Lazarus is a jukebox musical featuring the music of David Bowie with a book by Enda Walsh. Inspired by the 1963 novel The Man Who Fell To Earth by Walter Tevis, Lazarus continues the story of Thomas Newton, a humanoid alien who is stuck on Earth, unable to die or return to his home planet. Lazarus had its world premiere Off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop on 18 November 2015 and played until 20 January 2016. The show then made the transfer to the West End at King's Cross Theatre in London, playing from 25 October 2016 to 22 January 2017.
Lazarus was one of the last works Bowie completed before his death on January 10, 2016. Bowie's last public appearance was when he attended the 7 December 2015 opening night of the off-Broadway production.[1] The New York City Mayor's office declared 20 January 2016 - closing night of the off-Broadway production - to be David Bowie Day; the proclamation was presented to managing director Jeremy Blocker at the curtain call of the final show.[2]
The original cast album was scheduled to be recorded on 11 January 2016, the day following Bowie's death.[3] The cast and musicians were informed of his death upon arriving at studio before recording.[4]
The musical was staged for a limited run at New York Theatre Workshop in Manhattan, directed by Ivo van Hove.[5][6]Henry Hey, who previously played keyboards on Bowie's 2013 album The Next Day, served as musical director and arranger/orchestrator for the production and worked closely with Bowie during its development.[7] Like Bowie's contemporary album Blackstar (with which it shares the song "Lazarus"),[8] much of the production of the musical was kept secret until its first preview in November 2015. The musical opened on 7 December 2015[9] with a planned run through 17 January 2016,[10] although the production was extended to 20 January 2016.[11] Tickets to the entire run of the musical sold out within hours of being made available.[12]
West End (2016)
A London production of the musical ran at the King's Cross Theatre from 8 November 2016 to 22 January 2017, with previews beginning the week of 25 October.[13][14] Ivo van Hove again directed the London production, and Henry Hey was the musical director and arranger/orchestrator.[15][16] The London production was produced by Robert Fox Ltd. and Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment.[17]
Film
A performance in London was recorded for a Lazarus film; the film was shown in New York for one night in May, 2018,[18] and was later livestreamed worldwide online in January, 2021 for the fifth anniversary of David Bowie's death.[19]
International productions
Denmark
The first Danish production of Lazarus opened August 29, 2019 at Aarhus Teater in collaboration with the Royal Danish Theatre. The production was directed by Heinrich Christensen, who also translated the book into Danish, although all songs were sung in English.[20] The production re-opened at the Royal Danish Playhouse, Copenhagen on January 21, 2022.[21]
An Amsterdam production of the musical premiered on 13 October 2019 at the DeLaMar Theater. Henry Hey was again musical supervisor and arranger/orchestrator. Ivo van Hove, after having directed the runs in New York and London, once again directed.[23][24][25]
Musical numbers
Lazarus features a number of songs from Bowie's back catalogue as well as four new tracks ("Lazarus", "No Plan", "Killing a Little Time", "When I Met You").[26]
On 21 October 2016, the original cast recording, Lazarus, was released. The album was produced by Henry Hey, who was the musical director and arranger/orchestrator of the original New York production and subsequent productions in London and Amsterdam.[27] The album also features three previously unreleased songs from Bowie, among the last he recorded prior to his death.
Reception
Lazarus met with a mixed critical reception; while some critics praised the concept and performances, others found it pretentious and difficult to follow.[28]
Ben Brantley said in his review of the production in The New York Times that "Ice-bolts of ecstasy shoot like novas through the fabulous muddle and murk of Lazarus, the great-sounding, great-looking and mind numbing new musical built around songs by David Bowie."[29]Rolling Stone called the musical a "tour de force" and "theater at its finest."[30]
Among the negative reviews, Ann Trenemen of The Times called the play "pretentious rubbish" and "nonsense on stilts",[31] while Dominic Cavendish of The Telegraph wrote that he was "disappointed" in Bowie's final project, and that "it’s hard to engage head or heart when there’s so much enigma".[32]
