John Mellencamp Community

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I figured everyone knows about the play and who the characters and what songs are sung but I wanted to give everyone the heads up that during the last week of September running through the first week of October the cast members of Ghost Brothers of Darkland County along with John, Stephen King, T Bone Burnett and the complete band occupied Studio 4A at the New 42nd Street Theater in New York City for "read through" of the play for a two week period for family, friends, producers, directors, investors, etc.

There were approximately 70 folding chairs placed in a theater style setting with the main characters Andy, Anna and Jack on the left, young Joe, Dan the bartender, father Joe, Monique the mom , in the center and Drake, Jenna, Frank and the Shape to the right of us.  The band was placed to the right and behind the actors. The other supporting actors including Dale Watson were perched behind all of the main cast members.  I noticed that there were several actors changed.  Joe the father, young Joe, Anna and Jenna were replaced for this reading and I am not sure if they will be part of the stage production if it makes it to another theater.

Susan Booth the director introduced herself and explained the process of the read through and told us the play was in Atlanta for a month with great reviews but has taken quite some time to get to New York because the two men that brought the play too us “have pretty important day jobs…”  she then introduced to John and Stephen. Stephen explained it could be a bit confusing as the people on the left are dead and the people on the right are here and now to which John was joking around showing us who’s dead and who’s alive in his Indiana twang to a lot of chuckling from the audience.  They both thanked us for coming and hoped we would enjoy the reading.

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Traditionally the actors treat a read through as a “cold reading” with not much emotion and are expected to just read the words and not give a performance.   This was certainly not the case on this day. The actors sang, and read their lines from their sheets of paper as if they were right on stage really staying in character throughout the entire reading.  Standing up, interacting with each other, and really using whatever space they could to show us the real depth of each character.  

Several songs really stood out for me. “Take This Cabin Down” was electrifying with the entire ensemble singing it!  “Home Again” and “What Kind Of Man Am I’ were so beautiful and emotionally sung.  I am told that there were several changes in the script, shorten lines here and there, different songs sung at different times etc.

During the workshop John, Stephen and T Bone were interviewed by Alan Light if you don't know him he has been a rock critic for Rolling Stone Magazine and the Editor In Chief for both Vibe and Spin magazine as seen here in this photo below. It was taped so hopefully we can get our hands on it and find out what they all had to say.
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The record is coming out the first half of 2013 as the art work for the cover is still being worked over.  I also learned that John recently recorded a new song for it with two young girls at his Belmont Mall studio.  Hopefully this intriguing, emotional and sometimes bloody play will make a stop by your town.

very cool...Hope they get enough investors for NYC.

Hoping it makes it to Broadway!   Thanks for posting this!

Exciting news!

Very much excited and eager to listen to their new recordings and hope it would come out soon with the best distributor...

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Yolanda Young (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yolanda_Young)

Looking forward to hearing the stuff and hopefully being able to watch it on bluray at some point, some way. I grew up with Mellencamp records and Stephen King books; reading Pet Sematary and listening to John's records when I was 13, 14 years old in '89/'90.

We've come a long way since I first read JM and Stephen King were working on this back in, I think, late 2000 or early 2001? (I can remember the job I'd just started in Jan '01 and I'm sure I read about it online during a workbreak there).

Now perhaps JM can turn his thoughts towards a new rock'n'roll record. Would he keep T-Bone on board for a loud record? Who knows.

 ;D

I am ready for JM to part ways with T-Bone.  It has been a good run, but I would like to see what JM would produce on his own, now.

I agree, he made a comment once I can't remember his exact words but it was something about him being controlled in the studio. I would like him to let loose and see what happens. You go John!

I found an audio on YouTube referring to as being "controlled" in the studio. I could not find the video. He said it live the night he received the "Lifetime Achievement Award"
Great listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vYJSJ-bBAA