Date: Sat, 30 May 2015 23:54:49 -0400
From: "Chris Mathis" <cmathis@brothersgibb.com>
Subject: Iconic song 'How Deep Is Your Love' to be part of 'Saturday Night Fever' Asian Tour
"How Deep Is Your Love," the 1977 mega-hit by the Bee Gees, will be released
as a single that will be part of an original cast recording of the Asian
Tour of the stage musical version of "Saturday Night Fever."
The Asian tour will have stops in Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and
will star Brandon Rubendall who will play Tony Manero and Jenna Rubaii who
will play his dance partner and eventual love interest Stephanie Mangano.
The two will also perform the song on the musical's official soundtrack
(OST). The Manila leg, mounted by the Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment
Group (Ateg) in close coordination with the Robert Stigwood Organization,
will have performances from July 3 to 26 at the Theatre, Solaire Resort and
Casino.
Everyone knows the song well. Originally intended for Yvonne Elliman (who
later recorded "If I Can't Have You) instead won an award for Best Pop
Performance by a Group at the 20th Grammy Awards held in February 1978 and
topped the Billboard Hot 100 on 24 December 1977 (becoming the first of six
consecutive US number-one hits) and stayed in the Top 10 for a then-record
17 weeks. It also ranked number 375 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500
Greatest Songs of All Time.
In a 2001 interview the Bee Gees did for Billboard magazine, Barry Gibb
reportedly said that "How Deep Is Your Love" was his favorite Bee Gees song.
Said Barry: "A lot of the textures you hear in the song were added on later.
We didn't change any lyrics, mind you, but the way we recorded it was a
little different than the way we wrote in terms of construction. A little
different for the better, I think, the title 'How Deep Is Your Love' we
thought was perfect because of all the connotations involved in that
sentence, and that was simply it."
That iconic song will make itself heard again to a whole new generation of
listeners once the Asian Tour of "Saturday Night Fever" takes off.
Marie Rose, Rafa Siguion-Reyna, Mikkie Bradshaw, Jamie Wilson and Carla
Guevara-Laforteza are also joining the show's 20-strong cast.
Broadway choreographer Vince Pesce, Tony Award-winning scenic designer David
Gallo, original lighting designer of "Saturday Night Fever" on Broadway Paul
Miller, costume designer Eric Pineda and musical director Ceejay Javier are
also part of the creative team.
Jenna Rubaii plays Stephanie Mangano, dance partner of Tony Manero.
The Manila crew is working in close coordination with the Robert Stigwood
Organization whose founder, Mr. Stigwood, produced the original Saturday
Night Fever film and its various stage incarnations from 1998 to the
present.
Director Bobby Garcia reveals: "We're using a brand-new script (originally
written by Nan Knighton, in collaboration with Arlene Phillips, Paul
Nicholas and Mr. Stigwood) that brings back a lot of the grittiness and the
coming-of-age in a tough world aspect of the movie. It's edgy and exciting.
It's a completely conceptualized production."
He is excited that the famous movie musical is being re-invented for a stage
audience across Asia, and that "How Deep Is Your Love" will be heard again
via this new cast recording of the stage version.
"We have a first-rate creative team and have assembled an amazing cast," he
says. "I think the quality of the show will speak for itself once it's up on
its feet. This production will be everything 'Saturday Night Fever' should
be."
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End words@brothersgibb.com message digest 05/31/2015 03:01 (#2015-634)