“He’s a broken man”
Forty years ago today, following an announcement in The New York Times, David Bowie took to the stage in a different guise to the one he had been more used to...as John Merrick in the Jack Hofsiss directed stage play of The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance.
The Elephant Man opened on 29th July 1980 at the Denver Centre of Performing Arts.
Here’s a line from a review in Variety:
“The acting debut on the American stage of rock singer David Bowie was greeted by a standing ovation in Denver when the singer, noted for his flamboyant musical style, took on the role of physically misshapen John Merrick, the human monster with a liking for culture.”
Bowie went on to triumph on Broadway with his stunning performance at The Booth Theatre in New York, opening there on 23 September 1980, with unanimous praise for his portrayal of Merrick.
In an interview with BBC Radio 1’s Andy Peebles in December 1980, Bowie said:
“The whole thing happened so fast when they finally decided to take me as Merrick. I’d forgotten about the whole thing after Hofsiss had seen me. But I got a call within two weeks of having to go over and start rehearsal. So I couldn’t do very much. So I went to the London Hospital and went to the museum there. Found the plaster casts of the bits of Merrick’s body that were interesting to the medical profession and the little church that he’d made, and his cap and his cloak. Nothing much that you can get from that, just the general atmosphere. We didn’t know if I was going to get to New York, but for me it was the idea of doing a straight play that had the greater appeal.”
29 July - 3 August 1980 Denver Centre of Performing Arts
5 August 1980 - 31 August 1980 Blackstone Theatre, Chicago
23 September 1980 - 3 January 1981 The Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th St, New York
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