Dorian the Remarkable Mister Gray
a portrait in music
by Randy Bowser based on "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde
"Dorian" premiered OCTOBER 22, 2010
at
The Moscow International House of Music
Represented exclusively by MICHAEL BUTLER, the original producer of "HAIR" on Broadway.
The definitive stage version of Oscar Wilde's timeless fable.
A powerful "portrait in music."
Unpredictable, unique, mesmerizing.
Premiered in Oregon in 2008.
The newest production of the Stas Namin rep company in Moscow, Russia.
Performance rights available - Send inquiries to: dorian.the.musical_gmail.com
© Randy Bowser 2011
Click play to start music
Randy Bowser's sound track to the classic film
Hover over CD player, choose song, use controls below.
"Dorian" features a wide variety of musical styles.
In the MP3 player are sample clips from many of the show's numbers. They average 35 seconds in length.
At Pentacle Theatre in 2008, recorded backing tracks were used. The fully produced recording, consisting of a full "virtual orchestra" is available for a production of "Dorian" at your theatre.
Click here for the portal to the DORIAN archives
About the show
"...Lavish, stylized with a deliberately demented air..."
The Statesman Journal
"...'Dorian' shows Bowser's exhaustive touch and remarkable abilities..."
"...The poignant 'We Can Step Into Forever' should become a standard like 'Memory' from 'Cats'..." The Keizer Times
"One of the best musicals I have experienced!"
Gary Garritan, leading developer of software instruments
"First chair work!"
David Sosnowski, American Composer
Wilde said that a theatrical adaptation of his work should "retain a sense of beauty." Wilde's aim in his writings was always to evoke beautiful, bold ideas and images, no matter how satirical, serious, informational, or simply entertaining he intended each piece to be.
"I feel that the impressionist fable of Dorian can best be told through a tapestry of music." -Randy Bowser
Randy Bowser - creator of
"Dorian-The Remarkable Mister Gray"
© Randy Bowser 2010
NEW - March, 2010 - Click the photo to see the entire premiere production.
Contact
MICHAEL BUTLER (producer of "HAIR" on Broadway) is interested in developing "DORIAN" in a unique way.
Bypassing the usual commercial route for musicals which leads to New York, "DORIAN" is a "grass-roots" property which will continue to assert its pre-eminence as the definitive stage adapation of Wilde's novel.
Solicitations from theatre groups nation-wide are welcome. Please use the form at the right to send your inquiry.
Emails are directed to:
dorian.the.musical_gmail.com
...a great thrill...Wow!
Jason Bailey - Dorian Gray
Sheree Ross - Sibyl and Lily
Jim Steele - Basil Hallward
Ken Hermens - Lord Henry
Jeff Baer - James Vane
...very catchy and addicting...
Click middle of picture to expand and again to contract
VIDEOS of "Dorian Gray"
NEW March 1, 2010 - Click "Full Video" above to see the entire show as it was done at Pentacle Theatre, Salem, Oregon, 2008.
On the left - a brief demo of the show.
On the right - the song "Some Love Too Little" from Act Two of "Dorian Gray."
CLICK A VIDEO TITLE
AND CLICK THE BUTTON
NEXT TO THE PROGRESS BAR
FOR FULL SCREEN
Click "Alternate" if 1st video doesn't play
On the left - early rehearsals for "Dorian Gray" at The Stas Namin Centre in Moscow where the show will have its professional world premiere in 2010.
On the right - a solo rehearsal in Moscow.
Director to share original musical
Randy Bowser brings his piece to Pentacle Theatre
RON COWAN
Statesman Journal
November 19, 2007
It's been decades since Salem's Pentacle Theatre has premiered an original musical, but that will change in April when "Dorian -- The Remarkable Mr. Gray" opens.
The ambitious musical, based on the Oscar Wilde novel about a man whose crimes are reflected only in his hidden portrait, is a big gamble for a community theater where familiarity is a better guide to success.
But the show's creator and director, Randy Bowser, who has worked on the show for 25 years, is known for ambitious projects.
When he's not assisting on other people's shows, such as the current "Gypsy," Bowser has brought Pentacle audiences Joseph Brooks' musical adaptation of the classic film "Metropolis," and a revival of "Hair," a collaboration with the producer and co-creator of the original production.
Bowser, a resident of Salem for the past 15 years, has flirted with a larger theatrical world, including work in Los Angeles and an invitation from legendary New York director Joseph Papp to work for him (the then-20-something Bowser declined).
He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Question: You worked in Los Angeles?
