Moving on from Audrey's tits with a brief detour to Muff-Diving Mary Martin (the lesbians must be loving these threads), we continue...
Theatre Gossip #401 - The "Finishing the Hate" Edition
by Anonymous | reply 600 | September 15, 2020 8:28 PM |
Muff-Diving Mary would have been a better title, OP.
by Anonymous | reply 2 | September 2, 2020 6:15 PM |
WE SEE YOU WHITE MUFF DIVING MARY MARTIN
by Anonymous | reply 3 | September 2, 2020 6:26 PM |
I got chills watching the finale of the original Broadway Chorus Line. Thank you for posting that!
by Anonymous | reply 4 | September 2, 2020 6:47 PM |
WE SEE YOU WHITE PEOPLE WHO SEE WHITE MARY MARTIN!!!
by Anonymous | reply 5 | September 2, 2020 9:06 PM |
If a piece of shit like SLAVE PLAY wins Best Play, it proves there was no need to even have an awards ceremony in a truncated season.
by Anonymous | reply 6 | September 2, 2020 9:42 PM |
So is Tonya Pinkins the Black Mary Martin?
by Anonymous | reply 7 | September 2, 2020 9:48 PM |
Thanks to whoever posted the full A Chorus Line in the previous thread. Even though it was grainy and herky-jerky it was great to see it again. I always forget how funny it can be, given a cast who knows how to deliver those lines.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | September 2, 2020 9:49 PM |
R7. I think she’s more the Black Elaine Stritch—talented, for sure, but so difficult to work with that you think twice about whether it’s worth it.
I get the feeling that Martin wasn’t difficult to work with, and used Halliday to handle anything that would make her seem like a diva. I think she kept a professional distance and concentrated on the work. A friend was one of the Lost Boys in one of her Peter Pan productions (I don’t know if it was stage or television) and said she was wonderful to the children in the cast.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | September 2, 2020 10:20 PM |
Great title, OP! Thanks.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | September 2, 2020 10:28 PM |
[quote] One thing I have never understood is why the movie of Chorus Line defeated Michael Bennett, who tried to come up with a way to film it but gave up. Why not just put the show on stage? Would it really not have worked?
It wasn't so much that the movie defeated him as it was that he felt lost in Hollywood. He perhaps expected a certain level of deference he wasn't getting and the time to work on things, but mostly it was that he was a medium-small sized fish in a big pond as opposed to Broadway where he was King of a very small town.
by Anonymous | reply 11 | September 2, 2020 10:53 PM |
[quote] A couple of years later, Fosse called. He wanted her to, essentially, play Gwen in All That Jazz, but first to go into “Chicago” replacing Reinking as Roxie & finishing out the run. She turned him down flat, but eventually relented and agreed to do the film but not go into “Chicago.”
I always wondered why she did All That Jazz when she had decided to give up show business. Maybe she felt she owed Bob a favor for letting her out of A Chorus Line. (Not that he couldn't have filled the role with someone else, and Leland was not a "name," but she was damn good in All That Jazz and should have scored a supporting nomination, certainly over Jane Alexander saying three lines in Kramer vs. Kramer.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | September 2, 2020 10:56 PM |
Tonya Pinkins is the black Jerry Lewis.
by Anonymous | reply 13 | September 2, 2020 11:00 PM |
Tony Pinkins is the black Paz De La Huerta
by Anonymous | reply 14 | September 2, 2020 11:06 PM |
No, R12. No, no, no.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | September 2, 2020 11:21 PM |
Wow, that song at R16 is horrible. I guess you had to be there.
Did Danny Apolinar die of AIDS? Obit from '95 says kidney failure.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | September 2, 2020 11:51 PM |
Watching this right now and it's quite fun...
Cagney & Lacey
TODAY, ON DECAD 2.2, 1 HR 1986
SEASON 5 • EPISODE 19 • EXIT STAGE CENTER • CRIME DRAMA / POLICE
*
An investigation of an actress's apparent suicide reveals several murder suspects; Cagney makes an interesting date; Harvey reveals a secret from his past to Lacey. Chet Gardner: Peter Hansen. Jean McIntyre: Salome Jens. Eric Webber: Robin Thomas...
by Anonymous | reply 18 | September 3, 2020 12:25 AM |
Going back to Leland Palmer and ACL, there's a slight mistake in timeline. Palmer agreed to go into ACL towards the end of the LA run. Reinking had already played LA when McKechnie wanted to go back to NY. Ironically, she also played next to Kelly Bishop who was briefly replacing Charlene Ryan who was getting a boob job. When McKechnie bowed out of NY, Reinking returned and Vicki Frederick was brought to LA. When Vicki left, that's when they asked Palmer. During the time she was supposed to play the part, the understudy, Renata Vasselle played Cassie. Palmer then did Jules Pfeiffer's Hold Me across town at the Westwood Playhouse, while she was supposed to be played Cassie. Strange.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | September 3, 2020 12:32 AM |
Bennett's concept of the movie was to have people auditioning for the movie, the same as the documentary. It sounded dreadful.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | September 3, 2020 12:33 AM |
I too think ACL could work on film as is. However, some songs like "At the Ballet" and "I Can Do That," for example, could be done more cinematically, showing flashbacks in a montage or something, as they're retelling their childhoods.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | September 3, 2020 1:58 AM |
Now that people have worked out how to film plays, like the NT Live ones and Hamilton, they could easily do justice to a live staging of A Chorus Line.
Nothing will ever equal hearing that first blare of the brass live, but you can't capture everything that is great about live theatre.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | September 3, 2020 11:03 AM |
So Julianne Moore is almost 60 and Ben Platt is almost 27. Not a great start.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | September 3, 2020 11:10 AM |
"Nothing will ever equal hearing that first blare of the brass live, but you can't capture everything that is great about live theatre."
Like the rattling of plastic bags or candy wrappers, audience members who think that musicals are sing alongs, people who tap to the rhythm or kick your seat to the music, women who attend matinees and proceed to talk throughout the whole show , or old men who can;t hear and say," What did he say,?" constantly. But yes, I miss it too.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | September 3, 2020 12:11 PM |
Is it possible Evan Hansen is being reconceived as a story about a college student? None of these ages make much sense.
by Anonymous | reply 25 | September 3, 2020 12:23 PM |
I've been on a bit of a Howard Ashman kick after watching the Disney+ documentary, and ended up wasting time watching a documentary on the making of the London staging of Beauty and the Beast.
It was the first show I saw in the West End, and remember thinking that even then as an impressionable sixteen year-old that it was trash. But considering that this was that show that launched Disney on Broadway, that enjoyed a run of over 5,000 performances and a slew of international performances, why is it that Robert Jess Roth never did much else of note? Was Lestat such a travesty that it ruined his career? Everybody else who's directed a Broadway show for Disney - even the flops like Francesca Zambello - seem to have maintained much more illustrious careers.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | September 3, 2020 3:23 PM |
[quote]Now that people have worked out how to film plays, like the NT Live ones and Hamilton, they could easily do justice to a live staging of A Chorus Line. Nothing will ever equal hearing that first blare of the brass live, but you can't capture everything that is great about live theatre.
I agree with you about live theater, but "blaring brass" is not what we hear the first time the orchestra comes in at the top of ACL. That doesn't happen till a little later.
[quote]Is it possible Evan Hansen is being reconceived as a story about a college student? None of these ages make much sense.
I hope not. I don't think the peer pressure that's such a huge element of the plot of DEH would work with college students.
[quote]Considering that this was that show that launched Disney on Broadway, that enjoyed a run of over 5,000 performances and a slew of international performances, why is it that Robert Jess Roth never did much else of note? Was Lestat such a travesty that it ruined his career?
I think, with BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, he was viewed as someone who could pretty much recreate the movie on stage, which maybe is what Disney thought they wanted at the time. But for all its success with the public, that show got largely negative reviews. Then, with the phenomenal success of THE LION KING as directed by Taymor, I think Disney wanted to continue finding directors who would be more creative. But also, I had forgotten that RJR directed LESTAT. That certainly can't have helped his career. I think he needed at least one solid hit as a follow up to BEAUTY AND THE BEAST to keep him working steadily, not a tremendous flop.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | September 3, 2020 4:02 PM |
So who's looking forward to the Boys in the Band movie? I've already been reading comments on other forums from people saying they have no desire to sit through all that self-loathing. Is that fair or should it just be viewed as a product of its time?
by Anonymous | reply 28 | September 3, 2020 4:38 PM |
Just see the original. Friedkin's direction is wound too tightly, but the actors are brilliant and they all lived this era. You will never again see it so beautifully acted.
by Anonymous | reply 29 | September 3, 2020 5:04 PM |
[quote]So who's looking forward to the Boys in the Band movie? I've already been reading comments on other forums from people saying they have no desire to sit through all that self-loathing. Is that fair or should it just be viewed as a product of its time?
It should be viewed by anyone who's interested in seeing a new production of a groundbreaking play first produced in 1968. If you're too sensitive to withstand characters who exhibit some self-loathing, then don't watch. The complaints about its being too dated and too offensive for woke modern audiences have become tiresome.
by Anonymous | reply 30 | September 3, 2020 5:07 PM |
The far-left (aka SJWs) are really stupid! They can't enjoy anything unless it is adhered and defanged to their content Why are we letting these people run Broadway... and Hollywood?
by Anonymous | reply 31 | September 3, 2020 5:16 PM |
[quote]The complaints about its being too dated and too offensive for woke modern audiences have become tiresome.
Also, those complaints about the self-loathing of the characters in THE BOYS IN THE BAND have been voiced ever since the play opened, and have been discussed ad infinitum over the years, especially after the first movie version was released. So to rehash them now is, indeed, very tiresome.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | September 3, 2020 5:23 PM |
I understand the period/self-loathing, but I never understood why any of these men would want to get together for a party because they are all so mean-spirited and awful. At least in a play like Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, there is a balance with the younger couple dealing with two angry hosts. BITB is just a bunch of assholes who inexplicably want to hang out.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | September 3, 2020 6:04 PM |
ACL is what is. It will never be a smash hit again and never be transcribed to the movies. What you see from 1975 is the best we will get because it was a show in a moment. Any revival has proven how dated it is and how poorly written it is. Bennett's staging and pacing were always the best things about it but his choreography was among the worst things.
It had a story to tell during the 70s. It told it and we moved on. Quickly.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | September 3, 2020 6:27 PM |
I've always felt like Boys in the Band is the night where all the characters realize that their host is an awful human being that they can't stand to be around anymore. If we're being truthful, a lot of us have hung out with someone like that more than a few times in our lives because, perhaps, we have mutual friends and we're only attending a party to see them. I don't find any of the characters very hateful except for the lead. He's the real monster. I always got the feeling that, at the end of the play, everyone else continued to hang out, but the lead was left alone.
I really don't see anything ever being the same between all these people.
I, too, mourn the fact that we can't see shows about people who are flawed and sometimes hateful, because a bunch of idiots believe the creators of these shows are trying to say that bitterness and hate are good things. I can't imagine anyone walking out of The Boys in the Band and thinking "man, that lead character...what a life. I wanna be just like him." If anything, it's a cautionary tale to not be such a bitter, self-loathing cunt.
by Anonymous | reply 35 | September 3, 2020 6:39 PM |
R35 SJWs lack critical thinking skills.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | September 3, 2020 6:53 PM |
Don’t forget Robert Jess Roth was also fired from Aida out of town
by Anonymous | reply 37 | September 3, 2020 7:49 PM |
[quote] Maybe she felt she owed Bob a favor for letting her out of A Chorus Line.
Wrong director. Michael Bennett let her out of Chorus Line, not Fosse.
by Anonymous | reply 38 | September 4, 2020 12:01 AM |
Blind item: Which highly anticipated musical now has no general management team?
by Anonymous | reply 39 | September 4, 2020 12:57 AM |
[quote] Blind item: Which highly anticipated musical now has no general management team?
Hazel? Rebecca?
by Anonymous | reply 40 | September 4, 2020 12:59 AM |
MJ or Mrs. Doubtfire, I'd guess.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | September 4, 2020 1:01 AM |
[quote]Blind item: Which highly anticipated musical now has no general management team?
Diana: The Musical. Since Harry and Megs joined Netflix, they put the halt on filming it.
by Anonymous | reply 42 | September 4, 2020 1:19 AM |
Did anyone see the Richard Armitage "The Crucible"? It seems a bit...over the top.
by Anonymous | reply 43 | September 4, 2020 1:24 AM |
Who are the people behind Diana? It just screams vanity project
by Anonymous | reply 44 | September 4, 2020 8:06 AM |
SJWs go to events to find something that offends them, then announce it on social media. It gives their life purpose.
by Anonymous | reply 45 | September 4, 2020 11:52 AM |
Everything about me screamed vanity project.
by Anonymous | reply 46 | September 4, 2020 12:28 PM |
It's clear early on in BITB that these guys are all "friends of Harold," not a tight-knit group of old chums. Some knew each other, some didn't. Seems like a sound premise to me.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | September 4, 2020 12:28 PM |
Any kind soul out there have copies of the Verdon or Annie - Life After Tomorrow docs to share?
by Anonymous | reply 48 | September 4, 2020 2:51 PM |
[quote] Wrong director. Michael Bennett let her out of Chorus Line, not Fosse.
Duh. Can't believe I did that. Ooops.
by Anonymous | reply 49 | September 4, 2020 6:30 PM |
Keep your choreographers straight, r49. So to speak.
by Anonymous | reply 50 | September 4, 2020 6:36 PM |
Garth Drabrinsky paid four songwriting times to write sample songs for Ragtime. We know who won but does anybody remember who the others were? Are there any recordings of their work for the show?
by Anonymous | reply 51 | September 4, 2020 6:39 PM |
^ songwriting teams, not times. Sorry.
by Anonymous | reply 52 | September 4, 2020 6:46 PM |
I think Maltby and Shire were one of the teams. Don't know about the others.
by Anonymous | reply 53 | September 4, 2020 6:50 PM |
R48 Gwen is on my mega hard drive sorry, but here is Life After Tomorrow.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | September 4, 2020 6:57 PM |
Shirley is an exhausting woman.
by Anonymous | reply 56 | September 4, 2020 7:09 PM |
R51 Garth Drabinsky otherwise known as Drab Garbinsky; he was the guy at Cineplex Odeon (a/k/a Cineplex Odious) who used to charge you if you asked for a cup for a drink of water
by Anonymous | reply 57 | September 4, 2020 7:19 PM |
IIRC, there were no water fountains in The Ford Center. If you were thirsty, you had to buy bottled water at the concession stand in the lobby.
by Anonymous | reply 58 | September 4, 2020 7:24 PM |
The show with no general manager is probably a Rudin show. Maybe the ad agency isn't the only one fighting to get paid?
by Anonymous | reply 59 | September 4, 2020 8:12 PM |
[quote]It's clear early on in BITB that these guys are all "friends of Harold," not a tight-knit group of old chums.
Right. Very early on, before anyone else arrives, Donald asks Michael who's coming to the party, and Michael says (among other things), "I think you know most of them." Which makes it clear that they're not a tight-knit group, at least, not most of them.
[quote]Garth Drabinsky otherwise known as Drab Garbinsky.
I never heard that nickname for him. The one I always heard was "Darth Grabinsky," which was great because it captured both his evil nature (Dart Vader) and his greed ("grab"-insky).
by Anonymous | reply 61 | September 5, 2020 12:09 AM |
[quote]Right. Very early on, before anyone else arrives, Donald asks Michael who's coming to the party, and Michael says (among other things), "I think you know most of them." Which makes it clear that they're not a tight-knit group, at least, not most of them.
