#starmania red version

[unknown171204]

Starmania 1988 - 91

This version of the show, darker than the following ones, is considered by Michel Berger as the real second version (and the real update) of Starmania.

First performed at the Paris theater then at the Marigny theater over a period of four years.

DISTRIBUTION :

Norman Groulx / Renaud Hantson : Johnny Rockfort

Martine St-Clair / Nathalie Lermitte : Cristal

Maurane / Réjane Perry : Marie-Jeanne

Richard Groulx / Michel Pascal : Zéro Janvier

Sabrina Lory : Stella Spotlight

Renaud Hantson / Solal : Ziggy

Wenta / Bruna Giraldi : Sadia

Luc Laffite / Jean-Jacques Fauthoux : Roger-Roger

Full Album :

The French public will pleasantly welcome this late 80s style update, which does not seek to surpass the charisma of the original cast ( especially the untouchable Daniel Balavoine, who died in 1986 from a tragic helicopter accident )

The great success of the show led to a tour throughout France and five performances played in Russia ( apparently a real triumph ! ) the non-French speaking spectators followed the show with small booklets translated in Russian

Liners :

The 88 version had the right to its album , called by fans "l'édition rouge" but above all FINALLY a complete video recording !

A recording which has only one flaw the absence of Maurane. The revelation of the show, having left the troupe after eight months of performances, because of a terrible burn-out

Below the show (with english subs) :

С русскими субтитрами :

한국어 자막과 함께 :

中国粉丝制作 :

ANECDOTES :

Réjane Perry, understudy and then replacement for Maurane, is no stranger to fans of French musicals ! She is the very first nurse from Romeo and Juliet 2001

...

The Princess Lady Diana attending a whirlwind performance by the troupe during a visit to the Elysée :

...

Ziggy evolves in this version, is now no longer a rock dancer but a rock drummer

...

The role had such an impact on Maurane that she wrote a magnificent song about her character :

For more Starmania or to discover other French musicals I invite you to follow the path of my main masterlist to learn more about French musicals and their stories :

[starmaniamania]

In case you missed it - Starmania 2022 - Acte 1

ACT 2

There are many little details and references in the 2022 version/staging of Starmania that I noticed over the many many times I was able to see it (some obvious, some not) so I thought I'd try to make a complete list and see if 1) you also spotted them or 2) you spotted other things!

This will be in 2 parts because it'll be too long for one post. I'll put a link to the other part once it's done! (TUMBLR DON'T YOU DARE EAT THIS AGAIN)

It'll also be interesting to have a record and be able to compare if anything maybe changes during the second season come November!

Ouverture

Obviously the empty white grand piano is a tribute to Michel Berger

In season 1, dancer Matys Kaibo was sitting at the piano at the beginning and pretending to play it; the sound actually came from the live pianist (in Paris) or the soundtrack (on tour).

Some of the male dancers who represent Monopolis inhabitants are wearing skirts

The person who runs across the stage is usually Jeanne Jerosme (the maid) unless she's playing Stella that day. Her maid costume is actually the same costume with a little white collar added.

Monopolis

If you're sitting smack in the middle, the shoulder/sleeve details + wig that Cristal is wearing make her silhouette look like a golden star (ok, you have to squint a bit lol)

The placement of the characters in the structure reflect their position in Monopolis society: Marie-Jeanne and Ziggy at the bottom, Stella and the Gourou higher (but with Stella going down), and Zéro at the very top. Cristal is moving through the levels, and Johnny and Sadia are absent (probably because they're supposed to be outcasts?)

Quand on arrive en ville

The first of Johnny's victims spits out "blood" (but I think it's water) onto the stage when she gets hit; the second one has a blood stain around the collar.

Some of the Etoiles Noires are smoking electronic cigarettes, you can see a red "cherry" as well as smoke

Not really a staging detail, more of a goof, but I will never not laugh at the Etoiles Noire dragging in the 2nd victim while also carrying a cinder block under his arm, but when Johnny grabs the block it becomes the Heaviest Object on Earth. Poor little Johnny skipped arms day!

Johnny's jacket has a long rectangular outside pocket on the left breast which he can use to tuck his mic into; his t-shirt has a little bit of chain hanging at the front like a necklace, except it's sewn into the neckline. (He's got the same thing in his final black costume).

