Starmania "Edition Rouge"

“Success among critics, success in attendance, even financial success, that's for sure. But above all, the success of a work that has taken on its true dimension in a version …that is both high tech and surprisingly human, both refined and terribly sophisticated” (Mario Roy, La Presse, Montreal 24/12/1988).

Michel Berger and Luc Plamondon staged a new, fourth version of Starmania, making the story more accessible to the public. They continued removing the characters and by now Gourou Marabout, the Extraterrestrial, Cristal's parents, Underground Café visitors had been removed, as well as many songs. The comic strip and naive aspect of the Starmania 1979 disappeared, and it became darker, gloomier, and more gothic.

The acclaimed cast was the following: Maurane (later Réjane Perry): Marie-Jeanne; Richard Groulx (later Michel Pascal): Zéro Janvier; Norman Groulx (Renaud Hantson): Johnny Rockfort; Renaud Hantson (Solal): Ziggy; Martine St-Clair (Nathalie Lermitte): Cristal; Wenta (Bruna Giraldi): Sadia; Sabrina Lory: Stella Spotlight; Luc Lafitte (Jean-Jacques Fauthoux): Roger-Roger.

3 singers from the previous productions of Starmania in Quebec 1980 and 1986 were invited to Paris - Martine St-Clair, Richard Groulx and Norman Groulx. They were chosen by the authors of Starmania. The fourth one was supposed to be Marie-Denise Pelletier, for the role of Stella Spotlight. But 4 Canadians were considered too many. Sabrina Lory, whose producers prevented her from participating in the original Starmania, was cast as Stella Spotlight instead. Wenta also auditioned for the roles of Stella and Sadia in 1978 but joined only for this production.

The show was performed at the Théâtre de Paris and then at Théâtre Marigny. The Théâtre de Paris was more than 175 years old, and its maintenance had obviously been neglected… “When we were for the first time at Théâtre de Paris, what we had was a little depressing: the room was not in such good condition and everything, the stage devices seemed absolutely not working or meeting our needs”, explained Luc Plamondon (Mario Roy, La Presse, Montreal 24/12/1988). Starmania gave the dying theatre a new breath and paved the role to the musical Cats in French and not in English.

Young people made up the first audience at the Théâtre de Paris, stomping their feet and singing all the songs. They were probably teenagers as rebellious as Johnny Rockfort and Cristal. “Tremendous performance success for Martine Saint-Clair and Norman Groulx, Cristal and Johnny Rockfort, who are the big stars of this Franco-Quebec company. On the Rue Blanche stage, Saint-Clair finally found this quality of emotion, of passion, which she may not have always been able to instill in her performance. She forms an incredible duo (you have to listen to Monopolis and Quand onn'a plus rien à perde) with Norman Groulx who, as we heard in the latest Quebec version of Starmania, is blessed with a voice with a formidable register, with a passion, an impertinence fitting like a glove to the sympathetic bum character that he embodies” (Mario Roy, La Presse, Montreal 24/12/1988).

Within 3 months this Starmania attracted the yuppies de la Cité, trendy people from the provinces, old beauties from all over Paris accompanied by their mistresses. ministers, presidents, princes. Curious enough, it became fashionable to bring a mistress to the show. And the trade unions bought tickets for the show for their workers.

This success determined the move from the old Théâtre de Paris (it can host Cats now) to the scene of the prestigious Théâtre Marigny, on the Champs-Elysees. According to Luc Plamondon, "It's the equivalent of what it would be like, in New York, to go from off-Broadway to Broadway". After the move to Marigny in January 1989, 200,000 Parisians were expected to see Starmania by April.

The staging was assured personally by Luc Plamondon and Michel Berger. At that time, it was a surprising staging, with lots of efficient gadgets, which used all the available space in depth behind, up high and right into the orchestra pit - where the counter for Marie-Jeanne was. Roger Roger was placed on a special platform, a kind of camera crane. There was also sophisticated lighting, 3 live musicians (including a sax player), and luxurious instrumentation as the 2 magicians of musical direction Serge Perathoner and Jannick Top were also working for this production. For that time, it was of course a break-through.