No. What that statement makes clear(er) is that Donald is the only one at the party who does not live in New York City. He drives in for his weekly therapy and then he stays over and spends the night with Michael. This particular night, Harold's birthday is is intruding on their usual evening together.
by Anonymous | reply 62 | September 5, 2020 1:12 AM |
But, R62, Michael also tells Donald that "they're mostly Harold's friends." Although I will concede that Harold certainly has an unusual assortment of dissimilar friends.
by Anonymous | reply 63 | September 5, 2020 1:17 AM |
But, R62, Michael also tells Donald that "they're mostly Harold's friends." Although I will concede that Harold certainly has an unusual assortment of dissimilar friends.
by Anonymous | reply 64 | September 5, 2020 1:17 AM |
^^ Sorry. I have no idea why that posted twice.
by Anonymous | reply 65 | September 5, 2020 1:19 AM |
No. That statement says nothing about whether the others haven't met or are as thick as thieves. Donald could have met each of them individually, or he could have met them at one big gathering. But that line does not tell us how Donald met them and it does not tell us if the others know each other, or not. It serves to underscore Donald's outsider status. And that suggests that the others may be acquainted. Donald is apprehensive about fitting in and meeting new people. Michael tells him to relax and that his fears are misplaced. After all, Donald already knows most of them.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | September 5, 2020 1:25 AM |
You're welcome r8 and even though quality was pretty shitty those were the best characterizations I've seen. I appreciated each of them on a new level after seeing the original cast.
by Anonymous | reply 67 | September 5, 2020 1:27 AM |
[Quote] I don't find any of the characters very hateful except for the lead. He's the real monster.
Agreed. Who comes away from Boys in the Band thinking that Donald is awful? Or Bernard?
by Anonymous | reply 68 | September 5, 2020 1:37 AM |
Just so everyone’s on the same page, the line is:
“I think you know everybody anyway — they’re the same old tired fairies you’ve seen around since the day one”
by Anonymous | reply 69 | September 5, 2020 1:42 AM |
I have mp3s somewhere of the Original Cast album. Were there any major line deletions for the movie?
by Anonymous | reply 70 | September 5, 2020 1:44 AM |
Speaking of Mrs. Doubtfire here's a little snippet I came across on YT.
by Anonymous | reply 71 | September 5, 2020 2:08 AM |
It never ceases to amaze me how the theatre gossip thread will just drop off my watch list and yet threads I purposely remove will keep popping back up.
by Anonymous | reply 72 | September 5, 2020 2:08 AM |
[Quote] It never ceases to amaze me how the theatre gossip thread will just drop off my watch list
Are you a fan of FOLLIES?
by Anonymous | reply 73 | September 5, 2020 2:10 AM |
[quote]^^ Sorry. I have no idea why that posted twice.
Welcome to DL! Let us know when you hit your first triple.
by Anonymous | reply 74 | September 5, 2020 2:22 AM |
Dear God, that Mrs. Doubtfire clip is horrible.
by Anonymous | reply 75 | September 5, 2020 2:23 AM |
FOLLIES!
by Anonymous | reply 76 | September 5, 2020 2:31 AM |
That Mrs. Doubtfire clip is why I'm sorta glad Broadway is taking a break. Maybe it'll give them a long time to sit in a corner and think about what they've done. That was painful.
by Anonymous | reply 77 | September 5, 2020 2:33 AM |
I didn't think it was so bad.
Looks like I've got a lot to learn.
Can someone name some contemporary shows that you like so I can get an idea what good Broadway looks like?
I'm not kidding btw. Just started getting into these shows during lockdown.
by Anonymous | reply 78 | September 5, 2020 2:48 AM |
You'll never get anyone to agree on a contemporary show that is good. I would recommend Dear Evan Hansen. It's very good; very touching. From a while back, I'd go with Next to Normal.
by Anonymous | reply 80 | September 5, 2020 2:52 AM |
Thanks r80
I saw Waitress at the beginning of shutdown it was floating around YT with the original cast. It was not a great recording but not horrible either. I really liked it, Sara Barielles did a great job with the music lots of fun tunes and a great cast. Jesse Mueller leaves me a little cold though. Her vocals were great and physically she did everything well, her chemistry with Dr. Pom was great, but I didn't get choked up for her as Jenna.
Also saw School of Rock which was really fun. And someone here posted She Loves Me and that was also well cast and a lot of fun. My first time seeing Jane Krakowski do her musical theater thing.
I can't tell about Mrs. Doubtfire from just one clip. I enjoyed it but I'd need to see how it fits in and feels with the rest of the show to know if the show is shit or not.
by Anonymous | reply 81 | September 5, 2020 3:16 AM |
Everyone in the Mrs. Doubtfire clip is YELLING EVERY FUCKING LINE
by Anonymous | reply 82 | September 5, 2020 4:06 AM |
[quote]Everyone in the Mrs. Doubtfire clip is YELLING EVERY FUCKING LINE
I don't see the problem.
by Anonymous | reply 83 | September 5, 2020 4:09 AM |
That is the modern style. Dynamics died long ago and is sadly missed by those of us who knew it once.
I just saw the new biopic of Helen Reddy (don't bother). In the scene where she's recording I Don't Know How to Love Him, everyone at the (deeply unprofessional) studio is obviously bored until she gets to the bridge and it gets loud. Then they all look up and congratulate each other that she's gonna be great. It really struck me that that was exclusively 2020 speaking. In the 1970s people appreciated the way she modulated the whole thing.
by Anonymous | reply 84 | September 5, 2020 6:14 AM |
I’d say that The Band’s Visit was the last great contemporary musical
by Anonymous | reply 85 | September 5, 2020 9:59 AM |
R84 do they discuss Reddy’s tendency to sing off-key? Jesus, I remember how she sometimes made my ears hurt.
by Anonymous | reply 86 | September 5, 2020 10:01 AM |
Of course not, R86. Also, very little of the singing in the show is hers: nearly every song is dubbed by someone called Chelsea Cullen, who impersonates her voice quite well. Why they couldn't use her original vocals, though, I have no clue. I would be deeply suspicious of anything you think you learn about Reddy from the movie, which pursues its own agendas into what seem to me very fictional realms.
While it's making stuff up, it fails to mention that Reddy's mother and half-sister Toni were major stars in Australia (among other things Toni, who is still alive, played Babe in The Pajama Game, Nancy in Oliver and Mama Rose in the Australian capital cities), or that her nephew is Tony Sheldon of Priscilla fame.
by Anonymous | reply 87 | September 5, 2020 11:47 AM |
[quote]“I think you know everybody anyway — they’re the same old tired fairies you’ve seen around since the day one”
Yes, I think we're supposed to understand that some of the group are very close friends -- Harold and Michael, obviously -- while others are just social acquaintances with varying degrees of closeness. Even if some of them are not best friends, they're all part of a fairly small group of gay men who are out of the closet (for the most part) in NYC in 1969, so they have that bond if nothing else.
by Anonymous | reply 88 | September 5, 2020 11:51 AM |
R86 makes my brain hurt.
by Anonymous | reply 89 | September 5, 2020 12:03 PM |
Here's all I could find of Chelsea Cullen:
by Anonymous | reply 90 | September 5, 2020 12:06 PM |
I know one can't and shouldn't critique an entire project based on a poorly-recorded five-minute excerpt. But Jesus fucking Christ: Mrs Doubtfire looks like an abortion. What the fuck is that sloppy choreography? The inane, witless lyrics? The banal and uninspired music? And I know the plot, but that scene looks devoid of any fucking dramatic tension or structure.
Time and time again, I'm amazed that these things spend years in development, raise millions in funds, go through workshops and out of town tryouts before finally ending up on Broadway. And they're still just absolutely fucking dreadful, with no clear reason why they need to exists. All that labor and effort and time and cost, to produce nothing but forgettable mediocrities. For the life of me, I'm amazed that people kept paying to see this shit, when a monthly Netflix subscription costs less than an interval drink at a Broadway show.
And when theatres reopen, who in their right mind is not only going to pay for a ticket, but actually risk death just to sit through some fucking half-assed adaptation of a movie that's almost 30 years old?
With scant exceptions, the American musical was dead long before March of this year.
by Anonymous | reply 91 | September 5, 2020 1:15 PM |
Yeah, that number. smacks of real desperation. Probably best if it never opens.
by Anonymous | reply 92 | September 5, 2020 1:28 PM |
I have to admit I do not know Boys in the Band, but I heard about it for years and I am trying to decide whether to see this or not.
This is a spoiler request--are all the gay men clones of Hitler? Does anyone ever call them out on the Holocaust or do they just let that slide by.
My mother was jewish so I have feelings about this and may not want to watch it if it lets Nazis off the hook.
Also, in the 70s I know they used to talk about "gay clones." Was that because of Boys from the Band?
by Anonymous | reply 93 | September 5, 2020 2:41 PM |
R59-I think it's Rudin's production of DEATH OF A SALESMAN, THE MUSICAL starring Nathan.
by Anonymous | reply 94 | September 5, 2020 3:24 PM |
DEATH OF A SALESLADY
by Anonymous | reply 95 | September 5, 2020 3:25 PM |
Death of a Non-Gender Specific Salesperson
by Anonymous | reply 96 | September 5, 2020 3:36 PM |
[Quote] a movie that's almost 30 years old?
I think you miss some of the point.
by Anonymous | reply 97 | September 5, 2020 3:40 PM |
I have no idea what you're babbling about, R93, but as someone who enjoys "The Boys in the Band" for its wit and who appreciates its historical significance, I suggest that you avoid it like the plague.
by Anonymous | reply 98 | September 5, 2020 3:42 PM |
DEATH OF A SALESBOTTOM
by Anonymous | reply 100 | September 5, 2020 4:53 PM |
Thanks, r98. If r93 needs advice from a group of anonymous gay men as to whether he should watch a 2-hour movie, he must be 12.
by Anonymous | reply 101 | September 5, 2020 4:58 PM |
Now that I see it again, I think that R93's post was meant as a joke, deliberately conflating "The Boys in the Band" with "The Boys From Brazil."
To put it another way, it was like a joke, only without any actual humor.
by Anonymous | reply 102 | September 5, 2020 5:24 PM |
WE SEE YOU WHITE DEATH OF A SALESBOTTOM!!!
by Anonymous | reply 103 | September 5, 2020 5:43 PM |
r93 is a pock-marked Jew fairy.
by Anonymous | reply 104 | September 5, 2020 5:56 PM |
R104 is Maria Montez
by Anonymous | reply 105 | September 5, 2020 6:42 PM |
R78: Give The Light in the Piazza a try. To me, it's one of the very best of modern musicals. (Fifteen years old counts as "modern," yes?)
by Anonymous | reply 106 | September 5, 2020 7:07 PM |
It's superb, r78. Do as r106 suggests. It's a pity Kelli O'Hara had left the show before it was filmed; her replacement's not as good, but Victoria Clark is perfection.
by Anonymous | reply 107 | September 5, 2020 7:10 PM |
I have so much to say about that atrocious Mrs. Doubtfire clip. Is the whole show as overproduced and busily staged as that “song”? To even call that claptrap rap or whatever it is a song is an insult to true songwriters. Everything about it is terrible, from the puerile lyrics to the lack of a discernible melody or even a memorable hook to the endless length and the wrongheaded concept of not musicalizing one of the film’s most memorable lines (“My first day as a woman and I’m already getting hot flashes”), which instead doesn’t even land because it’s buried beneath the pablum masquerading as a song and the ridiculously fussy staging. Please don’t tell me this is a highlight of the show. Also, who is the shrill and strident cooking instructor (whose voice, demeanor and attitude do not evoke any YouTube chef that ever existed, nor the other one ,which is a half-hearted Paula Dean parody, I’m assuming. The production values range from impressive to embarrassingly cheap (that table on wheels the shrew awkwardly pushes out prior to her first entrance). I can’t even go on (though I could). What a bomb. It looks almost - almost, not quite - as bad as another screen-to-stage adaptation of a film that has everything to make a good musical, but instead was a turgid and boring abortion, The First Wives Club. I’m usually not this negative, but that clip was ridiculously horrible. Apologies for the length of this diatribe, perhaps some of you agree (or not?).
by Anonymous | reply 109 | September 5, 2020 7:42 PM |
PS I adore the film, warts and all. It was a childhood favorite.
by Anonymous | reply 110 | September 5, 2020 7:44 PM |
Live, Socially Distanced Theater in Central Park:
by Anonymous | reply 111 | September 5, 2020 9:11 PM |
R71 Even Joanne Worley would be insulted by that long aborted chicken joke
by Anonymous | reply 112 | September 5, 2020 9:25 PM |
Don't let this inspire anyone to try a musical based on Ms. Child, Hello, Julia!
by Anonymous | reply 113 | September 5, 2020 9:48 PM |
Does Boys in the Band feature gunshots? What does the show curtain look like?
by Anonymous | reply 114 | September 5, 2020 9:48 PM |
What kind of band are they? If they are a rock band, I might skip it. A jazz band or swing band are more my speed.
by Anonymous | reply 115 | September 5, 2020 9:54 PM |
They are a band of brothers, r115, as well as sisters under the skin.
by Anonymous | reply 116 | September 5, 2020 9:57 PM |
They’re a string sextet, r115, specializing in show tunes from the 50s and 60s.
by Anonymous | reply 117 | September 5, 2020 10:20 PM |
I think the idea of a band specializing in show tunes being gay is really outdated and offensive. I am definitely skipping this.
by Anonymous | reply 118 | September 5, 2020 10:23 PM |
I'm picketing this.
by Anonymous | reply 119 | September 5, 2020 10:24 PM |
No justice, no “Boys”!
by Anonymous | reply 120 | September 5, 2020 10:25 PM |
Is this the Boys with the evil superheroes?
by Anonymous | reply 121 | September 5, 2020 10:52 PM |
Chace Crawford would have been a perfect "Cowboy" a decade ago.
by Anonymous | reply 122 | September 5, 2020 10:53 PM |
R79 I'm only a few minutes into this high school Follies and this high school Sally is already giving a better performance than Imelda Staunton. Granted, she hasn't sung yet...
by Anonymous | reply 123 | September 5, 2020 10:56 PM |
I guess you didn't see Bernie's Sally...
by Anonymous | reply 124 | September 5, 2020 10:57 PM |
I did. It was....unfortunate.
by Anonymous | reply 125 | September 5, 2020 11:00 PM |
Bernadette wasn't that bad as Sally. At least not at the performance I saw, but she does have a habit of being a little inconsistent from performance to performance, doesn't she? Ask anyone about her run in Gypsy and you'll get either get "she was genius" or "she was the worst Rose I've ever seen."
by Anonymous | reply 126 | September 5, 2020 11:01 PM |
BP defenders always talk about how she was "later in the run." The woman is not an actress.
by Anonymous | reply 127 | September 5, 2020 11:03 PM |
There's something so grotesque about seeing high schoolers playing bitter, jaded 50-80 somethings.
by Anonymous | reply 128 | September 5, 2020 11:03 PM |
Peters was very winning in Hello, Dolly. Probably the best she's been in years. Really warm, funny, and moving. Loved her in that.
by Anonymous | reply 129 | September 5, 2020 11:04 PM |
Was there ever an attempt to do a musical version of The Boys in the Band? Or an opera?
by Anonymous | reply 131 | September 5, 2020 11:09 PM |
Don't give Jake Shears any ideas.
by Anonymous | reply 132 | September 5, 2020 11:10 PM |
High school kids doing Follies is like the gay version of those plays the lead character put on in Rushmore.
by Anonymous | reply 133 | September 5, 2020 11:28 PM |
r128 - This should go directly to Losing My Mind right into Lucy and Jessie. Otherwise it's at 1:55:27.
by Anonymous | reply 135 | September 6, 2020 1:34 AM |
Does the poster who has all the bootlegs have the most recent revival of All My Sons? I just discovered Benjamin Walker.
by Anonymous | reply 136 | September 6, 2020 1:37 AM |
Benjamin Walker got such a raw deal with American Psycho. To physically transform himself like that, perform incredibly difficult material (including the tighty whitey blood ballet), ooze charisma and sing like a dream only to end up a mere afterthought as the vultures descended. What I wouldn’t give for an edgy adult musical on serious themes like that again, but I have a feeling that type of entertainment is gone for good or at least many, many years when theatre returns. Am I the only one who admired the show (and especially him in it)? Yes, it needed more work (why didn’t it get it?), but it was unique and at times sensational powerful and theatrical.
by Anonymous | reply 137 | September 6, 2020 1:58 AM |
R136 I have four All My Sons. Is it Sally's Annette or Zoe?
by Anonymous | reply 138 | September 6, 2020 2:12 AM |
Speaking of which, is there a boot of American Psycho out there?
by Anonymous | reply 139 | September 6, 2020 2:13 AM |
R137 I loved that show. Saw it many times. Should have been given a better chance.
by Anonymous | reply 140 | September 6, 2020 2:18 AM |
I guess I'm the only one here who doesn't want to fuck Ben Walker.
by Anonymous | reply 141 | September 6, 2020 2:18 AM |
Well, unless Mamie Gummer visits the DL that may be true, r141.
by Anonymous | reply 142 | September 6, 2020 2:37 AM |
R138 Annette please.
by Anonymous | reply 143 | September 6, 2020 2:46 AM |
[quote]There's something so grotesque about seeing high schoolers playing bitter, jaded 50-80 somethings.