Answer: I kept very busy in Los Angeles, unlike the conscious image, there is plenty of theater. I had a featured role on "CHiPS." It's been long enough now that I will just admit that it's the only episode I've ever seen. It was great fun. And little walk-on things in shows that came and went, independent films. I kept busy.
Q: Why did you move to Salem?
A: There's always more to the story. A major relationship ended, and that was rather traumatizing. I was having difficulty finding motivation to do anything. And finding out that mom (who lived in Salem) needed so much; she wasn't doing well. It seemed like a good time to move here.
Q: How did you get involved with Pentacle?
A: You might recall I first got involved with the old STOPA (Salem Theatre of Performing Arts). The underdogness of it appealed to me, so ... after moving here I got involved. I was already aware of Pentacle. I had been there a few times before living here while I was visiting here. Then I jumped in pretty fast. I was directing within a year, I did "The Trip to Bountiful." I ended up directing every year for nine years. The second half was musicals, because people begin turning to me for the next one.
Q: How did "Dorian" begin?
A: I did a workshop production when I lived in Los Angeles. I had just got done doing the West Coast premiere of "Nicholas Nickleby." I had a major role in that. After a performance one night, having a beer with an actor friend, I mentioned that I wanted to write a dramatic musical based on a Gothic horror story. So when my friend Erick said, "How about basing a show on 'The Picture of Dorian Gray?'" I immediately liked the idea. The current version of the show is vastly different from where I started. It's taken on an identity of its own, as an entity apart from the book -- as it should. The emphasis isn't on the Gothic horror elements which first attracted me but rather on the people trapped in this bizarre situation.
Q: When did you turn to the show again?
A: What I did was shortly after "Metropolis," which was in 2002, by the next year I pulled out the script with all these notes from all these years ago, and first went about the task of seeing if I could do something with them again. Then the project snowballed. So I went about cutting it way down, rewriting, rearranging, cutting songs, writing new songs and orchestrating everything. It's recognizably based on my old workshop but massively different.
Q: And it's very unconventional.
A: I would say it is. Is it a Broadway mold? No. I think of "Dorian" as more operatic, but I don't want to use that word on the poster or something because that would scare people away that I want to have see it. For a long time ... it had a subtitle of "A Portrait in Music," because it's almost continuous music.
Q: Could any of the music be a pop song?
A: A lot of chunks of the music are not takeout-able. There are a few. Obviously there are maybe three songs that could be taken out of context. But most of it isn't. Of course that is true of Sondheim things.
Q: So is it set in the Victorian era?
A: It is, yes. It's a fairly faithful adaptation, fairly in that there were some consolidations, there was a new character based on somebody vaguely suggested in the novel. Yes, the plot is fairly recognizable from what Oscar Wilde wrote. I use a lot of his dialogue. Here's the difference: Dorian himself is like a blank canvas, he's a cipher, and he's filled up with these ideas and then he turns into this monster. My intention is to flesh him out into a real human being that we can relate to.
Q: You said it was going to be very unconventional in style.
A: It won't look look a production of "My Fair Lady," which is the same era. That would be inappropriate. The sets will be totally not naturalistic. We probably won't even have walls. The costumes, as anachronistic as possible is fine with me. The point being Dorian is like the young guy now; he could be facing the same kind of problems. I don't want that period piece, museum, dusty thing going on, because it's not that way at all. And I want to de-emphasize theatrical, amazing, huge effects. It's really about these very real characters who spend most of the time singing.
Q: It's not "Metropolis." *
A: No. I don't want it to be that at all. The music doesn't stay with any period style; it's totally eclectic.
Q: So was it a challenge to get Pentacle to take it on?
A: Sure. I went to that group (the play reading committee) last year and proposed the idea, because it was ready. I was ready; it was in shape to be produced, and the loud vocal reaction from one person was that Pentacle never does original things; we can't even consider it. This year it was different, because it depends on who's in charge.
Q: Do you have greater ambitions for this show?
A: I do. Now if I just put it in the drawer again, at least I will have done it. But we will be recording a cast album with this cast. I already have the (musical) tracks; these tracks I have worked on for several years. One of the things that the CD can be is a tool to show it to other, larger theaters. I can see a light opera company doing it. I stuck with it because I think there's an audience for it.
* "Metropolis" is the science fiction musical by Joe Brooks and Dusty Hughes which Bowser directed in 2002
Play explores ageless hedonist
Musical is based on 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'
By Ron Cowan • Statesman Journal
April 17, 2008
Pentacle Theatre director Randy Bowser is known for really big shows, such as "Hair" and "Metropolis," and his latest musical is both big and long in coming.
