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"Superman" musical: It's not a bird, but is it camp?
Description
Just a couple of months after Batman hit the airwaves in 1966, another superhero emerged from the comics, as Superman arrived at the Alvin Theater on Broadway in It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman. How did the musical's creators approach the same question William Dozier and Lorenzo Semple, Jr., dealt with in 1965: how to make a "children's character" appealing to adults? We compare and contrast the two shows' approaches. After a good start, the musical closed in less than four months; was Batman to blame? And, what's the deal with that late-night 1975 TV version? All this, plus Adam's story of meeting the pope, and your response to our Hizzoner the Penguin script episode!
Concord Theatricals offers two weeks with the musical's libretto at no charge
1975 newspaper column confirms date of broadcast
Abraham Riesman's Vulture.com article
Keith DeCandido's Tor.com article
Bob Holiday as Superman in Aqua Velva ad