A Note from the Vice President - Theatricals

It’s true that the cost to produce a film in Hollywood is much higher than in Mumbai, primarily because of a difference in production values. Asian audiences do not look to film for realism-- rather they want good old-fashioned entertainment that does not embarrass or offend. The typical formula of a Bollywood film includes a love story, good vs. evil, and big song and dance numbers (the latter of which the entire cast is liable to break into at any moment!)

To understand BOMBAY DREAMS, you first must grasp the nature of Mumbai. With its population of 15 million people, it spans the pinnacle of wealth to the lowest depths of poverty. As the refrain of the show’s title song goes, it is a city of “extreme contradictions.” In Bollywood films, Indian slums are a common locale and diversity of culture a familiar theme. Movie-going is somewhat of a national pastime in India—it is estimated that on an average day, roughly 14 million people attend theaters to see films that usually run three hours long.

I thought it was important to bring BOMBAY DREAMS to Playhouse Square because it brings the culture of India, which is literally a world away for most Americans. Our curiosity about foreign cultures is not always as strong as it should be, and we tend to view the United States as the center of the universe. (You might recall that on many world maps in our geography books the U.S. was anchored in the center.) Many of us would be surprised to learn that the entire population of the Unites States is 298 million while India’s middle-class alone is estimated to be approximately 350 million (the entire population is over a billion). Moreover, as the United States increasingly relies on outsourcing, India has been willingly stepping up to the plate. Despite that, most Americans understand very little about the country. BOMBAY DREAMS is as exotic a revelation about India’s culture as South Pacific was about the Polynesian culture more than 50 years ago. The music, choreography, costumes and scenery brings the essence of these societies into bold, authentic existence.

BOMBAY DREAMS has a plot that could have come straight from the MGM film library. It tells the story of Akaash, a young slum-dweller, who dreams of becoming a huge movie star, and of his fateful encounter with beautiful Priya, the daughter of one of Bollywood's greatest film directors. What ensues is a fantasy that speaks to the hearts of many, especially those who linger at the lower levels of India’s caste system.

The composer of BOMBAY DREAMS is A.R. Rahman. Known as “the Asian Mozart,” Rahman has composed the scores of more than 50 films, and is credited with revolutionizing the Indian music industry. After hearing Rahman’s melodies on his television one afternoon, legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber became “obsessed with bringing this melodic genius to the West End musical stage.” That he did, and now it is our good fortune to host BOMBAY DREAMS right here on our stage. We hope that this colorful snapshot of India will spark your curiosity and expand your view of the world.

Gina Vernaci
Vice President of Theatricals