[] Sounds like the film of Dear Evan Hanson in reverse. Hi, Ben!
[quote]Was there ever an attempt to do a musical version of The Boys in the Band? Or an opera?
No, but years later Crowley wrote a sequel titled "The Men from the Boys." It's never had a major production because the few productions it has had have been badly received. The title always reminded me of this joke:
How do they separate the men from the boys in Greece?
With a crowbar.
by Anonymous | reply 145 | September 6, 2020 3:01 AM |
What a strange pair, Annette and Frankie made. Who thought to put those two together?
She was built like the proverbial "brick house", what torpedos she had. Frankie was a bit on the small side and pigeon chested.
by Anonymous | reply 146 | September 6, 2020 3:09 AM |
Here's where we separate the notes from noise.
by Anonymous | reply 147 | September 6, 2020 3:11 AM |
"Was there ever an attempt to do a musical version of The Boys in the Band? "
They did record the title number of the proposed musical
by Anonymous | reply 148 | September 6, 2020 3:27 AM |
That number from Mrs. Doubtfire is worse than Covid....
by Anonymous | reply 149 | September 6, 2020 3:29 AM |
What Theatre Gossip thread would be complete without this?
by Anonymous | reply 150 | September 6, 2020 3:45 AM |
I thought Something Rotten was highly entertaining and quite witty, but now that I see that Mrs. Doubtfire is by the same team it makes sense that this is by those authors - though it is far worse than anything that made it into Something Rotten. By the way, the audience goes absolutely ape shit at the end of that abomination... has taste really completely evaporated? Apparently so. Highly depressing.
by Anonymous | reply 151 | September 6, 2020 3:47 AM |
[quote]No, but years later Crowley wrote a sequel titled "The Men from the Boys." It's never had a major production because the few productions it has had have been badly received.
A reading of "The Men From the Boys," directed by Zachary Quinto, was streamed in June.
by Anonymous | reply 152 | September 6, 2020 3:49 AM |
I thought "Something Rotten!" had some funny bits, but by the second act, the same witless gags (confusing "Hamlet" with "Omelet") were being pounded into the ground over and over and over. I did not have high hopes for "Mrs. Doubtfire" when I found out it was from the same creative team.
by Anonymous | reply 153 | September 6, 2020 3:53 AM |
Thanks, r152. I'll watch it later.
I thought The Men from the Boys follows the same characters 30 years later. Surely they didn't all survive the 80s?
I didn't see the last revival but I saw the 25th anniversary production in the early 90s with David Drake at the Theatre de Lys. When it was good, it was very good but I thought it was overlong to sit through. Did anyone else see that or the Transport Group production from 10 or 12 years ago performed in a Chelsea penthouse? I heard that was very good.
by Anonymous | reply 154 | September 6, 2020 4:06 AM |
Something Rotten was funny for a while but as 153 says, the gag about omelet dragged on for too long but that could also have been intentional. In some instances driving something into the ground is used for comic effect.
Still I'd have to say that overall it was enjoyable.
by Anonymous | reply 155 | September 6, 2020 4:26 AM |
I don't think "The Men From the Boys" is still available to stream, R154. That Playbill article was from June.
by Anonymous | reply 156 | September 6, 2020 4:40 AM |
Was the script for The Men from the Boys ever publisher? A cursory Google search would suggest not.
by Anonymous | reply 157 | September 6, 2020 7:00 AM |
Audiences have terrible taste. I saw the out of town tryout of Mrs. Doubtfire in Seattle and for the most part, audiences ate it up.
Rob McClure is good....he's a terrific performer. He's really the sole reason to see the show.
But, the show itself feels like most new musicals...soulless, corporate, cruise ship/casino level entertainment.
by Anonymous | reply 158 | September 6, 2020 7:52 AM |
R157, the script of Men from the Boys is published by Samuel French and also appears in Crowley's collected plays from Alyson Books.
by Anonymous | reply 159 | September 6, 2020 1:48 PM |
^^^found through a google search
by Anonymous | reply 160 | September 6, 2020 1:49 PM |
So will The New Season section in next week’s Sunday Times be a pamphlet or will they just not print one?
by Anonymous | reply 161 | September 6, 2020 1:49 PM |
The Transport group production of BITB was terrific, with the exception of the actor who abysmally mangled the role of Harold. He was embarrassingly bad. Jonathan Hammond and Nick Westrate were outstanding as Michael and Donald.
by Anonymous | reply 162 | September 6, 2020 4:06 PM |
One of the many reasons the phrase "Oh dear" was invented...
by Anonymous | reply 163 | September 6, 2020 5:35 PM |
Thanks, r164. Heaven. Made me cry.
by Anonymous | reply 166 | September 6, 2020 7:42 PM |
The fact that the images are blurry and you're never quite sure if the sound synchs is just the perfect way to remember that transcendent production r164.
by Anonymous | reply 167 | September 6, 2020 8:09 PM |
That footage from the wings in r164 gave me chills
by Anonymous | reply 168 | September 6, 2020 8:18 PM |
[quote]r134 Glenn
Lord, she really comes across as a plain-faced female impersonator. But without the pizazz.
by Anonymous | reply 169 | September 6, 2020 9:06 PM |
And the taps are so emphasized, r167. I'm assuming that was enhanced on the soundboard with the boys tapping in the basement.
by Anonymous | reply 170 | September 6, 2020 9:09 PM |
Ugh. There's more artistic ambition, thematic exploration and sheer emotional profundity in seven minutes of 'Who's that woman?' than there has been in the entirety of some Broadway seasons. I know that FOLLIES! gets discussed ad nauseam here, but Lord, what a masterpiece.
by Anonymous | reply 171 | September 6, 2020 9:09 PM |
[quote]the boys tapping in the basement
Is that what they called it in the 70s?
by Anonymous | reply 172 | September 6, 2020 9:16 PM |
[quote]the boys tapping in the basement.
What is it about Sondheim and basements?
by Anonymous | reply 173 | September 6, 2020 9:20 PM |
I tapped that in the basement.
by Anonymous | reply 174 | September 6, 2020 9:21 PM |
They should rewrite FOLLIES! to be about a drag queens instead, drag queens are very popular right now and it would probably be a hot ticket.
Have to think the queens in this thread that can't let go of this fucking production imagine and wish they were the ladies in the show.
Can't see the reason for such obsession otherwise.
by Anonymous | reply 175 | September 6, 2020 9:30 PM |
Rewrite FOLLIES for Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. Megan would be Durant (Plummer) as dining out on getting some glass in her foot is a very Sally thing to do. And Cardi would absolutely tell you about how much Georgian silver she has in the crib.
by Anonymous | reply 176 | September 6, 2020 9:32 PM |
Feel free to talk about something else, r175.
by Anonymous | reply 177 | September 6, 2020 9:34 PM |
Don't be stupid 176
by Anonymous | reply 178 | September 6, 2020 9:34 PM |
I’d say someone should do a production of Follies where Stella transitioned FTM after the Follies. But Come Back...Jimmy Dean kinda already did that, albeit the other way around.
by Anonymous | reply 179 | September 6, 2020 9:35 PM |
A trans Stella should be MTF - easier to get those low tones.
by Anonymous | reply 180 | September 6, 2020 9:36 PM |
I always loved Sondheim's original concept for the number where the women had to work around the fact that one of their dance partners had died in the years since. I could see that working well in a film version.
by Anonymous | reply 181 | September 6, 2020 10:36 PM |
I thought there was a thread dedicated to Follies exclusively. Of course, no one can find it because of the laughable, non-existent search function.
by Anonymous | reply 182 | September 7, 2020 12:28 AM |
There was. But this is the Theatre Gossip Thread. We talk about FOLLIES here.
by Anonymous | reply 183 | September 7, 2020 12:30 AM |
[quote]But this is the Theatre Gossip Thread. We talk about FOLLIES here.
And almost nothing else.
by Anonymous | reply 184 | September 7, 2020 2:26 AM |
[Quote] And almost nothing else.
You're welcome to introduce a new topic.
by Anonymous | reply 185 | September 7, 2020 2:27 AM |
R181, Michael Bennett used the concept to much more powerful advantage in ACL when in the final lineup, there is now an empty space where Paul had been.
by Anonymous | reply 186 | September 7, 2020 2:29 AM |
Someone dies in ACL?
by Anonymous | reply 187 | September 7, 2020 2:34 AM |
[quote]Someone dies in ACL?
Yes. When Sheila doesn't get the job, she pulls out a gun and fires at Val. Unfortunately, the bullet bounces off Val's fake tits and hits Morales. It's karma for Morales singing that she felt nothing when Mr. Karp died. Ritchie rushes to Morales' body and reenacts the final moments of West Side Story:. How many bullets, Sheila? One for you? And you? And one left for me? Te Adora, Morales.
by Anonymous | reply 188 | September 7, 2020 2:48 AM |
Rob McClure really is a terrific actor,
by Anonymous | reply 189 | September 7, 2020 2:50 AM |
We haven't talked about FOLLIES in a while. Maybe we could talk about that. More specifically, Westfield High's production.
by Anonymous | reply 190 | September 7, 2020 3:09 AM |
^ Their Ben is a freshman...and has braces.
by Anonymous | reply 191 | September 7, 2020 3:12 AM |
I, sick of these fucking high school productions of Follies with all these untalented kids.
by Anonymous | reply 192 | September 7, 2020 3:14 AM |
It's like the OBC of Merrily.
by Anonymous | reply 193 | September 7, 2020 3:15 AM |
Absolutely nothing to watch on TV. I flipped on Dear John. Haven't watched that since it was first on. It was at this point at 11:00 when Mr. Groener begins to dance. Awwww.
by Anonymous | reply 194 | September 7, 2020 3:24 AM |
"I, sick of these fucking high school productions of Follies with all these untalented kids."
I, sick of Follies.
by Anonymous | reply 195 | September 7, 2020 3:33 AM |
OMG, R194, I just did the exact same thing!!! There was nothing to watch at 11, so I turned to see what was on Antenna TV and started watching "Dear John," which I have not seen in years.
by Anonymous | reply 196 | September 7, 2020 3:46 AM |
A Chorus Line seems so dated to me. I don’t think it would be as powerful now as it was when it premiered.
We are all used to shows about show biz behind the scenes. The shocking elements—gay character, a woman talking about tits and ass—aren’t so shocking anymore
by Anonymous | reply 197 | September 7, 2020 3:55 AM |
[quote]We haven't talked about FOLLIES in a while. Maybe we could talk about that. More specifically, Westfield High's production.
Did Westdale High ever do it? I'm seeing Peter as Ben and Greg as Buddy. Jan as Sally and Marcia as Phyllis. Alice as Hattie or Carlotta.
by Anonymous | reply 198 | September 7, 2020 4:03 AM |
It really was a funny episode, r196. I was laughing out loud at the end. They really did have a well-cast show. Love Jane Carr.
by Anonymous | reply 199 | September 7, 2020 4:16 AM |
Jane Carr is good friends with Joanna Lumley.
by Anonymous | reply 200 | September 7, 2020 4:44 AM |
Jane and Joanna with Elizabeth Knight and Jennifer Croxton (looking like Julie Driscoll).
by Anonymous | reply 201 | September 7, 2020 4:46 AM |
Mary MacGregor died a FOOL!
by Anonymous | reply 202 | September 7, 2020 4:51 AM |
[quote] A Chorus Line seems so dated to me. I don’t think it would be as powerful now as it was when it premiered.
The last Broadway revival smelled of mothballs and wasn’t ideally cast, but City Center did an Encores-like production a year or so ago that was quite wonderful.
by Anonymous | reply 203 | September 7, 2020 9:38 AM |
A good director can make anything seem fresh. Unfortunately, the stage is always suffering a dearth of excellent directors.
by Anonymous | reply 204 | September 7, 2020 10:56 AM |
R203, yes I saw the revival (which I believe was a moment by moment recreation of the original) and it sucked!
No energy, no spark
by Anonymous | reply 205 | September 7, 2020 12:47 PM |
Thank! Now I'm sorry I asked!
by Anonymous | reply 207 | September 7, 2020 1:09 PM |
Frankly, the movie JULIE & JULIA would make a good stage musical, IMO.
by Anonymous | reply 208 | September 7, 2020 1:17 PM |
Anyone have the Old Vic Three Kings with Andrew Scott?
by Anonymous | reply 209 | September 7, 2020 3:05 PM |
[quote]Frankly, the movie JULIE & JULIA would make a good stage musical, IMO.
Because there haven't been nearly enough stage musicals in recent years adapted from movies that were not especially inspired choices to turn into musicals.
by Anonymous | reply 210 | September 7, 2020 3:36 PM |
That Nick Cordero memorial last night was a dreary, sappy, slog. Where were the people he worked with on Broadway? It could have been done in an hour, instead, it stretched out to 2 dry-eyed, sloppy hours, with nothing from best friend Zach Braff, hardly anyone from WAITRESS, and just Richard H. Blake from BRONX TALE. Surely the man deserved better than this. I suspect some people just didn't want to be part of it. And I could have done with a lot less from the wife, especially in those personal videos.
by Anonymous | reply 211 | September 7, 2020 4:13 PM |
That painful Nick Cordero memorial tribute last night was a sappy, overlong slog. Two hours of tributes from "friends", with anecdotes too stupid to have to listen to. Where was Zach Braff, his "best friend", where was jessie Mueller, where was anyone of importance. The wife needed an editor, for this thing could have certainly been done in an hour, without all the videos of her. What was she doing, promoting her own career, or saying goodbye to Nick? I suspect a lot of people refused to participate.
by Anonymous | reply 212 | September 7, 2020 4:18 PM |
I'd prefer Sunnydale High's production of Follies - someone could stake Drusilla as old Heidi half way through One More Kiss .
by Anonymous | reply 213 | September 7, 2020 4:36 PM |
Doubtfire suffers from bad writing. "something rotten" was a B- at best, and that writing team approaches everything like they're writing for The Carol Burnett Show in 1974. It reminded me of watching TOOTSIE -- it was so forced and strained and wearying...
by Anonymous | reply 214 | September 7, 2020 4:54 PM |
Much more appropriate for high schools. I sat through the entire 5 minutes, but I thought the final effect at the end was worth it.
by Anonymous | reply 215 | September 7, 2020 5:23 PM |
R209 Has already been posted on this thread.
by Anonymous | reply 216 | September 7, 2020 6:17 PM |
So how much did The Widow Kloots grift from that "memorial" on top of what she scammed through GoFundMe?
by Anonymous | reply 218 | September 7, 2020 7:11 PM |
Thank you 219, now I can finish watching it.