Petite musique terrienne/Johnny & Sadia/La complainte

The sound effect and lighting after "Quand on arrive" evoke an elevator going down into the underground parts of the city

The Undeground Café has an Etoiles Noires aesthetic moodboard/collage, featuring punk and anti-nuclear imagery, a picture of Zero Janvier with his eyes scratched out and a target around his head, and the current casts' "good luck" motto: "Ahhhh merde!"

Whoever isn't playing Zero Janvier that day (David or Aurel) sits at the Café's piano (an upright one, not the grand piano from the beginning) and pretends to play throughout most of that scene

Stella is sitting at a table (incognito, she's wearing a big black coat and sunglasses and sometimes a scarf on her head) drinking ("Moi ma drogue c'est l'alcool"); she makes a discreet exist once the Etoiles Noires show up.

Sadia is having a blue drink at the bar

When the Etoiles Noires show up, Johnny jumps up to sit on the bar next to Sadia and usually interacts with Marie-Jeanne (at least when it's Côme) either by grabbing a bottle out of her hand and drinking from it/dumping it on his head, or by touching MJ in some way (on the face; I saw him kiss her hand once), cementing the fact that they know each other quite well.

Sadia kicks a glass with her foot during her initial pitch to Johnny; the glass is almost always picked up by a helpful Etoile Noire rather than by Marie-Jeanne :p

Johnny stops the Etoiles Noires from going after Sadia when she starts addressing him, miming things like "Let it go, she's crazy." When she says "Si tu me suis tu seras quelqu'un" though, you can see him physically start paying attention.

At the end of their duet moment, Sadia runs a hand down his arm/front, suggesting that she's trying to seduce him and not just ideologically.

Travesti

Obviously, the double-wig reveal of the "chevelure d'un bleu azur" under the initial black wig with a blue streak

A bunch of extra Etoiles Noires show up for the "line-up" moment (the singers like Jeanne for example) and then disappear again to leave the floor clear for dancers and their acrobatics

During the line-up moment, the Etoile Noire who's propping up Sadia's leg also runs his hand up her thigh (she bats it away occasionally). Meanwhile Johnny is cocking his huge, hard machine gun at hip level in a very subtle way, and then he leans in towards her and nuzzles her neck/ear.

Btw only Côme wears the long black mafioso coat that hides his gun at the beginning; as far as I know William always wears the "Quand on arrive en ville" jacket for some reason.

Sadia used to wear flesh-colored shorts under the blue underwear; then this changed to a pair of thick opaque tights, at least when Ambriel is playing her, so you don't see her thigh tattoos as much. (I think Miriam wears them sometimes but not always.)

The Jaguar is a REAL car which REALLY DRIVES onto the stage, but with a very small modified electric engine which obviously cannot go very fast lol

Sadia's gun is blue too, that girl does like matching her accessories

Johnny always smells the white fur coat before putting it on (to the point that it had a pretty visible foundation stain on the lapels) -- generally speaking the Etoiles Noires smell people a lot lol

An Etoile Noire graffities the words "Stone" and some stars on the car every night during the number

Another Etoile Noire is seen "grinding" the car with an electric tool in the background to show that they're gutting it (for the next numbers where the roof has gone) but it's actually just a button that makes sparks. She then dumps the tool into the back of the car -- there's no windshields

Il se passe quelque chose à Monopolis

Obviously the "going up the stairs" metaphor symbolizes Zéro Janvier trying to rise to the top

On the sentence "et ses buildings de verre qui filtrent la lumière" the backlighting of the stairs gets this really cool filtering effect, always one of my fave moments

Thomas Jolly mentioned in a podcast that he'd moved this song after Travesti and given it to Zéro to make the link more obvious between Sadia's violence with the Etoiles Noires and Zéro's quest for power. The song does take on a very sinister vibe when he's singing it!

Mass médias

The lyrics were changed from "ma cravate rouge ou ma cravate bleue" to "ma veste noire ou ma veste bleue" because this Zéro does not wear a tie, red or otherwise

The newspaper that Zéro is reading has Stella on the front page as well a few easter eggs, like picture of Berger and Plamondon, an ad for Naziland and an ad for a florist on the back (as well as the weather for France lol)

On the inside I think you can make out more pics of Berger and Plamondon, and I *think* a picture of the show by Dorfmann and the silhouette of the Seine Musicale??

