Gaiman laces the majority of his work with; accordingly, Merritt attempts to heighten the tone of the story by including a score that consists mainly of minimal, atmospheric piano and voice combinations. Merritt’s overall musical presentation is further described as “stripped-down,” “simplistic,” and possessing “creepy ambiance.” Sounds spooky!
Merritt, who is no stranger to composing and adapting musical material from other mediums, retains many of the musical stylings that he is known for with his primary musical project, The Magnetic Fields. His songs, and more specifically his lyrics, “retain the wittiness that has lined his work in the rock worlds, but also add a new dimension to the play.”
Sadly, no plans have been announced to release any recorded material from the musical, although samples of Merritt’s work can be heard at the MCC Theatre website.