Someone over at Reddit put it up for viewing for 48 hours and I didn't have time to see the whole thing in one sitting.
by Anonymous | reply 220 | September 7, 2020 10:43 PM |
Some legend finally posted Starstruck on Youtube. Loved it as a gayling, but fuck, it is bizarre. Like an anti musical. And the David Atkins choreography is something else....
by Anonymous | reply 221 | September 8, 2020 1:04 AM |
Why has no one adapted LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE into a musical? It's about warped family traditions, an evil mother, a jealous older sister, and forbidden love. Also, the story features magical elements that are ripe for musicalization. A modern fairy tale set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920).
It was a novel first, so it wouldn't necessarily be a film-to-stage transfer.
by Anonymous | reply 222 | September 8, 2020 3:43 AM |
[Quote] It's about warped family traditions, an evil mother, a jealous older sister, and forbidden love.
It could be a hit if they retitle it "The Kardashians."
by Anonymous | reply 223 | September 8, 2020 3:52 AM |
"The Gabors"
by Anonymous | reply 224 | September 8, 2020 3:57 AM |
"Starstruck" is currently available on Amazon Prime. I saw it years ago in the cinema and enjoyed it a lot. I plan to watch it again soon. I remember it being kind of unusual, funny and just a lot of fun.
by Anonymous | reply 225 | September 8, 2020 4:00 AM |
[Quote] "The Gabors"
Merv and Ryan Seacrest as the forbidden lovers.
by Anonymous | reply 226 | September 8, 2020 4:02 AM |
Like Water For Chocolate: The Musical! has been in development for eons... it premiered almost ten years ago and got OK reviews but nobody seems to care. No idea who this Downs woman is who wrote the score, but the book was by the In The Heights woman. Seems DOA.
by Anonymous | reply 227 | September 8, 2020 4:06 AM |
[Quote] No idea who this Downs woman is who wrote the score
Pretty girl?
by Anonymous | reply 228 | September 8, 2020 4:07 AM |
Why don't these Mexican musicals ever do well? I remember in the early 2000s, there was a Selena musical that was Broadway-bound but never made it.
by Anonymous | reply 229 | September 8, 2020 4:36 AM |
Michael John LaChiusa’s Bernarda Alba was sensational and got rave reviews but only played a limited run at the Mitzi E. Newhouse back in the late 00s. Phylicia Rashad certainly would have received Tony #2 (or #3?) had it transferred but one assumes producers are (expectedly) gun-shy with pieces like that. Daphne Rubin Vega was devastating, as well. Graciela Daniele’s direction was superb. It’s not a fun show (obviously), but a beautiful piece. The cast album is excellent.
by Anonymous | reply 230 | September 8, 2020 5:59 AM |
Why hasn’t Chocolat been turned into a musical?
by Anonymous | reply 231 | September 8, 2020 12:37 PM |
Thanks, R216, I missed it earlier. If anyone else wants Andrew Scott in Three Kings it's at R108.
by Anonymous | reply 233 | September 8, 2020 2:26 PM |
Does anybody have a link to the full NT Follies?
by Anonymous | reply 234 | September 8, 2020 3:19 PM |
It's when I hear shit like that "Abracadabra" and I don't understand why people think Cole Porter was a genius.
by Anonymous | reply 235 | September 8, 2020 3:23 PM |
Glad to see this thread back. Last night I actually thought it had been deleted for some reason. It dropped off my watch list, which has happened before, but this time I could not find it at all using the search function. No matter what word(s) I put in, nothing came up, so who the hell knows.
by Anonymous | reply 236 | September 8, 2020 3:23 PM |
[quote]It's when I hear shit like that "Abracadabra" and I don't understand why people think Cole Porter was a genius.
Maybe because they're more musically educated than you are and have heard other Porter songs like "So in Love," "Just One of Those Things," "Begin the Beguine," "I Get a Kick Out of You," "You're the Top," "They Couldn't Compare to You" etc etc and all the dozens and dozens of songs that attest to his genius. "Abracadabra" is grade D Porter, from one of his worst shows.
by Anonymous | reply 237 | September 8, 2020 3:51 PM |
[quote] Why hasn’t Chocolat been turned into a musical?
Because tourists don't want to see it
by Anonymous | reply 238 | September 8, 2020 4:12 PM |
[Quote] I could not find it at all using the search function. No matter what word(s) I put in, nothing came up, so who the hell knows.
Use Google.
by Anonymous | reply 240 | September 8, 2020 5:05 PM |
The Porter is a silly throwaway but give me Abracadabra over Alba any day of the week.
by Anonymous | reply 241 | September 8, 2020 6:42 PM |
I think Abracadabra is a lot of fun, and June sure puts it over. At least it has craft, something most new songs don't have at all.
by Anonymous | reply 242 | September 8, 2020 6:46 PM |
Here’s another fun June Havoc song from Mexican Hayride. It’s more typical Porter-y
by Anonymous | reply 246 | September 8, 2020 7:21 PM |
Was "Sadie Thompson" recorded?
by Anonymous | reply 247 | September 8, 2020 7:26 PM |
R238 The movie was a critical and box office hit and was nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture.
by Anonymous | reply 248 | September 8, 2020 7:27 PM |
I know that most people here already know this, but for the few who don't, June Havoc began her career as a child star in vaudeville. She was known as Baby June and her sister Louise was also in her act.
by Anonymous | reply 249 | September 8, 2020 7:30 PM |
[quote]R245 Candide
I just skipped around through that here and there, but right from the first song the tempos seem unnecessarily slow.
I think that show is more fun with a sprightly quality.
by Anonymous | reply 250 | September 8, 2020 7:30 PM |
[quote] Was "Sadie Thompson" recorded?
Not with June it wasn’t, unfortunately. A few years ago, there was a studio recording, but the boring & inappropriate Melissa Errico sang the title role.
by Anonymous | reply 251 | September 8, 2020 7:37 PM |
[quote] Was "Sadie Thompson" recorded?
Not with June it wasn’t, unfortunately. A few years ago, there was a studio recording, but the boring & inappropriate Melissa Errico sang the title role.
by Anonymous | reply 252 | September 8, 2020 7:37 PM |
Thanks, r252. For you, r247...
It's not a very memorable score, alas.
by Anonymous | reply 253 | September 8, 2020 7:41 PM |
Dolores Gray recorded a couple of the numbers for Ben Bagley.
by Anonymous | reply 254 | September 8, 2020 7:43 PM |
[quote]I know that most people here already know this, but for the few who don't, June Havoc began her career as a child star in vaudeville. She was known as Baby June and her sister Louise was also in her act.
Gee -- now why hasn't someone turned THAT story into a musical!
by Anonymous | reply 256 | September 8, 2020 7:45 PM |
I see that my quip about Sondheim's book has been regifted as a thread title.
by Anonymous | reply 257 | September 8, 2020 7:46 PM |
At least June got a Hirschfeld out of it...
by Anonymous | reply 258 | September 8, 2020 7:49 PM |
R249 interesting that June was able to transition from vaudeville to Broadway, but her sister had to go the way of burlesque. Was it as difficult for vaudevellians to transition like that after vaudeville ended as it was for silent movie actors to transition to talkies when the silent era ended?
by Anonymous | reply 259 | September 8, 2020 7:52 PM |
"The Men From The Boys" is not very good. It doesn't really go anywhere and is rather dull. Sequels sometimes just do NOT work because the story has already been told and is finished.
by Anonymous | reply 260 | September 8, 2020 7:53 PM |
Didn't Louise make Broadway before June?
by Anonymous | reply 261 | September 8, 2020 7:56 PM |
Between Vaudeville and Broadway, June had to do the marathons, r259. And don't you remember? Louise was the one with *no* talent.
by Anonymous | reply 262 | September 8, 2020 8:00 PM |
WaPo: New York City can’t rebound without Broadway. And Broadway’s road back is uncertain:
by Anonymous | reply 263 | September 8, 2020 8:04 PM |
"Sequels sometimes just do NOT work because the story has already been told and is finished."
Such as the totally unnecessary sequel to Chinatown, The Two Jakes. J.J Gittes, like Maria at the end of WSS (as astutely observed by Richard Rodgers), is, spiritually speaking, dead. GIttes' (spoiler alert) inability to save Mrs. Mulwray in the wake of an earlier tragedy in his life is the final chapter of the story and there is nothing more to say.
by Anonymous | reply 264 | September 8, 2020 8:08 PM |
r261 - June's first Broadway appearance was in Forbidden Melody (Nov 02, 1936 - Nov 28, 1936). Louise's was under the name Rose Louise as "Girl in Compartment" in Hot-Cha! (Mar 08, 1932 - Jun 18, 1932).
by Anonymous | reply 265 | September 8, 2020 8:27 PM |
I'm reading Andrew Lloyd-Webber's autobio (I'm late to the party). I'm up to the point of JCS moving to Broadway. He says that he auditioned Bette Midler and was blown away by her version of "I Don't Know How To Love Him" and she would have gotten the role if he hadn't already promised it to Yvonne Elliman.
by Anonymous | reply 267 | September 9, 2020 12:30 AM |
Why was he auditioning Bette in the first place then?
by Anonymous | reply 268 | September 9, 2020 12:32 AM |
r268
understudy? future replacement?
by Anonymous | reply 269 | September 9, 2020 12:33 AM |
R269 But Yvonne wasn't going to be her own understudy or replacement, so Midler could've been cast as those.
by Anonymous | reply 270 | September 9, 2020 12:35 AM |
Robert Stigwood Organization (RSO) produced the original Broadway production. Pete Brown, who was basically the overseer of ALW and the JCS project, asked him to audition Bette as a favor.
Bette only got the audition because there were a lot of gay men involved in the producing side of things.
by Anonymous | reply 271 | September 9, 2020 12:49 AM |
Gay men? In the theatah?! I’m shocked, I tell you. Shocked.
by Anonymous | reply 272 | September 9, 2020 10:08 AM |
r272
in the legitimate theatah though?
by Anonymous | reply 273 | September 9, 2020 10:15 AM |
Stigwood's company owned the film rights. The efforts to get a film made went on for years. At one point Ken Russell wanted to direct Liza Minnelli in a film version and the Stigwood org produced an extended screen test.
For whatever reason, Stigwood ruled Liza out and that caused Russell to drop out. But that screen test survives somewhere and is legendary. It's known to exist in a few private collections and probably in whatever archives there are of the Stigwood org, but it has never leaked on the net or anywhere else for the rest of us to see.
by Anonymous | reply 274 | September 9, 2020 10:30 AM |
R274 is referring to Evita, by the way. Not JCS. Would love to see that screen test!
by Anonymous | reply 275 | September 9, 2020 11:25 AM |
Jeshush Chrisht Shupershtar!
by Anonymous | reply 276 | September 9, 2020 11:58 AM |
Liza didn't sound like Sean Connery back then!
by Anonymous | reply 277 | September 9, 2020 2:31 PM |
Does anyone have Curious Incident of the Dog? It was posted before, but the search is not bringing it up.
by Anonymous | reply 278 | September 9, 2020 3:05 PM |
The video of Curious incident is distorted. If you down load it and widen it to fit screen, it will undistort it.
I have it but cannot upload it. But it is out there.
by Anonymous | reply 279 | September 9, 2020 3:50 PM |
Whom would you theater aficionados cast in the all-black version of " Follies"?
by Anonymous | reply 280 | September 9, 2020 4:37 PM |
Clarke Peters has already played Benjamin Stone, right?
by Anonymous | reply 281 | September 9, 2020 4:40 PM |
Peters dropped out of Follies before it was performed
by Anonymous | reply 282 | September 9, 2020 4:53 PM |
Beyonce *is* Phyllis Rogers Stone
Queen Latifah *is* Stella
by Anonymous | reply 283 | September 9, 2020 5:01 PM |
Brandy as Sally, Monica as Phyllis. Ray J as the waiter.
by Anonymous | reply 284 | September 9, 2020 5:02 PM |
Damn, Andrew Scott is good.
Thanks r244
Hope I get to see him on stage some day.
by Anonymous | reply 285 | September 9, 2020 5:21 PM |
Leslie Uggams would have made a great Sally when she was younger. Now she could probably do Hattie perhaps.
by Anonymous | reply 286 | September 9, 2020 5:34 PM |
Diahann Carroll might have made a good Phyllis.
by Anonymous | reply 287 | September 9, 2020 5:36 PM |
I would happily watch Andrew Scott read the user manual for my blender.
by Anonymous | reply 288 | September 9, 2020 5:39 PM |
Kathleen Battle for Heidi (but warning: she does not play well with others).
by Anonymous | reply 289 | September 9, 2020 5:44 PM |
Carol Channing (who was part black) might have made a fun Stella.
by Anonymous | reply 290 | September 9, 2020 5:45 PM |
Ruth Pointer might be a fun Stella.
by Anonymous | reply 291 | September 9, 2020 5:45 PM |
James Earl Jones as Dmitri Weismann.
by Anonymous | reply 292 | September 9, 2020 5:46 PM |
Lonette McKee might have made a great Sally.
by Anonymous | reply 293 | September 9, 2020 5:47 PM |
or Marilyn McCoo
by Anonymous | reply 294 | September 9, 2020 5:47 PM |
I guess Audra as Stella perhaps? Sorry but Sally does not look like a linebacker.
by Anonymous | reply 295 | September 9, 2020 5:48 PM |
Eddie Murphy as Buddy
by Anonymous | reply 296 | September 9, 2020 5:49 PM |
Baayork Lee as Stella is a possibility -- and the 4 foot 10 would look cute surrounded by bigger dames.
by Anonymous | reply 297 | September 9, 2020 5:50 PM |
Oh, sorry, it was all-black -- but if open to other POCs, Baayork should be considered. Plus it was a Michael Bennett show, and she's made a post-"A Chorus Line" career restaging it around the world.
by Anonymous | reply 298 | September 9, 2020 5:52 PM |
Leslie Uggams as Carlotta, just so we can watch her forget the lyrics to "I'm Still Here".
by Anonymous | reply 299 | September 9, 2020 6:04 PM |
Speaking of Carlotta forgetting lyrics, does anyone have the OLC video bootleg of "Follies"?
by Anonymous | reply 300 | September 9, 2020 6:13 PM |
Norm Lewis as Ben; Jamie Foxx as Buddy.
by Anonymous | reply 301 | September 9, 2020 6:23 PM |
The divine Vivian Reed as Carlotta! Can you imagine...!
by Anonymous | reply 302 | September 9, 2020 6:25 PM |
Redd Foxx might have been fun as Buddy and Moms Mabley as Hattie
by Anonymous | reply 304 | September 9, 2020 6:43 PM |
Hattie McDaniel as Hattie (or Stella) since we're considered long-gone black performers, too. And Butterfly McQueen for the one Hattie didn't play.
by Anonymous | reply 305 | September 9, 2020 6:45 PM |
Is that the forty-leventh script revision of Candide, sorry, Cahndeed, at R307? The Cunegonde is waaaay too old, but the orchestra sounds fantastic. Nice to see Nickolas Grace as Voltaire/Pangloss/Etc.
by Anonymous | reply 309 | September 9, 2020 7:19 PM |
^ Nickolas is having a ball.
by Anonymous | reply 310 | September 9, 2020 7:20 PM |
^ Nickolas is having a ball.
by Anonymous | reply 311 | September 9, 2020 7:20 PM |
Is that Sienna Miller in your link, R308? What the hell is that show?
by Anonymous | reply 312 | September 9, 2020 8:54 PM |
Clarke Peters was too short for Ben, anyway.
by Anonymous | reply 313 | September 9, 2020 8:57 PM |
Gregory Hines for Buddy!
by Anonymous | reply 314 | September 9, 2020 8:59 PM |
R312 It is hell....on earth.
by Anonymous | reply 315 | September 9, 2020 8:59 PM |
Flip Wilson as Geraldine as Stella!
by Anonymous | reply 316 | September 9, 2020 8:59 PM |
Lena Horne IS—WAS—Phyllis. And in this production, let Phyllis sing I'm Still Here.