Starmania Starmania

This is obvious but it took me embarrassingly long to realize because you can't see them depending on where you're seated, and they're sometimes fully in the dark -- there are 3 "backup singers" at the back of the stage on the left, doing vocals and a little choreography!

Cristal doesn't have her mic with her up in the air as she comes down from the rafters, a dancer brings it to her while two others unfasten her (she's suspended at the hips by a harness worn under the dress)

The light periodically draws black stars behind her, which engulf the entire stage at the end

L'interview de Zéro Janvier/Le blues du businessman/Jingle de Cristal

Pretty straightforward staging-wise. The Blues was going to be Zéro standing on top of the tower at some point, and then they realized it was too static and came up with the lighting thing.

Un garçon pas comme les autres

The little stage that Marie-Jeanne sits on is being pushed by a crouching tech, who then sits behind it during the whole song. If you're sitting at a certain angle you can see them, which I always find weirdly moving.

Ziggy is apparently waiting inside the stairs during the song; that must be where the elevator is, that pushes him to the top in time to start his "oops, didn't mean to overhear that" exit attempt. (As far as I know, it's the first time in the various productions that we know Ziggy has heard the song, which does interesting things to the Ziggy/MJ dynamic!)

Le coup de téléphone/Enfant de la pollution/Coup de téléphone 2

When Johnny and Sadia show up at the top of the stairs, Johnny is wearing the fur coat from Travesti (but that wasn't always the case!)

The Etoiles Noires often bother Marie-Jeanne behind her bar. Ziggy doesn't seem too intimidated -- I've seen him snap Etoile Noire!William's mask onto his eyes for example.

The phone that Sadia uses used to be black, now it's silver.

The Etoile Noire who operates the phone (Max Carpentier usually) stashes his weapon in a little pocket hung in the alcove of the Underground Café, where he brings the phone case back before becoming a Threatening Etoile Noire(TM) again for the interview

Of course, France Gall's voice is the one answering the phone ("Pour un scoop c'est un scoop...") we all know that now!

Interview de Johnny Rockfort/Banlieue Nord/Coup de foudre

When Cristal shows up at the Underground Café, she gets harrassed a bit by the Etoiles Noires obviously; a lot of it involves smelling her hair for some reason lol

If you're there on a Saturday afternoon (William and Gabrielle as Johnny and Cristal), you can sometimes spot Etoiles Noires!Côme and Lilya flirting in the background of that scene :p

Johnny does not have his own mic for this scene; he shares Cristal's at the beginning (apparently stemming from an incident during rehearsals in which someone dropped their mic, and they had to make do with one between two people) and then grabs hers to sing Banlieue Nord (she doesn't have one again until Coup de Foudre)

Obviously the live/recorded thing: the recording is live until Johnny and Cristal leave the stage, at which point it switches to pre-recorded footage with live sound from the wings. As far as I know, this is the only pre-recorded footage/live audio moment; other pre-recorded video moments all also have pre-recorded audio.

The footage was recorded in the bowels of the Nice venue they used for rehearsals. There are 4 alternates to cover every permutation of the two characters, with some small variations, for example in the Gabrielle/Côme version I think Gabrielle doesn't fall down at the end the way Lilya does (and according to my notes, Côme's jumpsuit has a big sweat stain down the back lol)

Thomas Jolly makes a cameo as an Etoile Noire in each of the versions I've seen (Côme/Lilya, Côme/Gabrielle and William/Gabrielle) just at the end of the tunnels part. In the Côme/Gabrielle version, Côme pats him on the stomach as they pass him.

Besoin d'amour

Once Cristal has stepped up onto the car and it's rotated, the dancers create a "diversion" a the front of the stage while she gets changed standing on the car hood. She gives Johnny her mic to ditch into the backseat of the car so she can get dressed. Her boiler suit unzips at the ankles so she can step into it while wearing her heels (although it doesn't always work, I've seen it go wrong at least twice lol).

And that's it for Part 1! :p Do let me know if you've got anything else or if I forgot anything or if you have any questions! In case you haven't noticed, I love talking about Starmania lololol