The businessman’s blues, A boy like no other, When we come to townso many lasting successes that testify to the strength of starmaniapresented for the first time in 1979. Forty-three years later, the new version of the show is arousing real enthusiasm in France. It rejuvenates
said with a smile Luc Plamondon, met at the premiere of the show in Paris.
With his version, Thomas Jolly affirms that he wanted to emphasize the history of the inhabitants of Monopolis, even if it means giving a little less importance to the music. I realized that the songs had taken up all the space. They are legendary, but they had taken their place in history, which is a very amazing topical story.
he said backstage at the premiere.
Four Quebec artists in the cast
If the cast is mostly French, it also has four performers from Quebec, including singer David Latulippe, who plays the role of billionaire and former soldier Zéro Janvier. It’s fun that there are Quebecers, it keeps the spirit of the first version in 1979. It’s always been a nice mix
he said.
Young singer William Cloutier, who plays Johnny Rocket, wasn’t born when Starmania was first released, but he says the story still resonates in 2022. It was a bit prescient what Luc and Michel wrote, they had a futuristic vision of the worst and unfortunately a lot of things happened
he explained.
Same story with Gabrielle Lapointe, 19, who takes over the role of Cristal, created at the time for France Gall. It’s amazing to be able to embody a character in this rock opera that has a message that is still relevant
, she said. The other performer from Quebec is Manet-Miriam Baghdassarian, 23, who plays Sadia.
Robert Charlebois, Clémence Desrochers, but also Valérie Lemercier and Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, were in the room on Tuesday evening.
It’s absolutely breathtaking, reacted film producer Denise Robert. We are proud to be Quebecers when we see works like that.
The choreographies of the new version of “Starmania” are signed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Kevin Vivès.
Photo: Starmania Facebook page
A long process
Putting together the new version of Starmania required a lot of patience. It had been 10 years since Luc Plamondon had in mind to bring his rock opera up to date. The project finally got underway three years ago, before the pandemic came to play spoilsport and forced several postponements of the show.
Choosing the perfect cast was also difficult, as more than 2,500 people auditioned. The wait will have been worth it if we believe the first rave reviews of the show that appeared in the press after the previews on Friday and Sunday.
starmania will be presented until January in Paris, before touring throughout France from February 10, 2023.
This text was written from interviews conducted by Nabi-Alexandre Chartier, journalist at Radio Canada. Comments may have been edited for clarity or conciseness.