Musical Play
In 1975, Esquire Jauchem, Artistic Director of the Boston Repertory Theater, approached Harry Nilsson about creating a stage musical of The Point! Although Nilsson said he had been asked many times and had always turned down the request, this time he granted his permission. Esquire Jauchem adapted and directed the production which starred 18-year-old David Morse (who went on to star in St. Elsewhere and many other roles) as Oblio.
The production was extremely successful with the press and the Boston audience. Harry Nilsson, along with his wife Una, attended the opening and wore a sign to the party following the performance which read "I loved it!". The show also received positive reviews from critics:
Extraordinarily attractive...joyous and imaginative songs – Eliot Norton, Boston Herald-American Fantasy comes to life ....and it's a very different production, using techniques and devices you don't see on stage every day – Associated PressThe same production later toured to the Trinity Square Repertory Company in Providence where it was again extremely well received by audiences and the critics.
In 1977, a stage adaptation of The Point! was presented at the Mermaid Theatre in London. Featured in the cast were Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz, both former members of the band The Monkees and long-time friends of Nilsson. In order to accommodate the expansion of The Point! to a full-length musical, other Nilsson songs from various points in his career were incorporated. An original cast album was released in the United Kingdom by MCA.
In 1991, Nilsson gave Esquire Jauchem permission to present his adaptation of The Point! in a Hollywood workshop. It was nominated as musical of the year and once again it received very good reviews:
Imaginatively adapted...blends broad acting, balloon characters, Bunraku style puppetry, fog effects, strobe lighting and choreography by former Martha Graham troupe member Janet Eilber – Time A well rounded POINT....the multilayered odyssey, with its jazz riffs and dreamy musical segues, satiric references to censorship, lawyers and politics, succeeds as an allegory....Nilsson's fabulous, quirkly songs – L.A. TimesRead more about this topic: The Point!
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