The new production of Starmaniaa visionary show created 45 years ago by Luc Plamondon and Michel Berger, is finally coming to Quebec, after having enjoyed immense success in France. Our critic came away shaken. And delighted.
Luc Plamondon’s constellation is full of good stars!
There is the shining star of Michel Berger, who left him eternal melodies. There are also those of generations of stars of the French-speaking world; several talented performers have covered his songs over the past half-century. Now, the author can count on the rising star of European staging, Thomas Jolly, a Shakespearean theatre man and artist behind the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games.
PHOTO PATRICK BEAUDRY, PROVIDED BY LA TRIBU PRODUCTION
Luc Plamondon, center, with performers William Cloutier (left) and Gabrielle Lapointe, at the Quebec premiere of Starmania, Wednesday evening at Place Bell
With the collaboration of a magnificent team of collaborators and designers (we will come back to this), the director has modernized the famous rock opera created in 1979, in Paris. The result is grandiose! A brutal and dazzling show, dark and bright, of a little more than three hours with an intermission. And carried by a young and energetic cast at Place Bell, until August 18.
From Crystal to Zero January, the protagonists of Starmania are archetypes of a suffering humanity and its constant need for change. Plamondon does not tell a story, but rather destinies intertwined with each other. From the movie star nostalgic for her lost glory (Stella Spotlight) to the young mythomaniac dancer dreaming of a global career (Ziggy), via the despotic politician (Zéro Janvier), the mysterious guru and the rebel in need of love (Johnny Rockfort), these characters also form a constellation… which will eventually fade away from wanting to shine too much.
PHOTO ANTHONY DORFMANN, PROVIDED BY THE PRODUCTION
There are moments of grace in this production that give you chills.
Quebecers in the spotlight
As in the creation and the covers, there are many Quebec artists in this new production. And they are all up to the task. David Latulippe, the solid interpreter of Zéro Janvier, sings a breathtaking version of the Businessman’s Blues ; Miriam Baghdassarian (Sadia) delivers an electrifying performance of Tonight we dance in Naziland; Gabrielle Lapointe (Cristal) offers very beautiful versions of Monopolis And Need love ; the very talented William Cloutier (the winner of Star Academy 2021) moves us with When we arrive in town and especially, SOS a landowner in distressthe anthem by Johnny Rockfort. A tour de force by Cloutier that reminds us of the vocal prowess of Daniel Balavoine!
There is also Quebecer Heidi Jutras who plays, alternating with French actress Alex Montembault, the character of Marie-Jeanne, the robot waitress. The latter played Wednesday evening. And Montembault touched the audience several times, singing classics like A boy like no other And The world is stone. Sublime song that arrives with a twilight finale. One of the moments of grace of this production that gives chills, both of wonder, in front of the beauty of the world, and of sorrow, in front of our capacity for self-destruction.
PHOTO ANTHONY DORFMANN, PROVIDED BY THE PRODUCTION
Gabrielle Lapointe (Cristal) in Starmaniasurrounded by the troupe’s dancers, during the show’s tour in Rouen
A light show!
We would have to exhaust the dictionary of adjectives to summarize this version of Starmania. The gigantic and high scenography of Emanuelle Favre; superb video projections by Guillaume Cottet; impressive choreographies by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, brilliantly performed by fifteen dancers; powerful musical direction by Victor Le Masne and his musicians; fabulous lighting by Thomas Dechandon, with a projector system never before seen in the theater, whose 3D beams create a celestial ballet on the stage and in the auditorium.
Our only downside: the size and coldness of the amphitheater. Place Bell does not have the configuration of a hall like the Seine Musicale in Paris, where the Starmania and where it will be when it returns to France. And depending on its seats, we do not see the performers’ performance very well, too far away and often in the dark. We would have liked to have giant screens, like in rock concerts. The only thing left is to transport this gigantic production, without modifying anything, is an achievement in itself.
It is sometimes said that the weakness of Starmania is its libretto. Rather thin for a musical, without the power of the songs that have become intergenerational hits. “The power of these standards is such that the fable of Starmania “has faded behind the songs,” Jolly confided in an interview last year. But this is where Jolly’s genius operates. Because he has resurrected the author’s fable.
PHOTO ANTHONY DORFMANN, PROVIDED BY THE PRODUCTION
Alex Montembault plays the character of Marie-Jeanne, the robot waitress.
“If you were not who you are, who would you like to be?” Cristal asks Zéro Janvier. Thomas Jolly, a great lover of Shakespeare, probably saw in this line Luc Plamondon’s “To be or not to be”? To better delve into the darkness, the tragedy and the apocalyptic side of the subtext of Starmania.
His show is a heartbreaking cry about the state of the world. That of yesterday as well as today.
Starmania at Place Bell, in Laval, until August 18
Check the show dates
Starmania
Rock opera by Michel Berger and Luc Plamondon
At Place Bell, in LavalUntil August 18