Ethel Waters as Stella
Josephine Baker as Hattie
Dorothy Dandridge as Sally
by Anonymous | reply 317 | September 9, 2020 9:32 PM |
I guess Follies with an all dead cast might have a certain charm.
by Anonymous | reply 318 | September 9, 2020 9:33 PM |
Josephine Baker is a Solange.
by Anonymous | reply 319 | September 9, 2020 9:35 PM |
(Young) Jimmie "J.J. Walker or Fred Berry (Rerun from "What's Happening") as Buddy, LaWanda Page (Aunt Esther) as Stella (doing it like a revival meeting), Clifton Davis as Ben, Shirley Hemphill (*What's Happening) as Hattie
by Anonymous | reply 320 | September 9, 2020 9:42 PM |
Jimmie Walker would insist on Ann Coulter as Phyllis.
by Anonymous | reply 321 | September 9, 2020 9:43 PM |
Young Harry Belafonte as Ben, now as Dmitri Weissman
by Anonymous | reply 322 | September 9, 2020 9:46 PM |
Shirley Bassey as Carlotta.
by Anonymous | reply 323 | September 9, 2020 9:47 PM |
Ben Vereen doing Bolero D'Amour with Judith Jamison
by Anonymous | reply 324 | September 9, 2020 9:47 PM |
Nell Carter as Sally.
by Anonymous | reply 325 | September 9, 2020 9:49 PM |
Brian Stokes Mitchell (remember him?) as Ben.
by Anonymous | reply 326 | September 9, 2020 9:52 PM |
Vanessa Williams as Phyllis.
Viola Davis as Sally.
by Anonymous | reply 327 | September 9, 2020 9:53 PM |
Cleavon Little as Ben
Josephine Premice as Carlotta
by Anonymous | reply 328 | September 9, 2020 9:55 PM |
Harolyn Blackwell as Heidi.
by Anonymous | reply 329 | September 9, 2020 9:59 PM |
Della Reese as Stella
by Anonymous | reply 330 | September 9, 2020 10:07 PM |
Lonette McKee as Phyllis
by Anonymous | reply 331 | September 9, 2020 10:07 PM |
This all-black Follies idea is worse than Covid.
by Anonymous | reply 332 | September 9, 2020 10:35 PM |
An all black FOLLIES cast has a greater chance of being wiped out by Covid.
by Anonymous | reply 333 | September 9, 2020 10:39 PM |
R243 thank you for sharing!
by Anonymous | reply 334 | September 9, 2020 10:59 PM |
I’d rather see an all-Black Carrie before an all-Black Follies, if I’m being honest.
by Anonymous | reply 335 | September 9, 2020 11:47 PM |
Countess Vaughan as Carrie.
by Anonymous | reply 336 | September 9, 2020 11:49 PM |
I liked Follies with ILL cast. Lucy/Phyllis, Viv/Sally, Ricky/Ben, Fred/Buddy, Mrs Trumbul as Hattie.
by Anonymous | reply 337 | September 10, 2020 12:37 AM |
And drunk Joan Crawford lipsyncing "I'm Still Here."
by Anonymous | reply 338 | September 10, 2020 12:41 AM |
Moms Mabley would have rocked as Hattie!
by Anonymous | reply 339 | September 10, 2020 12:42 AM |
Former vaudevillian Frawley would have done the definite Buddy's Blues.
by Anonymous | reply 340 | September 10, 2020 12:45 AM |
Maybe heaven is just a well produced production of Follies with a rotating cast of legends stepping into the roles.
by Anonymous | reply 341 | September 10, 2020 12:51 AM |
Heaven Follies has THE BEST Loveland!
by Anonymous | reply 342 | September 10, 2020 12:52 AM |
Just when you thought yet another discussion of "Follies" couldn't get any more tedious than all the others on DL.
by Anonymous | reply 343 | September 10, 2020 12:55 AM |
I need a drink after all the Follies! talk.
Does nobody like me!!!
Merrily
by Anonymous | reply 344 | September 10, 2020 12:56 AM |
[quote]I know one can't and shouldn't critique an entire project based on a poorly-recorded five-minute excerpt. But Jesus fucking Christ: Mrs Doubtfire looks like an abortion.
Sadly, I have to agree. Is that actually the voice Rob McClure actually uses as Mrs. Doubtfire? That's incredible. Other male actors in drag have managed to create the impression that they were women without speaking in ridiculous, stereotypical, high-pitched voices -- Santino Fontana comes immediately to mind -- but McClure sounds so much like a guy that no one would ever believe he was a woman as soon as he opened his mouth. Very surprising.
[quote]With scant exceptions, the American musical was dead long before March of this year.
Not quite dead, because of those few shining exceptions. But those few shining exceptions have become fewer and fewer in recent seasons.
by Anonymous | reply 345 | September 10, 2020 2:26 AM |
"Maybe heaven is just a well produced production of Follies with a rotating cast of legends stepping into the roles."
It will be when I get there. I hope Hal isn't stuffing it up already.
by Anonymous | reply 346 | September 10, 2020 2:14 PM |
Stuffing it up whom?
by Anonymous | reply 347 | September 10, 2020 2:15 PM |
They should retool "Mrs. Doubtfire" for Chris Colfer. He can do a convincing lady voice. They could also make the dad bi.
by Anonymous | reply 348 | September 10, 2020 2:16 PM |
What we need is a version of Mrs. Doubtfire where the dad learns, via dressing as a woman, that he’s actually trans. It ends with him proudly transitioning and becoming the fierce and beautiful Ms. Doubtfire. (If McClure wants to continue in the role, he’ll need to have his cock chopped off. A small price to pay for winning the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Acting Non-Gendered Person in a Musical.)
by Anonymous | reply 349 | September 10, 2020 2:21 PM |
Tiffany Haddish as Carrie, Mo'nique as Mom
by Anonymous | reply 350 | September 10, 2020 2:31 PM |
I remember how good Larry Kert looked at one point dressed almost topless in a Tarzan costume during one number in "Music, Music!" at City Center years ago!
by Anonymous | reply 352 | September 10, 2020 3:53 PM |
It's sad that so many Black artists can be named (for Follies) from years gone by but no one has replaced them. It's not quite the same for white artists but it's not like there is a long list there either.
What happened to talent?
by Anonymous | reply 353 | September 10, 2020 4:11 PM |
Brantley is finally going!!! Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out! So, who will the Times replace him with? PRAY it isn't that pompous, ridiculous idiot, Hilton Als.
by Anonymous | reply 354 | September 10, 2020 4:13 PM |
What happened to talent?
Electronic media. The camera demands bone structure. We are now awash in photogenic people whose only talent is being photogenic. The stage demands talent, but the stage is irrelevant to modern show business and the modern stage is nearly irrelevant to our culture. Since there are insufficient opportunities in live performance, talent does not grow, does not develop. Even worse, live performance does not attract great talent in large numbers. Live theater will always be around, in some form. But it no longer has any economic importance. And without it, not much happens there.
by Anonymous | reply 355 | September 10, 2020 4:18 PM |
Brantley is getting out before Mrs. Doubtfire gets to NYC. And who could blame him?
by Anonymous | reply 356 | September 10, 2020 4:19 PM |
I think you can pretty much count on Als. Alas.
by Anonymous | reply 357 | September 10, 2020 4:24 PM |
[quote] What happened to talent?
People who had no taste were put in charge.
by Anonymous | reply 358 | September 10, 2020 4:38 PM |
Yes. Have you seen who's been running the casting couch in recent decades?
by Anonymous | reply 359 | September 10, 2020 4:53 PM |
r355 In these past lockdown months as I have begun acquainting myself with theater I did notice that Broadway has leaned toward casting for looks as well in some cases. Since you really do need to sing if you are in a musical these good looking people have the singing chops but may not have any charisma or any true acting chops to go with it.
I do get that productions worry less about how good an actor someone is if they can bring the vocals as needed. For me I'd be happy with a plain leading man or lady who has a great voice, stage presence and deliver a good acting performance.
I was watching Bernadette Peters in Hello Dolly last night thinking that the woman who plays Irene Malloy might make a great Dolly Levi. I also thought the same thing of Heidi Blickenstaff who played Bea in Something Rotten. Both women know how to give a performance and have good voices and because of their acting abilities could create a memorable Dolly, memorable in a good way.
BP's voice is not up to the task at all but she makes up for it by being Bernadette Peters and she knows how to create some sweet moments because she's a good actress.
I've included the link I was watching for Dolly.
by Anonymous | reply 360 | September 10, 2020 5:01 PM |
Broadway musicals, in the past several years, seem to ALWAYS place vocals above acting. I guess that's what you get in the American Idol zeitgeist.
by Anonymous | reply 361 | September 10, 2020 5:06 PM |
Merging choruses (dancing chorus/ensemble, singing chorus) was the death knell. By the same token, demanding "true" triple threats fucked up the game.
by Anonymous | reply 362 | September 10, 2020 5:07 PM |
A Jack of all Threats is a master of None.
by Anonymous | reply 363 | September 10, 2020 5:09 PM |
[Quote] Broadway musicals, in the past several years, seem to ALWAYS place vocals above acting. I guess that's what you get in the American Idol zeitgeist.
As someone has pointed out before, the Super Musicals of the 1970s/1980s, particularly ALW, put emphasis on the production. The production is what was sold around the world. Performers had to slot in but the production was the star. "Wicked" is the descendant of that.
by Anonymous | reply 364 | September 10, 2020 5:09 PM |
[quote]Broadway musicals, in the past several years, seem to ALWAYS place vocals above acting. I guess that's what you get in the American Idol zeitgeist.
This has been the case since the sung-through musicals came on the scene in the late 1970s. It used to be they cast actors who could sometimes sing.
You listen to Mary Martin and she didn't have a spectacular voice. Gwen Verdon had a huge wobble in her voice. Ethel Merman had power but no subtlety. Roz Russell barely had seven notes. Same for Gertrude Lawrence (listen to The King & I, some of the most beautiful theater music all within a seven note range).
by Anonymous | reply 365 | September 10, 2020 5:14 PM |
R365 I mostly agree with you, but I think Merman had more than just power. She didn't sing softly very often (and her soft was probably ten times louder than anyone else's), but I think she sounds lovely singing Gypsy's "Small World" and some of the love songs in Annie Get Your Gun.
And Barbara Cook could certainly sing AND act.
by Anonymous | reply 366 | September 10, 2020 5:20 PM |
[quote] And Barbara Cook could certainly sing AND act.
I agree with you, but Barbara Cook never entered the mainstream conscious. She was never as high profile as Mary and Ethel and the other Golden Age broads.
by Anonymous | reply 367 | September 10, 2020 5:27 PM |
[quote]As someone has pointed out before, the Super Musicals of the 1970s/1980s, particularly ALW, put emphasis on the production. The production is what was sold around the world. Performers had to slot in but the production was the star. "Wicked" is the descendant of that.
Personally I think that strategy failed. Again I'm not a long time theater goer and I'm still not a theater goer just watching bootlegs on the internet, but it matters to me the performance being delivered.
I've said before I hated Phantom because I knew theater queens in the 80's who tried to get me to love it and I just didn't. But seeing Phantom at the Royal Albert Hall was amazing due to Sierra Boggess and Ramin Karimloo's chemistry. They put on a great performance, the kind I'd expect to see going to the theater. You don't get that just switching people around like game pieces. Shows should be cast in order to find exactly that kind of chemistry between performers, it adds a layer to the larger than life spectacle of the show.
Is money the reason they want revolving casts? They can change leads before they can ask for more money?
by Anonymous | reply 368 | September 10, 2020 5:41 PM |
[quote]r353 BP's voice is not up to the task at all but she makes up for it by being Bernadette Peters and she knows how to create some sweet moments because she's a good actress.
Bernadette PETERS is a goddamn aging MOON CALF who CRIES during every song she's ever SUNG!
by Anonymous | reply 369 | September 10, 2020 5:45 PM |
Bernadette did SITPWG off Broadway in shitty conditions for no money because she believed in Sondheim and wanted to help him restart. We should all be grateful.
by Anonymous | reply 371 | September 10, 2020 6:11 PM |
She has Reba's Tony.
by Anonymous | reply 372 | September 10, 2020 6:12 PM |
Incidentally, remember when the Tonys created a Best Replacement category circa 2006 but didn't nominate anyone that year. By the following season, they had already eliminated the category. WTF was that all about?
by Anonymous | reply 373 | September 10, 2020 6:15 PM |
Bernadette Peters is a god-damned national TREASURE, bitch. She has been the single biggest Broadway star for the last 50 years.
by Anonymous | reply 374 | September 10, 2020 6:25 PM |
Thanks for posting Bernadette's Dolly, R360. She was miles better than Betty Buckley who I saw on the tour. Gotta say, I got a little misty-eyed watching the production numbers in that bootleg. Guess I just miss good musicals, even the cornball ones. Also, does Gavin Creel have an I Don't Do Bootlegs clause in his contract? His understudy was on when someone recorded the Dolly bootleg with Bette. No complaints about the understudy, of course. And that Charlie Stemp is pretty cute. Perfect role for him.
by Anonymous | reply 375 | September 10, 2020 6:38 PM |
Don't we think Jesse Green will end up with the slot? Hilton Als doesn't write for the average NYT reader.
by Anonymous | reply 376 | September 10, 2020 6:50 PM |
I would sooner Walter Kerr came back from the grave than the navel-gazing Als become the Times' lead theater critic. (And if they can resurrect Kerr, can they bring back Al Hirschfeld, too?)
by Anonymous | reply 377 | September 10, 2020 6:52 PM |
Remember when Margo Jefferson was the second string theatre critic? That was a fuckin nightmare....Speaking of deposed TIMES theatre critics, did Isherwood's firing ever go to arbitration? What happened?
by Anonymous | reply 378 | September 10, 2020 7:00 PM |
R375 Gavin Creel is absent on the (one-and-only widely-circulated) videos of "Dolly!" with Bette and Bernadette. There are, however, three with Donna Murphy, and Creel does manage to appear on the first two.
by Anonymous | reply 379 | September 10, 2020 7:01 PM |
r365 - But when Gwen wobbled with her legs she was magic, r365. Actually I found her to have a very warm and winning musical theater voice and it wasn't all that wobbly in the '50s.
by Anonymous | reply 380 | September 10, 2020 7:08 PM |
Als is Black. It will be him.
by Anonymous | reply 382 | September 10, 2020 7:18 PM |
There has to be a part for ME in Follies. I would make sure it was a financial hit, unlike the other lame productions.
by Anonymous | reply 383 | September 10, 2020 7:29 PM |
[quote]Actually I found her to have a very warm and winning musical theater voice and it wasn't all that wobbly in the '50s.