"Dorian: The Remarkable Mr. Gray," which opens Friday, is a show he's been writing for 25 years.
Based on Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray," this is a gothic horror story told with a variety of musical styles, an abstract visual look and the wit of Wilde.
The story, which has inspired both movies (the latest is an all-gay story) and plays, is the story of a young hedonist who gets his wish: That only his portrait will age, showing the toll of his debauchery.
Dorian stays young for decades until a fateful turn of events.
"The visual style is abstract, but the musical style is impressionist," said Bowser, who wrote the libretto, music and lyrics and even recorded the electronic score.
"The musical style is intended to be impressionistic."
He called the costuming "mammoth."
Only two actors, Jason Bailey as Dorian and Sheree Ross, who plays both Sibyl Vane and Lily, change costumes. The rest of the cast of 16 wear basic gray outfits, with costume pieces added to suggest different characters and situations.
"It's a great concept, but it turned out to be more than expected," Bowser said.
Video projections and six versions of the painting, showing its progressive decay, are part of the elaborate production, which features a set by Tony Zandol inspired by the etchings of Gustave Dore.
"It's serious, but I think it's more fun," Bowser said of his production. "It's more American than the original."
Much of the burden of the show is on Pentacle newcomer Bailey, who is in all but two scenes, playing a man who goes from social ou tcast to the center of the social universe.
"There's a point where he realizes he can reach immortality, and that really drives him," Bailey said of Dorian. "I think of him as flawed; he is definitely not a good guy.
"You do have to like him, and he's got a lot of endearing qualities and I never age."
Bowser said Dorian was more of a blank canvas in the Wilde original.
"The story becomes him trying to live without a conscience, which is impossible," Bowser said.
Bailey called the music by far the hardest he has ever tackled, because of the range and different styles.
Bowser, who originally aimed at a rock opera, instead included touches of late 19th century romantic music and operatic styles, including sung dialogue.
R oss is another major player, cast as both Sibyl Vane, a pure and innocent girl, and Lily, a mysterious prostitute.
"I love it," she said. "It's fun; It's a great challenge to play.
"Of all the shows I've done, Sondheim shows, Gilbert & Sullivan and opera, this is the most difficult."
Another key character is Lord Henry, played by Ken Hermens, a nonsinger who sticks to patter-type songs.
"He's kind of a Dorian mentor, ushering him into a world of hedonism," Hermens said of Henry. "He's just out for experiences, and the more experiences the better.
"He's the devil, Mephistopheles."
Another key actor is Jim Steele as the painter Basil Hallward, who paints the infamous portrait.
Steele described Basil as an introverted man who puts his passion into his work and happens to be the catalyst for Dorian making his faithful wish that only his portrait should age.
The production also features plenty of dancing, choreographed by Sheila Sund. The costuming is by Jo Dodge.
"Dorian" should appeal to fans of such dramatic but tuneful shows as "The Phantom of The Opera" and "Jekyll & Hyde," Bowser said.
"I predict that most people will be excited by it," he said.
One person he hopes will be impressed is Michael Butler, producer of the original production of "Hair."
He attended Bowser's 2000 opening of "Hair," and will be here opening night to see "Dorian."
"He has a professional interest," Bowser said.
The cast includes Jeff Baer as James Vane.
Ensemble members are Kevin Hamler-Dupras, Emily Loberg, Katie McLean, James Owens, Ray Phipps, Ronnica Rabold, Bryan Setzer, Jamie Siqueiros, Jessie Stanley, Sheila Sund and Neil Vannice.
'Dorian' a lavish production with a demented air
April 21, 2008
Pentacle Theatre isn't known for ambitious, big productions that are originals...Relax.
Writer/director Randy Bowser...knows how to write music and songs and tell a good story.
"Dorian" also has a strong cast of actor/singers, especially Jason Bailey..."Dorian" shows he is a powerful singer and an actor capable of holding the center of attention for nearly three hours of stage time.
You will soon give in to the power of the story of a man who gambles on immortality at the cost of his soul, assuming questions of right and wrong don't apply to his pursuit of pleasure.
Bowser stays fairly close to the Oscar Wilde novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray," and you will recognize his malicious wit most in the dialogue of Lord Henry Wotton (Ken Hermens), who counsels, "The only way to get rid of temptation is to give in to it."
The music ranges from pop ballads to operatic airs, with sung dialogue and recognizable nods to styles as diverse as Andrew Lloyd Webber and Gilbert & Sullivan.
