Lady Gaga rose to fame in the late 2000s and has remained one of the biggest names in the music industry. Today she is worth $275 million, is 25th on Forbes’ Celebrity 100 and has clocked up 24 million albums and 125 million singles worldwide.
In 2015 she took to the stage at the 87th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater and performed a medley of songs as a musical tribute to The Sound Music. That performance gave Christopher Clegg, a theatre producer in London, England, a spark of inspiration. At that moment, The Sound of Gaga was born.
The results of that lay dormant for some months until almost a year to the day that Lady Gaga took to that stage in Los Angeles, and as she prepares to take the stage again, Clegg’s work has gone viral.
I caught up with him to find out more about his accidental internet sensation that has been praised by the women herself - and his plans for Gaga: The Musical.
When did it hit you that this would be a great idea?
CC: When Lady Gaga performed at the 2015 Oscars I didn't see the piece until two or three days later. I had seen that the Internet exploded, but it wasn't until I got round to watching the video and I saw how much theatricality there was in it, and how that could tie in with selling our show, that my brain started to tick. The final push I needed to get on with it was when our producer, Bill Kenwright, said we should hop on it! His instinct on these things is always right!
Your background is in theatre but is the first thing you've done something like this video?
CC: I've been in theatre for years, but it wasn't until I started working for Bill that I got involved in making the trailers and videos for the shows. It's quite a skill to capture a live performance on stage, and I teamed up with Anton Belmonte on the last few we have filmed who, along with his team, shoot scenes from our shows on five cameras. It's quite an operation that involves the camera crew, sound team, cast, stage management and theatre team.
Was The Sound Of Music the biggest production you've been involved in?
CC: The Sound of Music is one of Bill's biggest touring shows, it's a lavish production, but he currently has Jeff Wayne's The War Of The Worlds in London’s West End which is HUGE!
How keen were the cast to get on board with the idea?
CC: Danielle Hope, who plays Maria in the video and co-directed the Gaga video, was behind it instantly. Danielle shot to fame on BBC's TV show Over The Rainbow and went on to star as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz in the West End. Danielle rallied the cast who mostly threw themselves wholeheartedly into it, some had reservations but on the day we filmed it the mood and tone of the piece became apparent and they fully committed. Jan Hartley, who plays the Mother Abbess, was unsure but goes on to steal the video with her rendition of Judas with the nuns.
How long did it take to do?
CC: I spent several weeks putting together the track list, running through it with the team at the office and the cast, then we had five hours to rehearse and film it all! It was done on a shoestring budget and with no time but feels like we spent weeks on it!
How surprised are you about how popular it has been?
CC: I always thought it would go down well, but we didn't intend to release it. By the time it was finished we thought we'd missed the wave of social media and hype, so it never got out. We knew it was good, but we'd all forgotten about it. It wasn't until the video was leaked, and we are still trying to work out who leaked it, that we remembered just how good it was, and when it started to trend and go 'viral' that we knew it was ACTUALLY good. We were VERY surprised at just how far it went, but very pleased! There have been a lot of 'OMG!' type messages between us.
Lady Gaga has seen it. How did she come across it? Describe how it felt when you found out she'd seen it. How did you find out?
CC: Someone texted me to say she'd tweeted! It was an odd feeling as I've been a fan of hers for years. She said the video was 'amazing' and thanked us from the bottom of her heart. Which, the more I think about, the more brilliant it is. To cut through the noise of all the tweets she must get from her 57 million followers and be seen is a big achievement in itself. I still can't quite believe she's sat and watched something I came up with.
You've worked on other people's shows but are you hoping to do your own?
CC: I already do my own. In 2014 I produced Cool Rider in the West End, which is a cult concert using the songs of Grease 2, which got five star reviews and played to sold out houses. We then released a cast recording, including a limited edition vinyl pressing. That was another event that went crazier beyond our wildest dreams. The first run sold out in 12 days at the Lyric Theatre in the West End and had Grease 2 fans from all over the world come to see it including cast members from the film.
Could a Lady Gaga jukebox musical be an option?
CC: Yes! More than an option. I already have the idea - it's getting the rights that is the problem. If this video gets me in 'the room where it happens' to get those rights then I can give my pitch, which I think she'd like immensely. Gaga's music is so theatrical and, as we proved in our video, is very transferable - so one day, hopefully soon, we'll see that and I'll be at the helm!
How do you top this?
CC: Good question! I'll let you know when I know.
So you've done this with Gaga's catalogue, what other artists would you love to take on next?
CC: I think the reason this works so well is juxtaposition in styles between the two source materials makes you think it won't work, and it does. So it's finding two to mash up in an unexpected way. I'm a big fan of Years & Years, I think their sound is interesting and we could do something cool with their songs! Beyoncé is another one with such a cool sound and catalogue. We could have fun with those tracks!