All that vibrato made theater patrons seasick. I actually think the wobble in later years came because she was a high-vibrato singer. The vibrato turned into wobble.
by Anonymous | reply 387 | September 10, 2020 8:08 PM |
Oh, here's that Cavett interview with Shirley Booth I watched a while back.
by Anonymous | reply 388 | September 10, 2020 8:09 PM |
Re the question of there being no contemporary black theatre stars who could do Follies, Cynthia Erivo as Phyllis and Audra as Sally. Someone already mentioned Brian Stokes Mitchell as Ben, although he’s going to age out of being right for it soon.
by Anonymous | reply 389 | September 10, 2020 9:06 PM |
Gwen's voice started off quite strong in "Damn Yankees" and she even had some head voice in her one sung recorded song in "Can-Can". She was a wonderful singing actress, as well as of course, an incredible dancer. She studied with Sanford Meisner and got reviews for "New Girl in Town" that compared her Anna Christie favorably to Greta Garbo's! So her voice was tired by "Chicago" -- she was otherwise terrific.
by Anonymous | reply 390 | September 10, 2020 9:21 PM |
R386, that was in January at the Montalban in LA.
by Anonymous | reply 391 | September 10, 2020 9:26 PM |
There are no stars on Broadway these days. Even Peters and LuPone can't guarantee a big turnout. This is why they always end up casting big movie or TV stars to step into shows if they want to make money. Sometimes, they're perfect for the roles anyway on top of being big box office bait like Bette Midler in Dolly and, sometimes, they're an untalented Real Housewife stepping into Chicago for a month or so to give business a boost.
A lot of the younger performers are very talented in a bland way, but none of them are stars or have enough charisma to carry a show. They can sing, act, and dance as well as one another but none of them stand out. Someone like Gavin Creel or Jonathan Groff come to mind. They're undeniably talented, but I never remember their performances after the show has been over for an hour or two. They leave no impression except that they didn't embarrass themselves and sang in key.
by Anonymous | reply 392 | September 10, 2020 9:27 PM |
Gwen sounded like a granny on the Sweet Charity OBC. It's especially obvious when compared to Juliet Prowse on the OLC. Verdon is still her endearing self but it takes me out of the story to think Granny is on the game...
by Anonymous | reply 393 | September 10, 2020 9:28 PM |
[quote] [R386], that was in January at the Montalban in LA.
And it was a huge flop. They canceled a few performances due to lackluster ticket sales and the thing only ran for two weeks to begin with.
by Anonymous | reply 397 | September 10, 2020 10:07 PM |
You mean the Huntington Hartford, r391.
by Anonymous | reply 398 | September 10, 2020 10:15 PM |
Women Behind Bars was produced to be videoed. It was a big, glossy production with a great cast, and cameras everywhere.
They even asked the audience to stay for reaction shots.
I do look forward to seeing the video, but the show has not aged well.
by Anonymous | reply 400 | September 10, 2020 10:47 PM |
[quote]You mean the Huntington Hartford
I only go back to the "Doolittle" era, r398.
by Anonymous | reply 401 | September 10, 2020 11:21 PM |
[quote]Cynthia Erivo as Phyllis and Audra as Sally...
You've got backward R389. Cynthia would be a terrific Sally, and Audra would be her match as Phyllis (if only she could dance...)
by Anonymous | reply 402 | September 10, 2020 11:27 PM |
r402
she could do ah but underneath or uptown dowtown(which has one of my favorite Sondheim lyrics even though it's a n embarrassing lyric) which have their charm
by Anonymous | reply 403 | September 10, 2020 11:40 PM |
[quote]Live theater will always be around, in some form. But it no longer has any economic importance. And without it, not much happens there.
Well, that's not true. Theater is still (obviously) tremendously important to NYC economically, as has become all the more evident in the current crisis. The profits to be earned on Broadway are obviously far smaller than the potential profits from film, TV, and other media, but that is not news.
[quote]Merman had more than just power. She didn't sing softly very often (and her soft was probably ten times louder than anyone else's), but I think she sounds lovely singing Gypsy's "Small World" and some of the love songs in Annie Get Your Gun.
I generally agree with you about Merman, but it is still true that she almost never sang softly and lyrically. As evidenced by a live recording of her in GYPSY, she sings "Small World" VERY differently on the cast album than she did in the show, and even the arrangement and orchestration is different.
by Anonymous | reply 404 | September 11, 2020 12:34 AM |
[quote]All that vibrato made theater patrons seasick. I actually think the wobble in later years came because she was a high-vibrato singer. The vibrato turned into wobble.
You don't really know what you're talking about. If you listen to Verdon's singing on her earlier cast recordings, like CAN-CAN and DAMN YANKEES, she was not a "high-vibrato singer" in those days. Her severe vocal deterioration in her later years was for other reasons.
[quote]A lot of the younger performers are very talented in a bland way, but none of them are stars or have enough charisma to carry a show. They can sing, act, and dance as well as one another but none of them stand out. Someone like Gavin Creel or Jonathan Groff come to mind. They're undeniably talented, but I never remember their performances after the show has been over for an hour or two. They leave no impression except that they didn't embarrass themselves and sang in key.
Jonathan Groff is a big theater star, as evidenced by the sold-out status of LITTLE SHOP while he was in it. He also sold huge lots of tickets to a whole new audience at the 92Y when he did that Bobby Darin show there. Gavin Creel may not sell lots of tickets on his name alone, but has exceptionally beautiful singing voice and sings very well in several different styles, plus he's a very appealing actor.
by Anonymous | reply 405 | September 11, 2020 1:38 AM |
The majority of people in musical theatre "perform." And that is not acting.
by Anonymous | reply 406 | September 11, 2020 1:46 AM |
It won’t be Als; it will be a woman.
by Anonymous | reply 407 | September 11, 2020 2:05 AM |
Jackee!
by Anonymous | reply 408 | September 11, 2020 2:11 AM |
[quote]The majority of people in musical theatre "perform." And that is not acting.
That's a whopping generalization, and a silly and disrespectful one. Of course, the right style of acting for a show depends on the style of that particular show. The acting required for DEAR EVAN HANSEN is a lot different than the style that's required and appropriate for THE BOOK OF MORMON, or for that matter, for CHICAGO or THE MUSIC MAN.
by Anonymous | reply 409 | September 11, 2020 2:15 AM |
[quote] You've got backward
I don’t think so, Cynthia Erivo is sleek beautiful, and arrogant. She’s a Phyllis. Audra is given to slight overweight and can easily play vulnerable. Plus Audra’s voice is more suited to Sally’s “soprano-with-some-major-low-notes” range.
by Anonymous | reply 410 | September 11, 2020 2:16 AM |
Perhaps,R409. But in any style, the truth of the character being portrayed has to come through or there is nothing but performance. It might as well be baton twirling.
by Anonymous | reply 411 | September 11, 2020 2:17 AM |
The only way Cynthia Erivo could play Phyllis is if "Sally" was in a wheelchair. Cyn is a midget.
by Anonymous | reply 412 | September 11, 2020 2:18 AM |
[quote] Her severe vocal deterioration in her later years was for other reasons.
Primarily smoking.
by Anonymous | reply 413 | September 11, 2020 2:19 AM |
r409 singers who want to be onstage often THINK they can act, but the majority have no idea how to truly inhabit a character.
by Anonymous | reply 414 | September 11, 2020 2:20 AM |
R409 the difference between those styles, for most musical theater performers, is how loud they are and how often they let themselves face front.
by Anonymous | reply 415 | September 11, 2020 2:22 AM |
[quote]Singers who want to be onstage often THINK they can act, but the majority have no idea how to truly inhabit a character.
"The majority?" Have you done a study of this? How much a of a majority? 51 percent? 63 percent? 90 percent? Please enlighten us.
by Anonymous | reply 416 | September 11, 2020 2:58 AM |
r416 works at Telsey
by Anonymous | reply 417 | September 11, 2020 3:03 AM |
R414 is the typical DL theatre queen who makes pronouncements and deigns to declare to us his ultimate, & only correct, opinion on what bad actors musical theatre actors are,
by Anonymous | reply 418 | September 11, 2020 4:16 AM |
[quote]R373 remember when the Tonys created a Best Replacement category circa 2006 but didn't nominate anyone that year. By the following season, they had already eliminated the category. WTF was that all about?
Rudeness!
by Anonymous | reply 419 | September 11, 2020 5:29 AM |
R418 musical theater fosters a culture of performative acting. People who only know that world learn bad habits. Not all are this way, there are some phenomenal actors who also do musicals. But for the most part, their idea of acting is, in my opinion, inferior. There are some great voices, though.
by Anonymous | reply 420 | September 11, 2020 6:52 AM |
r413
who are you talking about?
by Anonymous | reply 421 | September 11, 2020 11:09 AM |
Cynthia Erivo is 33 and looks about 25 onstage - why is anyone suggesting her for Follies? Sharon Clarke on the other hand would be an interesting Sally, she was great in Caroline or Change.
Can Viola Davis sing? She would act the shit out of Gypsy.
Cicely Tyson lip-synching to Audra doing One More Kiss for the movie, honey!
by Anonymous | reply 422 | September 11, 2020 11:55 AM |
Many musical theater performers act very well when singing, but fall flat delivering lines. It must be their musical theater training, where the emphasis is almost exclusively on acting the song.
by Anonymous | reply 423 | September 11, 2020 12:08 PM |
But what of style and idiosyncrasy and star quality? Can it be taught? I've heard directors complain that it seems to be "trained away" in some musical theatre programs. At the same time, remember when directors used to be able truly to help an actor craft a performance?
by Anonymous | reply 424 | September 11, 2020 1:25 PM |
It would be weird for the NYT to add a second full-time theater critic at a time when there's no theater to review. I still haven't figured out what the two full-time movie critics are doing with their time.
by Anonymous | reply 426 | September 11, 2020 2:39 PM |
The coverage about Brantley's departure was clear. They will name a replacement eventually, but will take their time in doing so, due to the pandemic and the lack of need for two full-time co-critics.
by Anonymous | reply 427 | September 11, 2020 2:45 PM |
Fun fact from Andrew Lloyd Webber's autobiography.
In the original recording of Tell Me On A Sunday, Sheldon Bloom's secretary was voiced by DL fave Elaine Stritch!
by Anonymous | reply 429 | September 11, 2020 3:38 PM |
Highly appropriate for a Theatre Gossip thread subtitled "Finishing the Hate," the following was Tweeted by someone yesterday: "Notice how only white people are sending Ben Brantley off with support. That’s who he wrote for, no one else, and that has been the problem the entire time that you all willfully ignore. This is actually gaslighting tbh."
Aside from everything else, I have no idea what "gaslighting" is supposed to mean in this context.
[quote]Many musical theater performers act very well when singing, but fall flat delivering lines. It must be their musical theater training, where the emphasis is almost exclusively on acting the song.
Can you name a few examples of any successful, well-known performers whom you think fit into this category? Because I'm having trouble thinking of any. With such a tremendous talent pool and so many people who can act and sing exceptionally well (and maybe also dance), there is literally no need to hire anyone who can't do both.
by Anonymous | reply 430 | September 11, 2020 3:45 PM |
[quote]"Notice how only white people are sending Ben Brantley off with support.
No, I didn't notice. Only radical leftists; they are the ones who notice a person's skin color, first and foremost.
by Anonymous | reply 431 | September 11, 2020 3:56 PM |
[quote]No, I didn't notice. Only radical leftists; they are the ones who notice a person's skin color, first and foremost.
Bingo.
by Anonymous | reply 432 | September 11, 2020 4:25 PM |
Anyone who claims they do not notice a person's skin color or gender is lying.
by Anonymous | reply 433 | September 11, 2020 4:48 PM |
[quote]They're undeniably talented, but I never remember their performances after the show has been over for an hour or two. They leave no impression except that they didn't embarrass themselves and sang in key.
My feelings about Jessie Mueller.
by Anonymous | reply 434 | September 11, 2020 5:26 PM |
[quote]I have no idea what "gaslighting" is supposed to mean in this context.
It's become the new "mansplaining"
by Anonymous | reply 435 | September 11, 2020 5:26 PM |
Can’t we just hate Ben because he was a star-fucker?
And not in a good way.
by Anonymous | reply 436 | September 11, 2020 5:33 PM |
[quote]My feelings about Jessie Mueller.
Jessie Mueller is one of the most talented performers ever to appear on Broadway. She apparently can sing and act in just about any style, and has been brilliant in roles ranging from Carole King in BEAUTIFUL to Carrie Pipperidge in CAROUSEL. (I didn't love her as Julie Jordan in CAROUSEL, but that wasn't her fault.) A similar type of talent is Stephanie Block. That kind of great, chameleon-like talent is a different kind of talent than that possessed by people like Ethel Merman or Patti LuPone or Carol Channing, but it's not any lesser, just different. And if you can't appreciate it, I weep for you.
[quote]I have no idea what "gaslighting" is supposed to mean in this context. It's become the new "mansplaining"
I looked up "gaslighting" or "gaslight," and it means what I thought it meant: "to manipulate (someone) by psychological means into questioning their own sanity." How that applies to Ben Brantley in any way is beyond me.
by Anonymous | reply 437 | September 11, 2020 5:34 PM |
You know what we haven't discussed in a while? High school productions of FOLLIES with bad wigs.
by Anonymous | reply 438 | September 11, 2020 5:40 PM |
The term comes from an old film of the same name (alternatively called "Angel Street". Very creepy.
by Anonymous | reply 439 | September 11, 2020 5:41 PM |
Ethel Merman, Patti LuPone and Carol Channing were all personalities. Same with Bernadette Peters. They're good when they stay in their wheelhouse, but they're not really actresses who create different characters.
by Anonymous | reply 440 | September 11, 2020 5:42 PM |
Great that you looked up gaslighting 437 because that must be how you formed your opinion about Jessie Mueller.
If she is one of the most talented then Broadway needs to do some digging and find more talent. And if you notice I did not say she was not talented, just that she is not memorable.
I agree she is not a Julie Jordan, she made a much better Carrie Pipperidge but there are probably people that could do it better. She can switch singing styles and she sounds good in each style but that does not mean she has any IT factor as a performer.
This is what I said
[quote]undeniably talented, but I never remember their performances after the show has been over for an hour or two. They leave no impression except that they didn't embarrass themselves and sang in key.
She's great when you are watching her perform but forgettable after.
by Anonymous | reply 441 | September 11, 2020 5:42 PM |
I think we've had more than enough YouTube examples of high school productions of "Follies" with bad wigs.
by Anonymous | reply 442 | September 11, 2020 5:43 PM |
If the Times hires the uber awful Elizabeth Vinctenwhateverthefuck, I'm cancelling my subscription. She is literally the worst. Read the "Producers" style rave she gave the middling "Something Rotten" and you'll see what we have to deal with. She also wrote an essay celebrating crap like "Bat Out of Hell." Please Times, find another woman....She's just terrible.
by Anonymous | reply 443 | September 11, 2020 5:45 PM |
Here's a question for discerning Broadway fans. In Andrew Lloyd Webber's book, he says that reviews for Evita on Broadway were mostly negative and after the opening, business was slow at first. He writes:
[quote]Broadway folklore has it that it was Robert [Stigwood] who turned Evita around with the first ever TV advertising campaign for a musical.