When we meet Dorian, he is a self-absorbed young man who is being painted by artist Basil Halward (Jim Steele, in good voice), who is fully enthralled by Dorian. Dorian meets the predatory Lord Henry, who counsels that youth and beauty are soon transient.
Dorian makes his fatal wish, giving his soul for eternal youth, with only his portrait to record the moral devastation.
His first victim is innocent young actress Sibyl Vane (Sheree Ross), whom he cruelly rejects. By act two, 20 years later, Dorian is still young but debauched and even deadly.
Among the songs, the lighthearted "A Most Amusing Man" and Dorian's introspective "Somewhere In-Between" are standouts, although the ballads "Some Love Too Little" and "We Can Step Into Forever" lighten the drama.
It's a lavish, stylized production with a deliberately demented air.
There are elaborate ensemble dance numbers choreographed by Sheila Sund, period costume effects by Jo Dodge and a somber setting by Tony Zandol.
In addition to Bailey and Hermens, a fine actor who can handle minimal singing, there is Ross, who doubles as Sibyl, and Lily, a lady of questionable virtue who becomes an object of Dorian's desire.
She is on stage most of the night and fully employed as both singer and actress, to excellent effect in a generally strong cast.
"Dorian" shows Bowser's exhaustive touch and remarkable abilities, as well as the abilities of this theater company.
Keizer Times
Friday, April 26, 2008
Theater review
Run to see "DORIAN" at Pentacle
When You get the chance to see a debut of a work created by a local artist, run to the box office and get your tickets.
"Dorian-The Remarkable Mister Gray" made its world premiere at Pentacle Theatre last week and runs through Saturday, May 10.
The musical, based on Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray," is the brainchild of Randy Bowser who wrote the score, lyrics and the book for the production. "Dorian" is a true theatrical experience from the music that evokes the best of Broadway, to the eye-popping costume design and masks.
The musical follows the classic tale by Wilde of a man who does not age but his painted portrait does. The show takes place in the London area in the late 1800s. The period is nicely represented with a creative set design by Tony Zandol.
You may go see "Dorian" for the costumes and sets, but you will be wowed by the score and the performances of the cast.
Salem resident Jason M. Bailey puts his matinee-idol good looks to work for this demanding role that has him on stage during most of the production. He and his voice are more than up for the task. His strong baritone carries throughout the theatre whether he is singing a ballad or an 11 o'clock song.
The featured roles and ensemble are filled with a mix of Pentacle veterans and newbies. The show really belongs to Sheree Ross, who plays two roles: Lily, a barmaid and Sybil, an underwhelming London actress who elicits both the love and rage of Dorian. Ross owns the stage when hse is on it, even at times outshining Bailey. Ross, who is a veeran stage performer, was perfectly cast in these roles; she brings both Lily and Sybil gloriously to life on the stage, you never want her to leave it.
The score is reminiscent of an Andrew Lloyd Webber score that pushes the story along (there is little dialog). The score serves 19th century London well, especially with such rousing numbers as "La La London" and the poignant "We Can Step Into Forever," which should become a standard like "Memory" from "Cats."
Dorian" runs through May 10.
To Russia with lyrics
Salem's Randy Bowser is bound for Moscow, where 'Dorian: The Remarkable Mr. Gray' will be done in the Russian language
November 2, 2008
Salem's Randy Bowser was thrilled when he learned that his original musical, "Dorian: The Remarkable Mr. Gray," was getting a professional production. He just didn't realize it would take place in Moscow, and not Moscow, Idaho.
Bowser is flying Monday to Moscow, where he'll hold three weeks of rehearsal at the Stas Namin Moscow Music and Drama Theatre for a Russian language version of "Dorian," with an opening planned in March.
"You know what: I've never been out of the country," said Bowser, barring a few visits to Tijuana, Mexico.
"I do have my passport, and now I have a visa."
The last we heard from Bowser, he had signed a contract with Michael Butler, the original producer of "Hair," to do a professional production of "Dorian," which Bowser based on Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray," this year.
The show, which has music, lyrics and a libretto by Bowser, premiered at Pentacle in April of 2008.
It's the cautionary tale of a handsome young man who yearns for eternal youth and wishes that a portrait of him would age instead. The wish is fulfilled, but the debaucheries he undertakes are recorded in his portrait, with each sin resulting in more disfigurement.
But Butler's colleague, producer-musician Namin, became aware of the show and asked to produce "Dorian" first. Namin has been fond of English literary adaptations at his repertory company, which is in famed Gorky Park in Moscow.
