Once it was easy to be a ”Madonna wanna-be.” All you needed was a halter top, a few gold crosses, a bottle of blonde hair dye and a well-worn copy of the ”Like a Virgin” album. But that was two years ago, when her trashy-classy persona got as much notice as her music, and there were doubts about how long she`d last.
But as time goes on, Madonna pulls new tricks from her sleeve: a successful film career, an ever-changing image and a stack of hit singles that hasn`t let up. So nowadays, if you really want to be like Madonna, you have more of a challenge. You`ll need to keep changing your style, from flashy pinup, to elegant film star, to dance club queen, to serious songwriter. You`ll need an album (”True Blue”) on the charts, a film (the gangster comedy ”Who`s That Girl”) on the way and a recent Latin-flavored hit (”La Isla Bonita”). You`ll need 375 tons of equipment to carry around the world on a record-breaking tour. And you`ll need to be one of pop`s most recognizable faces while you`re still only 28.
When Madonna arrives at Soldier Field on Friday, she`ll bring a splashy show with her. Instead of a conventional pop concert, it`s designed as a movable Broadway show–carried by a whopping 25 semitrucks .
Here`s what`s planned:
— Seven costume changes, ranging from formal gowns, to a ”Material Girl” mink, to lingerie from ”Virgin” days.
— Two giant video screens.
— An array of props and production numbers–including a Spanish fantasy for ”La Isla Bonita” and a gangster takeoff on ”White Heat.”
— A troupe of six dancers.
— A band of studio aces, led by her keyboardist and co-writer Pat Leonard.
— A musical set heavy on greatest hits, including the movie themes
(”Into the Groove” from ”Desperately Seeking Susan”), the dance club favorites (”Holiday”) and, most likely, next month`s hit (the new ”Causing a Commotion”).
`She wanted a visual impact that would knock people out,” says Madonna`s publicist Liz Rosenberg. ”She was very determined about this. And she`s the type that makes a lot of decisions quickly: If something doesn`t work, she starts over. One day she might get sick of her bracelets and rip them all off. You`ll see a different look this year, but it`s still Madonna, still bigger than life.”
The big question is whether Madonna`s show can carry to large audiences. Two years ago, Bruce Springsteen drew criticism for moving from concert halls to football stadiums; this year U2 also moved to bigger-than-ever venues. But both had come up through the clubs and theaters and built a solid bond with their fans. For Madonna, this is only the second tour.
Her initial fame came from records and video, not concerts or club gigs. Her debut LP, with the hits ”Holiday” and ”Borderline,” created the intitial buzz; 1984`s ”Like a Virgin” album took her to No. 1. Fans saw her on film (”Desperately Seeking Susan”), in magazines and on video, but they never saw her live until 1985`s ”Virgin” tour.
Madonna`s last Chicago dates were in May of 1985, when she sold out two shows at the Pavilion. There were a total of 18,000 tickets sold.
As of Tuesday, 42,500 of the 47,000 available tickets had been sold, according to Arny Granat of Jam Productions, which is promoting the Madonna show. Granat estimated he would sell 1,500 more by the end of the week, leaving 3,000 seats still available.
Did he have doubts about booking Madonna into Soldier Field?
”I had second thoughts,” acknowledges Granat. ”I had second thoughts and third thoughts. She`s a definite media star, but any show of that nature, with such big production costs, is a big (financial) risk. You want to be able to sell it out in a few days.
”But I decided to put the money down and book her, and it looks as if I`m going to be proved right, although it`s going to be a tight deal with a very tight profit margin.”
But questions remain: Is the real Madonna as exciting as the media image? Can she handle the new setting as well as the other superstars can?
The Baltimore Sun`s J.D. Considine, who caught her recent opening date at Miami`s 60,000-capacity Orange Bowl, thinks she can. ”I`ve seen the Springsteen stadium tour, I`ve seen Dylan and the (Grateful) Dead, and I was at Live Aid. Out of all those shows, Madonna`s is the only one I`d want to see again,” he said in an interview. ”You need a larger-than-life show if you want to come off in a stadium, and Madonna does. She`s not that large physically, but she holds your attention, just as Michael Jackson did in the best of the `Victory` tour.”