But Evita wasn't the first, was it? There were commercials for A Chorus Line, Pippin, Chicago and others. Weren't they playing before the Evita commercial (which I admit is my favorite of the Broadway commercials).
by Anonymous | reply 444 | September 11, 2020 5:47 PM |
R405 Agree about Gwen's voice -- it's more the progressive effects of cigarette smoking over the years, but she started out with a big voice belting out "A Little Brains-A Little Talent" and "Whatever Lola Wants" in "Damn Yankees" before body mics yet. Jonathan Groff may have sold tickets for "Little Shop" but that was for an off-Broadway house, quite a bit smaller than a Broadway house, so while he has a following, it's untested as to how big it is.
by Anonymous | reply 445 | September 11, 2020 5:48 PM |
[quote]The term comes from an old film of the same name (alternatively called "Angel Street". Very creepy.
Two old films, actually, both titled "Gaslight": A British version released in 1940, and the Hollywood version from 1944 that starred Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer and marked the movie debut of Angela Lansbury, who received an Oscar nomination as best supporting actress for her performance.
by Anonymous | reply 446 | September 11, 2020 5:49 PM |
[quote]I think we've had more than enough YouTube examples of high school productions of "Follies" with bad wigs.
Yes, please from now on only post high school productions of "Follies" with good-to-excellent wigs.
And not videos where the school slut is playing Carlotta.
by Anonymous | reply 447 | September 11, 2020 5:53 PM |
You can tell because she keeps screaming, [italic]”Line!”
by Anonymous | reply 448 | September 11, 2020 5:53 PM |
No problem, r442. We can totally move on to high school productions of Sunset Blvd....
by Anonymous | reply 449 | September 11, 2020 5:56 PM |
I hate my phone!
——————————-
[quote]r429 Fun fact: In the original recording of Tell Me On A Sunday, Sheldon Bloom's secretary was voiced by DL fave Elaine Stritch!
You can tell because she keeps screaming, “Line!”
by Anonymous | reply 450 | September 11, 2020 5:57 PM |
Stephanie J Block is truly an example of an incredible actress with an incredible voice. Love her.
by Anonymous | reply 451 | September 11, 2020 5:59 PM |
R446 Tony Winner Ingrid Berman for "Joan of Lorraine" also won Best Actress Oscar for "Gaslight"
by Anonymous | reply 452 | September 11, 2020 6:03 PM |
[quote]Two old films, actually, both titled "Gaslight": A British version released in 1940, and the Hollywood version from 1944
The original London stage play was titled "Gas Light." For Broadway, for whatever reason, the title was changed to "Angel Street." Because of that, the 1940 film was released as "Gaslight" in the UK and "Angel Street" in the US. The 1944 film was released everywhere as "Gaslight."
by Anonymous | reply 453 | September 11, 2020 6:08 PM |
R 444 Pippin is the musical that is usually cited as turning it box office around with one of the first (if not the first) commercial for a Bway show.
Evita had a great commercial but after Pippin, Chicago, Sarava! etc the claim that it was "the first" is bizarre.
by Anonymous | reply 454 | September 11, 2020 6:09 PM |
The pile-on on Ben Brantley continues, and it's delicious. At least to some of us.
Here's composer Stephen Trask (HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH).
by Anonymous | reply 455 | September 11, 2020 6:15 PM |
What about discussing all-black high school versions of Follies with bad wigs?
by Anonymous | reply 456 | September 11, 2020 6:15 PM |
"this drunken, hateful prune..."
by Anonymous | reply 457 | September 11, 2020 6:16 PM |
Steven Trask. Another Broadway one-hit wonder...Everything since Hedwig has sucked/tanked.
by Anonymous | reply 458 | September 11, 2020 6:17 PM |
Maybe Trask should write better music
by Anonymous | reply 459 | September 11, 2020 6:28 PM |
Tony Awards 1974 Bette Midler receives a special Tony presented by Johnny Carson
Man oh man has her face changed. She got so much "baby fat" on her face in the clip. I think she looks better now.
by Anonymous | reply 460 | September 11, 2020 6:28 PM |
And just exactly what would you say to us if we fucking ignored "a person's skin color, first and foremost"?
Damned if I do. Double damned if I don't.
by Anonymous | reply 461 | September 11, 2020 6:32 PM |
R458 Has he done anything since Hedwig? I know he's scored some films, but has he tried any other shows?
by Anonymous | reply 462 | September 11, 2020 6:32 PM |
This old blog post about Brantley's misogyny is making the rounds on social media as well.
by Anonymous | reply 463 | September 11, 2020 6:33 PM |
Whether one agrees with these POVs or not...
The more I see of this online, the more I think these contributed to Brantley's stepping down.
Ding. Dong.
by Anonymous | reply 464 | September 11, 2020 6:38 PM |
[quote]People aren't celebrating Ben Brantley's departure because he gave their show a bad review. They're celebrating because he was a hateful person who bullied people with his sexist, racist and transphobic comments. Jesse Green should join him in stepping down
by Anonymous | reply 465 | September 11, 2020 6:39 PM |
[quote] R 444 Pippin is the musical that is usually cited as turning it box office around with one of the first (if not the first) commercial for a Bway show.
Pippin was the first to feature performance footage, but I think 1776 might have actually been the first. I vaguely recall that it was a sort of primitive animation of the logo, with the eagle popping out of the egg. Maybe someone else remembers it as well?
by Anonymous | reply 466 | September 11, 2020 6:51 PM |
I nominate Alex Witchel for the new NY Times theater critic.
by Anonymous | reply 467 | September 11, 2020 6:58 PM |
The issue with modern Broadway performers is that most of them have trained at an arts school where they're told their first jobs will be in the chorus, so they'd better learn how to blend in. Don't be too unique or interesting as it steals focus. They spend most of their early careers doing just that, so when they graduate to lead roles, they're still blending into the scenery.
They're professional and respectable, but there's nothing interesting about them. It's like going to see a decent high school or college performance most of the time where many of the performers have talent, but you don't remember much about them afterwards and don't leave talking or thinking about the performances for days and days afterwards.
I do wonder what would happen if a Merman, Verdon, or Channing showed up a Broadway audition these days? Would they even know what to do with them?
by Anonymous | reply 468 | September 11, 2020 7:02 PM |
So is Fauci saying we won't have theater until mid-2022? Because that's what it sounds like.
by Anonymous | reply 469 | September 11, 2020 7:08 PM |
Merman wouldn't even be allowed to audition. She would be "typed" out.
by Anonymous | reply 470 | September 11, 2020 7:17 PM |
oh god r464 article is drivel.
by Anonymous | reply 471 | September 11, 2020 7:19 PM |
R461, I cannot believe I am saying this, but you should indeed ignore "a person's skin color, first and foremost" when hiring, when evaluating personal qualities, and when evaluating the ideas and opinions of a person.
However, to claim that you do not notice skin color is usually a red flag, since it means you are either lying or not taking someone in. You take in hair color, accent, height and many other physical attributes, but ignore them as indicators of personal worth. To claim you do not notice skin color would indicate that it is a physical attribute you cannot notice without taking it as an indication of someone's value.
by Anonymous | reply 472 | September 11, 2020 7:22 PM |
I think when people say they don't notice skin color what they really mean is it doesn't matter to them. No one *doesn't* notice skin color.
by Anonymous | reply 473 | September 11, 2020 7:24 PM |
[quote]I nominate Alex Witchel for the new NY Times theater critic.
Is Walter Monheit available, or does he just do film?
by Anonymous | reply 474 | September 11, 2020 7:26 PM |
[quote]I think when people say they don't notice skin color what they really mean is it doesn't matter to them. No one *doesn't* notice skin color.
So what you say is, "I notice skin color, but it doesn't matter to me."
If you aren't comfortable saying you notice skin color, maybe you have a little notion that it matters more to you than you ever thought it did.
by Anonymous | reply 475 | September 11, 2020 7:42 PM |
[quote]I cannot believe I am saying this, but you should indeed ignore "a person's skin color, first and foremost" when hiring, when evaluating personal qualities, and when evaluating the ideas and opinions of a person.
100% in agreement r472.
by Anonymous | reply 476 | September 11, 2020 7:43 PM |
it's not all that important, r446, but the U.K. film Gaslight, based on a Patrick Hamilton novel, was originally released in the U.S. as Angel Street.
by Anonymous | reply 477 | September 11, 2020 7:45 PM |
Oh, sorry--I see someone else already offered the correction to 446's post.
by Anonymous | reply 478 | September 11, 2020 7:49 PM |
ahhhhhhh. just lovely.
by Anonymous | reply 480 | September 11, 2020 7:59 PM |
[quote]Great that you looked up gaslighting 437 because that must be how you formed your opinion about Jessie Mueller. If she is one of the most talented then Broadway needs to do some digging and find more talent. And if you notice I did not say she was not talented, just that she is not memorable.
In my opinion, Mueller has given very memorable performances in every show I've seen her in, i.e., every major show she has done in NYC. Her performances are memorable in the sense of an extremely talented actor creating fully realized characterizations in a wide variety of roles while doing a superb job of singing songs written in wildly different styles, as I mentioned. Your definition of "memorable" seems to be a performance given by someone like Carol Channing or Ethel Merman or Patti LuPone, all of whom have very strong, distinctive styles of performing that don't vary much from one role to the next, and who to a certain extent will bend every role to fit their own personalities and vocal styles. To me, that's a very different kind of performance than the ones given by a Jessie Mueller or a Stephanie J. Block, but not necessarily "better" or more memorable.
And P.S., bitch, I already knew what "gaslighting" meant but I looked it up just to be 100 percent sure I was right before posting. And I still say that, however one feels about Ben Brantley, I do not understand how "gaslighting" has anything to do with any aspect of that situation or discussion.
by Anonymous | reply 485 | September 11, 2020 8:47 PM |
R444, just one more example of ALW talking out of his ass. OF COURSE there were TV commercials for Broadway shows before EVITA.
[quote]Agree about Gwen's voice -- it's more the progressive effects of cigarette smoking over the years, but she started out with a big voice belting out "A Little Brains-A Little Talent" and "Whatever Lola Wants" in "Damn Yankees" before body mics yet. Jonathan Groff may have sold tickets for "Little Shop" but that was for an off-Broadway house, quite a bit smaller than a Broadway house, so while he has a following, it's untested as to how big it is.
I didn't mention smoking as a cause of Gwen's vocal deterioration because I couldn't immediately find documentation of whether or not she herself smoked. But even if she didn't, she was obviously around heavy smokers -- including Fosse -- for long periods of time in an era when people could actually smoke DURING REHEARSALS of shows. True, there has been no test as to how big Groff's talent is (!!!!), but it seems pretty large to me, a lot larger since the two FROZENS and his TV shows LOOKING and MINDHUNTER than it was before that.
by Anonymous | reply 486 | September 11, 2020 9:00 PM |
[quote]R481 Betty rehearsin'...
That stringy, worthless cunt.
by Anonymous | reply 487 | September 11, 2020 9:50 PM |
R463, how are any of those comments by Brantley even remotely misogynistic? ?
Just because they mention women?? That blog post is ridiculous
by Anonymous | reply 489 | September 11, 2020 11:20 PM |
From the article linked to at R464:
[quote]Why Kushner chose to position Belize as a life-giver and a death-mourner to the openly racist and closeted Cohn mystifies me, and I find it profoundly problematic.
It mystifies you because your capacity for critical thinking is non-existent, and you find it profoundly problematic because......you're an idiot, reactionary SJW.
by Anonymous | reply 490 | September 12, 2020 12:41 AM |
[quote]I do wonder what would happen if a Merman, Verdon, or Channing showed up a Broadway audition these days? Would they even know what to do with them?
They would almost certainly have no careers today, and no one would have any idea what to do with them. But it's also a pointless question, because no musical theater material today is crafted for those kinds of voices and talents.
[quote]How are any of those comments by Brantley even remotely misogynistic? Just because they mention women?? That blog post is ridiculous
Agreed. As ridiculous as the recent insults hurled at the creators of the musical RAGTIME simply because -- they're white, and how dare they write a show that's partly about black people. The theater world has really gone mad, along with most of the rest of the world.
[quote]This old blog post about Brantley's misogyny is making the rounds on social media as well.
Please note that "the old blog post" in question was written by someone willing to identify her only as "Stefani," who is obviously a moron. And though she would probably say my calling her a moron is misogynistic, it's not because she's (presumably) a woman, it's because she's....a moron. Good luck in getting that job writing for the NY Times, Stef!
by Anonymous | reply 491 | September 12, 2020 1:02 AM |
You can tell the MT people who aren't real actors when they appear in a play and can't quite do it. Martin managed "Kind Sir" and "The Skin of Our Teeth" and a heartfelt Emily in an excerpt from "Our Town." Verdon had a strong late career in supporting roles in film. Lupone has proven herself in many plays and has had Mamet write roles for her. Channing did her share of plays and even when the plays were poorly reviewed, she won raves. Stritch did plays as often as musicals. Tony winners Diahann Carroll and Leslie Uggams both have non-musical television chapters in their careers that are as big as anything they did in a musical on Broadway.
You simply don't see this from the crop of women who were young in the late 80s-90s and are now mature leading ladies. Or the juveniles and leading men from then either. They may have their Varese Sarabande or DRG solo CDs that show many sides of their musical talents, but you don't see them carrying major productions of plays. Is it the business or is it them?
To this day there are Tony winners in musical categories who can't make it in a play, they don't dive deep enough into the material or they can't keep a scene bubbling past a page or two. I saw a Tony winner who won Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for a comedic role in an actual (non-musical) comedy play off-Broadway and she was totally unfunny and lost. Chenoweth, Ramirez, and Krakowski are three exceptions who broke through.
by Anonymous | reply 493 | September 12, 2020 3:44 AM |
I saw that From Here to Eternity, and was reminded anew that it was shite!
by Anonymous | reply 494 | September 12, 2020 5:04 AM |
Timmy is bringing it back.
by Anonymous | reply 495 | September 12, 2020 7:03 AM |
[quote]I couldn't immediately find documentation of whether or not she herself smoked
Are you kiding? Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse both smoked like chimneys.
by Anonymous | reply 496 | September 12, 2020 10:02 AM |
Was Merman a smoker?
by Anonymous | reply 499 | September 12, 2020 2:58 PM |
r498 - How the hell do you musicalize *that*?
by Anonymous | reply 500 | September 12, 2020 3:01 PM |
Poorly r500.
by Anonymous | reply 501 | September 12, 2020 3:03 PM |
I've never seen Emily Webb played by a middle-aged woman before. But Mary was rather touching.
by Anonymous | reply 502 | September 12, 2020 3:04 PM |
[quote] I saw a Tony winner who won Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for a comedic role in an actual (non-musical) comedy play off-Broadway and she was totally unfunny and lost.
And that was.....
by Anonymous | reply 503 | September 12, 2020 7:37 PM |
One presumes that Asheilgh desperate ho.
by Anonymous | reply 504 | September 12, 2020 7:42 PM |
Kander and Ebb did a musical version of “The Skin of Our Teeth” that had two productions AMDA couple of workshops. At the Signature in Arlington, Bebe Neuwirth was famously fired early in rehearsals (as Sabina) and replaced with Sheree Renee Scott. Dorothy Loudon played the fortune teller. Then it was done in Connecticut, with Cady Huffman as Sabina and Eartha Kitt as the Fortune Teller. It has one fabulous song, “At the Rialto,” for Sabina. (Another, “Someday, Pasadena,” was cut after Virginia). The rest of the score is decent. The rights expired, though, so it’s dead and buried now.
by Anonymous | reply 505 | September 12, 2020 7:53 PM |
[quote] One presumes that Asheilgh desperate ho.
