King David: A World Premiere Concert Event is a 1997 oratorio (sometimes described as a work-in-progress musical), co-produced by The Walt Disney Company and Andre Djaoui, and written by Alan Menken (music) and Tim Rice (libretto). Originally conceived by Djaoui as a grand musical performed in Jerusalem to celebrate the 3000th anniversary of the city's founding, it was eventually staged as a concert in the first production at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theater after Disney's restoration. Opening on May 18, 1997 (after three previews beginning May 15), the show ran for six performances closing May 23.

King David is a song-cycle about David whom Alan Menken deems "one of the great heroes of Jewish history", and is based on Biblical tales from the Books of Samuel and 1 Chronicles, as well as text from David's Psalms. It retells the Old Testament story of the shepherd boy, David, who rises from his humble roots to become King of Israel, including the drama between him and Saul and David's trials and tribulations in the foundation of Jerusalem."

At present, there are no plans for a fully staged Broadway production.

History

Conception

King David was originally conceived in 1994 by Jerusalem 3000 producer Andre Djaoui as a musical based on the life of King David to commemorate the 3,000th anniversary of the founding of the city of Jerusalem; it was to be performed in 1996 at Sultan's Pool, an archaeological site which had since been turned into concert arena. Djaoui described it as “the most spectacular and dramatic production ever staged, as well as conveying a message of inspiration, hope and peace to the world”. the two were sought-after due to the former's Broadway success Beauty and the Beast and the latter's cinema hit The Lion King. By November, cast and production crew have not yet been selected. While Djaoui had wanted a grandeous musical, Menken assessed "the enormous space really could only handle a concert" so the project evolved into a humbler oratorio. Robert W. McTyre, senior vice president of Walt Disney Theatrical Productions said, "this work is being written as a concert – or as Alan [Menken] would say, an oratorio" and that following the performance “then we'll see what kind of life it has". Classic New York History argues Disney chose to reopen the New Amsterdam Theatre with King David and a screening of the Hercules movie so that press related to the reopening would not be overshadowed by that of the soon-to-be major hit The Lion King.

After being an open secret in the industry and "months of speculation", on August 19, 1996 The King David project was officially re-announced by Walt Disney CEO Michael Eisner at a press event in Sardi's theatrical restaurant as the first show put on at Disney's New Amsterdam Theater on Broadway as a limited engagement of five concert performances in May 1997. Reporters gathered around a piano while Menken performed a seven-minute preview of songs from the oratorio. Rice opined <nowiki></nowiki>it's really a fairly un-Broadway piece...something that we hope will work eventually on Broadway, but the great thing is we haven't had to worry about how we get people on and off stage. It's a work in progress".

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Menken and Rice found that the story divided itself into two halves - David and Saul in the first part (where he is written as a hero) and the succession story in the second part (where he is written as flawed) - in their assessment, both the Biblical treatment and modern-day perception views these tales of David as "virtually two stories [featuring] almost two characters", noting a generally-accepted theory of them being written by two separate authors. The team decided against a clear viewpoint of the Bible as a work of fiction versus a record of historical events, and instead focused on the political and psychological life of a leader with modern day allegories.

Production

By August 1996, casting was underway with the cast and design team being announced by November, and tickets going on sale before the end of the year.

Premiering on May 15, 1997 five days earlier than originally scheduled, the two-hour 40-minute, 30-song song cycle was presented with a chorus of 30 and an orchestra of 65; the performers were costumed and there was a set, but the production was not choreographed or fully staged. By May 23, the art work had been completed and advertisements for the forthcoming CD were released. Playbill described the style of songs in King David as "most similar" to his score for the unproduced TV musical "Messiah on Mott Street".

The May 20 performance was recorded live and released as an album in 1997, in an effort to rush a June release.

The ballad "Never Again" has been performed by Patti LuPone at a Hollywood Bowl concert in 1997 and recorded by Ruthie Henshall on her 2001 "Pilgram" album. Of the song, Ben Brantley wrote Kuhn<nowiki>'s original interpretation "dazzlingly turns an unremarkable song, Never Again,</nowiki> into an incisive emotional portrait that stops the show". The piece ran two hours and 45 minutes and was only partially staged.

On September 6, 1997, Patti LuPone, Davis Gaines, and Rebecca Luker gave a concert at the Hollywood Bowl that ended with three selections from King David. There was a production in Irving, Texas in 2004.

In 2009, Rice put on a concert performance of the troubled show Chess and planned to do the same for King David, in an effort to focus solely on workshopping the score without regard for the book, costumes, or set, a strategy he had previously employed for Lloyd-Webber's musicals; he also planned to meet with Menken to discuss the future of the show. In 2011, Rice noted, "Alan [Menken] and I had lunch the other day and we discussed the fact that we really must get King David somehow back onto a stage. I think it's got some potential".

In 2019, two selections from the show were performed as part of the Disney's Broadway Hits concert at Royal Albert Hall.

At present, there are no plans for a fully staged Broadway production.

Original cast

The work has seven main singing parts, including that of David, his wife Bathsheba, their son Solomon, and Goliath. There is also a chorus of 30 and an orchestra of 65. In 2011, Express described it as a "theatre flop" which was "panned by critics". The newspaper felt it was an "effort to deflect the inevitable sniping about the Mickey Mouseification of Broadway".

References

  • Internet Broadway Database listing
  • Description of another production
  • CNN report
  • AP report