Namin, who has a home in Beverly Hills, had a rock group, called Flowers, the first Soviet super-band, before founding his theater company. He is active as a photographer, composer and artist.
He created the Moscow Music and Drama Theatre in 1999.
The first play was the legendary American rock musical "Hair," translated and staged in Russian; it became one of the most popular live theatrical events in the country and the first musical in the non-Soviet Russia.
The theater also has presented the original version of rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" for the first time in Russia, Pushkin's "Little Tragedies" and plays by Arthur Miller, Federico Garcia Lorca and others.
The "Dorian" libretto has been translated into Russian, and pre-production has been in progress for several months. The production will use the same recorded electronic score Bowser presented in Salem.
"We're thrilled that we were part of it," said Randy Boyd, managing director of Pentacle. "It'll be interesting in how it gets translated."
Bowser knew that the Moscow production was happening even when he announced the Los Angeles production, but couldn't announce the change until now.
"I'm dying to hear what it sounds like in Russian," he said of "Dorian."
Although he also is about as versatile in Russia as most of us; he doesn't speak it at all, so he will have both a Russian director and a translator.
"I have my new little Russian phrases book," Bowser said.
He will be keeping Salem up to date on his experiences by blogging on the Statesman Journal Web site, www.StatesmanJournal.com.
"Russia is the motherland of modern drama. To have my musical staged in Moscow promises to be a highlight of my life. It's a great honor."
Eventually, the show will get a professional production in Los Angeles, Bowser said, possibly in 2009.
During the summer, when he was originally supposed to be working on the "Dorian" production, Bowser instead kept busy arranging the music for Butler's production of "Pope Joan," which opens this winter.
"I'm very excited," he said. "I felt fortunate I had this other project to work on."
"Dorian" will be produced in a small theater but will enter the Moscow theater's repertory.
"I think they're saying that it seats 250," Bowser said.
He will live in a house on the theater grounds while he's working on the musical.
Bowser said he is looking forward to discovering what Russians are like, but he already has an idea from the hospitality based on meeting Namin in California.
"They kind of prize an old-fashioned civility in their socializing," Bowser said.
Bowser's work at Pentacle Theatre has included both acting and directing, including productions such as "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" and "Metropolis."
He has lived in Salem for more than 15 years and worked in Los Angeles and Ashland at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
"Dorian" is a 25-year project for Bowser, who became interested in the Gothic horror novel as a theatrical project when he lived in Los Angeles.
rcowan_StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6728
REACTIONS TO "DORIAN"
FROM THE GARRITAN COMPOSERS FORUM ONLINE
"...This is fantastic!!...this music is top-notch!...I sincerely wish you much success in the production of this musical..."
"...It touched that Boy, this sounds good! part of my musical soul...your idea of finding a quality community theater to produce your musical is excellent!..."
"...My wife...Catherine...was trained (in musical theatre) at Boston Conservatory and she loves it (Dorian)...Trust me on this one...that's one heck of an endorsement!..."
"...Great Broadway Show quality...this sounds like a professional recording..."
:...This is so exciting!...I love the music. You have created this wonderful carnival atmosphere...I drug my musical theater buffs (15, 17, 18 year olds) in here to hear your overture. They love it - they want to know when we can license it to perform at the high school?..."
"...Your writing is phenomenal...superb recording. Bravo and well done!..."
"...This is terrific, and I say this as someone who normally stays away from musicals...Won me over!...I hope you get this on the stage; it certainly deserves it!...Great mix, great writing..."
"...This is wonderful! If I were a moneybags, I would give all the cash you needed to put this on!...The recording sounds very professional..."
"...a great thrill...Wow! This is very catchy and addicting... I can't stop listening... I love the variety in rhythms and the variety in orchestration...Fantastic work..."
"...I LOVE this!!!!...it's modern in a Sondheim-ish way. I am so tired of the pop/rock trend in Broadway music...I'm glad to hear something that is more symphonic..."
"...Wow! Fantastic work! You've completely transported me in to the front seat of this production...Loved every moment of this!..."
"...this score is truly great. It was a delight to listen to, and stuck in my head..."
"...this is first-chair work, my friend...you've gotta gotta get this staged..."
"...I have four children that are heavily involved in musical theater and they all think it is fantastic. They want to know when they can perform it!..."
NEWS FLASH!
"DORIAN" NOW OPENING IN MOSCOW, RUSSIA
Previews began April 29, 2010
