I have to admit, I'm not a Joss Whedon fan. I never watched Firefly or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Nothing against him personally - they're just not my cup of tea. I find anything with the word "vampire" in the title a turnoff. But this item from TV Tattle got my attention. Whedon is developing a live-action superhero musical for the Internet featuring Neil Patrick Harris.
Whedon posted an item about the musical to a fan site, whedonesque.com. It'll be called Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog. (Ok, I admit that the name doesn't sound too promising.) In addition to Harris in the title role, the series will also feature two actors who have worked with Whedon before: Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer and Felicia Day as Penny, as well as a cast of dozens.
Apparently, he started to work on the musical during the writers' strike and intended it as a limited series of three 10-minute episodes. Shooting has started, and Whedon reveals a little bit about the plot: "It's the story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he's too shy to talk to."
Like most people, I only knew Harris as Doogie Howser M.D., from the popular sitcom that ran from 1989 to 1993. Then, I heard him sing on the 2004 Broadway cast CD of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. And I rented the concert version of Sweeney Todd, in which he plays Tobias Ragg. Wow, what a beautiful crisp, clear, voice.
Harris is now in a hit TV series, How I Met Your Mother, (pictured at top) so a return to the stage probably isn't in the cards for awhile. Since my chances of hearing him sing are pretty slim, I'll take what I can get. Even if it's only 30 minutes long.
5 comments:
Thanks so much for sharing Esther. I had no idea about this online opportunity and will have to view when I have a chance. But I can tell you that my experience in watching Assassins with Mr. Harris in it was one of the most memorable of all my Broadway journeys.
Neil Patrick Harris is amazing in the recording of Evening Primrose as well!
Steve, I will keep track of this project and let you know when it's online! I wish I'd been able to see "Assassins." (I have watched a few clips of it on YouTube and it looks amazing). Even though I've never seen the show performed, it's one of my favorite Sondheim scores.
And thanks Broadway Baby! I will definitely have to check out Evening Primrose. Neil Patrick Harris has such a great voice. I wish he'd do more theater work.
Love LOVE NPH. I've seen him perform a number of times and he's just not on the NY stage often enough.
Sarah, you are so lucky! Once again, I just want to live vicariously through your adventures. With NPH's tv commitment, I guess he probably won't be on Broadway anytime soon.
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