Not everyone was so impressed. Anne Ayers, the assistant entertainment editor of USA Today, saw the same show and found it high on glitz but low on emotional clout. ”She`s going for a certain kind of show: a Broadway, show-biz, song-and-dance spectacle. In that context it`s hard to make a connection with the audience, and I`d have to say she didn`t,” said Ayers in an interview.
There also has been talk about the ”new Madonna,” a stronger and more intelligent but still sexual image. Here again, the jury is still out. ”The important thing Madonna does is to demonstrate how female sexuality can be a source of strength,” says Considine.
”Traditionally in pop culture, there are two roles women can play–the good girl and the bad girl, and the bad girl is never taken seriously. But Madonna shows up in the trappings of a bad girl, and demands to be taken seriously because she doesn`t just roll over. Lately you get more sense of the strength and power that was under her image all along.”
Some critics have charged that Madonna isn`t much of a singer, just a charismatic actress who makes records. Musical director Pat Leonard, for one, disagrees.
”I`ve heard the talk about how Madonna can`t sing, and I can tell you that`s bull,” says Leonard, the tour`s bandleader who cowrote much of the
”True Blue” album. ”She`s a natural, intuitive singer with great intonation; and she puts across a vulnerable quality that you can`t copy, and I know, because I`ve heard people try.”
Leonard`s name may not be familiar, but he has had ample experience behind the scenes: as musical director for the Jacksons` ”Victory” tour and as a hit R&B songwriter, cowriting Everly King`s ”Just for the Night” and Peabo Bryson`s ”There Ain`t Nothing Out There.” For Madonna`s tour, he pulled together a band of seasoned studio players: James Herra (from the
”Virgin” tour) on lead guitar, David Williams (from the San Francisco jazz circuit) on rhythm guitar, Cary Hatch on bass, Jonathan Moffitt on drums and Louis Conte on percussion. Leonard and Jai Winding share keyboard duties. With this group, Leonard does the near-impossible by bringing funky dance-club music into stadiums. ”I wouldn`t think it could work, but so far there`s no problem. The stuff we do isn`t Stravinsky, it`s pop music, so you need to keep time and have some taste. People are familiar enough with the songs that they can fill in the parts that get lost in the wind.”
Leonard also directed Madonna`s first tour and said there`s a major difference this time: Instead of following every note on the records, he`s encouraging the players to branch out. So a number of songs sport new arrangements: There`s a medley of three of Madonna`s biggest hits–”Dress You Up,” ”Material Girl” and ”Like a Virgin”–along with a surprising cover of the Four Tops` oldie ”I Can`t Help Myself.” And the finale, ”Holiday,” now features a hard-rock lead guitar.
When he first heard Madonna, Leonard was skeptical about her talent.
”When they first asked me to do her tour, I didn`t recognize the name. So they said, `You know, `Like a Virgin.` ” And I said, `Right. No way.` ” But his opinion changed when they met, and started writing songs together. ”She`s very charming. And she has a way of coming up with ideas people can relate to. When we did `White Heat,` she looked up and said `I`ve got it: Cagney.` And the idea developed, of doing the video like a gangster movie. She`s very fearless, like all true writers.”
One more Madonna myth needs to be debunked: that she lacks a social conscience. Two summers ago she performed at Live Aid, and sang the uplifting ”Love Makes the World Go `Round.” But she`s more remembered for making the day`s most irreverent comment from the stage: A week before Live Aid, Playboy magazine had published some nude photos from her days as a struggling actress. So she taunted the crowd by wearing a full-length fur coat in the summer heat. ”I ain`t taking – – – – off today,” she announced. ”I don`t want to hear about it later on.”
But in mid-July she played an AIDS research benefit at Madison Square Garden. ”Her best friend died of AIDS last year,” explains publicist Rosenberg ”When he was sick, the American Foundation for AIDS Research was very helpful. She made a vow that she would do a benefit as soon as she went on tour.”
Rosenberg also disputes the idea that most of Madonna`s fans are teenage girls–the ”wanna-be`s”–but says they are an important part of her audience.
”Madonna`s fortunate in that the wanna-be`s are growing up with her,”
adds Rosenberg. ”She always talks about the audiences after the shows, about what each row was doing. She`s always out there looking, because she wants them all to like her. She`s always been happiest when she`s onstage.”