Ashleigh won her Tony for a play, not a musical.
by Anonymous | reply 508 | September 12, 2020 8:40 PM |
And boy was she brilliant off-Broadway in DOGFIGHT. Not her, I presume.
by Anonymous | reply 509 | September 12, 2020 8:53 PM |
Has anyone ever heard the score that Jones and Schmidt wrote for their musical version of Our Town?
by Anonymous | reply 512 | September 12, 2020 8:56 PM |
R512. Yes, I saw the show, “Grover’s Corners” at the Marriott Lincolnshire. The music was quite unmemorable. And I love the play “Our Town.”
by Anonymous | reply 513 | September 12, 2020 9:02 PM |
[quote]Ashleigh won her Tony for a play, not a musical.
Who are we talking about? Annaleigh Ashford?
by Anonymous | reply 514 | September 12, 2020 9:18 PM |
There are two or three really good songs in “Grover’s Corners,” especially a duet for George and Emily called “I Notice You.” But beyond that, I agree with r513 - it’s not a memorable score.
by Anonymous | reply 515 | September 12, 2020 9:19 PM |
How many Tony winning Annaleighs are there, dear?
by Anonymous | reply 516 | September 12, 2020 9:38 PM |
If you can access Larry Guittard’s Facebook page, checkout the “conversation” he had with Christopher Guard (Erich/Henrik) on the day Diana Rigg died, regarding the film of Night Music. Apparently Guittard does *not* like Len Cariou, and having Cariou take over as Henrik was his “worst nightmare.” But the juiciest stuff is about Robert Stephens, who was fired because he was constantly drunk.
by Anonymous | reply 517 | September 12, 2020 9:56 PM |
[quote]Yes, I saw the show, “Grover’s Corners” at the Marriott Lincolnshire. The music was quite unmemorable. And I love the play “Our Town.”
At one point late in her career, Mary Martin was attached to Jones and Schmidt's musical "Our Town." As the Stage Manager, not as an elderly Emily.
by Anonymous | reply 518 | September 12, 2020 10:16 PM |
Not constantly drunk. Drunk on his first day of shooting.
by Anonymous | reply 519 | September 12, 2020 10:16 PM |
There was, of course, a musical version of "Our Town" written for television in 1955. Frank Sinatra was the Stage Manager, Paul Newman was George and Eva Marie Saint was Emily. The songs, written by Jimmy van Heusen and Sammy Cahn, included "Love and Marriage" (the title of the second act of the play), which became the theme song to "Married With Children."
by Anonymous | reply 520 | September 12, 2020 10:22 PM |
Cariou is a bastard. I had to deal with him when I worked for his agent.
by Anonymous | reply 521 | September 12, 2020 10:24 PM |
[quote]Not constantly drunk. Drunk on his first day of shooting.
No. Constantly. He arrived, straight from the plane, drunk. He was charming, but drunk, every time they saw him.
by Anonymous | reply 522 | September 12, 2020 10:31 PM |
I had such a crush on Laurence Guittard while I was growing up listening to cast recordings. Curly. Carl-Magnus, and Fredrik. Out, heir to a fortune, and a part of Broadway history. Isn’t this the gay dream?
by Anonymous | reply 523 | September 12, 2020 10:35 PM |
Only if had also played Rose and/or Phyllis, r523.
by Anonymous | reply 524 | September 12, 2020 10:47 PM |
There was a televised musical version of "Our Town," starring Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint. Frank Sinatra played the Stage Manager and introduced the Cahn/Van Heusen standard "Love and Marriage" in the production.
by Anonymous | reply 527 | September 12, 2020 11:27 PM |
Sorry, R516 .... I didn't refresh before posting.
by Anonymous | reply 528 | September 12, 2020 11:28 PM |
[quote]"Love and Marriage" which became the theme song to "Married With Children."
It also became "Soup and Sandwich," a song for Campbell's soup commercials in the late 60s.
by Anonymous | reply 529 | September 12, 2020 11:28 PM |
[quote]How many Tony winning Annaleighs are there, dear?
Well, no one actually used the name Annaleigh in any of the previous posts. I thought someone was misspelling Ashley.
by Anonymous | reply 530 | September 12, 2020 11:29 PM |
R527, meet R520.
by Anonymous | reply 531 | September 13, 2020 12:45 AM |
Matchmaker, matchmaker, r531.
by Anonymous | reply 532 | September 13, 2020 12:48 AM |
R530 is correct. Ashleigh was the name used.
by Anonymous | reply 533 | September 13, 2020 1:42 AM |
From now on she shall be known as Annaford Ashleigh.
by Anonymous | reply 534 | September 13, 2020 1:59 AM |
Patti seems more Gina Lollobrigida than Norma Desmond in the r526 clip.
by Anonymous | reply 535 | September 13, 2020 2:08 AM |
It's just the Gina Lollobrigida in her soul, r535.
by Anonymous | reply 536 | September 13, 2020 3:02 AM |
I'm watching a 1968 episode of NYPD with Miss Donna McKechnie. It's a dreadful TV show and...she can't act, Zach.
by Anonymous | reply 537 | September 13, 2020 3:49 AM |
We all knew what he meant since there are ZERO Tony winning Ashleighs.
by Anonymous | reply 538 | September 13, 2020 4:41 AM |
Whatever happens to Broadway and future shows, classics must not be abandoned or not performed because of the new "wokeness." They are still works of art and deserve to be seen by a new audience. Songs like these must be preserved.
by Anonymous | reply 539 | September 13, 2020 3:07 PM |
I met Brantley several years ago and he said that he would soon be the longest-running drama critic at the NYT, besting Brooks Atkinson's record. Did he do that? If not, he was probably pushed out. Or he was juat sick of writing Covid 19-era pieces on how he passed the time by watching ALL ABOUT EVE.
by Anonymous | reply 540 | September 13, 2020 4:09 PM |
I think Brooks Atkinson still bested him. Atkinson started as drama critic in 1925 and retired in 1960. In the 1940s, Atkinson served as a war correspondent in China, and then in Moscow, before returning to the critic position, so he didn't stay in the job for the entire 35 years, but I think was probably at it longer, ultimately. When you go back and read Atkinson's reviews, written in the days when critics wrote on deadline on opening night, it's quite remarkable how lucid and sharp his insights are, particularly with shows that would soon become classics.
by Anonymous | reply 541 | September 13, 2020 6:14 PM |
Gonna *have* to watch!
The Brady Bunch
TODAY, ON KDOCDT3 56.3, 30 MIN 1971 TV-G
SEASON 3 • EPISODE 10 • HER SISTER'S SHADOW • COMEDY / FAMILY
The one that launched a thousand jokes: Jan auditions for the pep squad, hoping to outdo her supersister, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!” But when she gets cut, Jan pins her hopes on an essay contest that goes awry. Gwen Van Dam. Jan: Eve Plumb. Mike: Robert Reed...
by Anonymous | reply 543 | September 13, 2020 7:34 PM |
Overall, Atkinson was NYT drama critic for the longest time, but he switched from theater to cover the war and its aftermath for several years in the 40s, so Brantley's is the longest uninterrupted tenure (27 years).
by Anonymous | reply 544 | September 13, 2020 8:11 PM |
Don’t forget, Miscast 2020 is tonight at 7:45, streaming live!
by Anonymous | reply 545 | September 13, 2020 9:25 PM |
Miss Patrice. I can't believe I haven't run across this until now. She's actually a pretty good fit for the role. However you feel about her performance of the song, one can believe she's named Carlotta and has an active sex life with younger men.
by Anonymous | reply 546 | September 13, 2020 10:52 PM |
Always love Patrice's belt. There's none of that gurgle you get from sopranos who try to make a belting sound. Love her opera cheat vowel applied to belting at the end - hee-yahhh-uh to get to the most open sound. And yeah, you buy her as Carlotta.
by Anonymous | reply 547 | September 14, 2020 2:52 AM |
I simply can't buy Karen Morrow as a Carlotta.
by Anonymous | reply 548 | September 14, 2020 3:05 AM |
Hey R505 how can we hear Someday, Pasadena?
I've been on an obscure K&E kick lately and recently discovered All My Friends Have Gone to California.
by Anonymous | reply 549 | September 14, 2020 3:12 AM |
My friends:
I have just posted a thread about a George Michael song I can never quite make out - entitled [bold]Patti LuPone “Diction” - George Michael Edition.[/bold]
Since those who frequent this thread are the specialists in music, I welcome any comments over there, if you are so inclined : )
by Anonymous | reply 550 | September 14, 2020 3:31 AM |
The lenses *must* be tinted. Pink....or perhaps bastard amber. I want to see life through FOLLIES-colored glasses.
by Anonymous | reply 552 | September 14, 2020 2:02 PM |
I'm thinking the Paul Rudnick "Coastal Elites" will be done on stage as soon as it's safe to do so. Let's just pray it isn't done at MTC, where Meadow will manage to fuck the whole thing up.
by Anonymous | reply 553 | September 14, 2020 4:36 PM |
It was originally slated for the Public, including very specific references in the text. If it’s relevant when people can go to theater, it will be at the Public.
by Anonymous | reply 554 | September 14, 2020 4:47 PM |
R554-I'm sure Bette won't be doing it on stage. Linda Lavin, maybe.
by Anonymous | reply 555 | September 14, 2020 5:24 PM |
Sadly, it's going to be relevant for a long, long, time.
by Anonymous | reply 556 | September 14, 2020 5:25 PM |
I just read a book called "Life Isn't Everything: Mike Nichols, As Remembered by 150 of His Closest Friends." There isn't a whole lot that could be considered gossip since the comments come from his friends, but some of it might be of interest here. Interestingly, Elaine May is not one of the 150 included in the book.
Manny Azenberg had some of the most gossipy comments. He said that Michael Kidd chose actors for his projects based on the "F.F." which stands for fuckabilty factor. Men or women. Manny thought that Nichols applied that to most of his casting choices too.
Nichols was the first director to get paid a million dollars for a film.
Nichols was the first stage director to get a 5 percent royalty, which he got for The Odd Couple. Neil Simon had to agree to give up some of his points.
Nichols originally cast Paul Simon in Catch 22, but Simon's part got cut before filming. Both Simon and Nichols admit that it was mostly Nichols' fault that S&G broke up.
Melanie Griffith was sometimes drunk or coked out of her mind during the filming of Working Girl. She admits this herself now. But she got so drunk one time that they lost a whole night of filming. She was billed $80,000 for the cost of that lost evening!
Nichols won acclaim for his London stage performance in the Wally Shawn The Designated Mourner, and after the run ended he appeared in a film version of it. Although it was shown in Europe and got good reviews, Nichols went to great lengths to keep it from being shown in the United States. No one knows why. Meryl Streep calls is "some of the best acting I've ever seen any man do."
by Anonymous | reply 557 | September 14, 2020 7:40 PM |
Designated Mourner is on DVD, although may be OOP.
by Anonymous | reply 558 | September 14, 2020 7:45 PM |
Does anybody ever think to go to Youtube?
by Anonymous | reply 559 | September 14, 2020 7:53 PM |
LIFE ISN'T EVERYTHING excludes any mention of Mike's bisexuality. A big failing.
by Anonymous | reply 561 | September 14, 2020 10:43 PM |
[quote]Melanie Griffith was sometimes drunk or coked out of her mind during the filming of Working Girl. She admits this herself now. But she got so drunk one time that they lost a whole night of filming. She was billed $80,000 for the cost of that lost evening!
Incredible that she was such a mess, she couldn't even control herself enough to keep away from drugs and alcohol while filming her first big movie role. I've always thought she was the weak link in that movie anyway, too trashy and with little or no charm. The movie works but in spite of her, not partly because of her.
by Anonymous | reply 562 | September 14, 2020 10:44 PM |
Melanie Griffith is, was and always will be a terrible actress.
by Anonymous | reply 565 | September 15, 2020 12:30 AM |
Miscast 2020 is available to watch until Thursday. I don't quite get why they're only leaving it up until then, but there you go
by Anonymous | reply 566 | September 15, 2020 1:05 AM |
R566, I never understand if these kind of comments are sincere or not. Did union and rights issues never occur to you? (Sound and video staff, musicians, etc.) Or that this even was a benefit, so they may not want to blow the money on longer term rights and fees?
by Anonymous | reply 567 | September 15, 2020 1:16 AM |
Is that Laverne Cox in the photo in R566?
by Anonymous | reply 568 | September 15, 2020 1:17 AM |
R567 If it were down to rights issues, why is it they can put it online for three days but not longer term? Instead of a bitchy little post like that, why don't you try explaining to me why fours days up is okay, but long term isn't?
by Anonymous | reply 569 | September 15, 2020 1:33 AM |
Because it costs more, R569.
Yes, shocking as it may be, rights in perpetuity cost more than rights for a few days.
Who could have imagined?
This is why when old films and television shows are released for DVD or streaming they do not have the original music. Because they only payed for a few broadcasts, not perpetuity.
by Anonymous | reply 570 | September 15, 2020 1:44 AM |
Union rules. SAG/AFTRA for the actors - not Equity. And most notably, the AFM (not NYC's local 802) for the musicians.
by Anonymous | reply 571 | September 15, 2020 1:47 AM |
R570 Would that have been so hard to say from the start? If you weren't so set on coming across as a cunt you might not have made yourself look like an idiot with "payed for a few broadcasts".
R571 Thank you. A shame they aren't willing to be flexible for a benefit, but I guess they don't want to risk setting a precedent.
by Anonymous | reply 572 | September 15, 2020 1:51 AM |
It's not that hard to download something from YouTube.
by Anonymous | reply 573 | September 15, 2020 1:54 AM |
R573 You say that, but Google Drive literally has a button saying Download, and some here were confused by that...
by Anonymous | reply 574 | September 15, 2020 1:58 AM |
[quote]Melanie Griffith is, was and always will be a terrible actress.
Agreed. But if it's true that she has ALSO been a mess from the beginning, in terms of drinking and using drugs during filming of a major movie, it's doubly amazing that she ever had any kind of a career. Also, I can't imagine why Mike Nichols would have ever put up with anything like that.
Does anyone have any theories as to why Antonio Banderas ever hooked up with MG in the first place, let alone stayed with her for so long? Can the sex have been THAT great?
by Anonymous | reply 575 | September 15, 2020 2:02 AM |
Most hilarious Melanie Griffith movie: Shining Through, where she plays an American woman who speaks German with a natural Berlin accent (because her mother was a Berliner) so she volunteers for a dangerous spy assignment in Berlin during WWII. She was hopelessly unconvincing, even though all her “German” scenes were done in English.
by Anonymous | reply 576 | September 15, 2020 2:16 AM |
R572, that is why music has been changed sometimes after the network broadcasts.
I am sorry, if I hurt your feelings. It never occurred to me that anyone would not understand how rights work. Or how fees to personnel would work.
by Anonymous | reply 577 | September 15, 2020 2:23 AM |
[quote] This is why when old films and television shows are released for DVD or streaming they do not have the original music.
Where on earth did you get this idea? I have yet to see an old film or television show without the original music. The issue, particularly with tv shows, is things like The Carol Burnett Show, or China Beach or Cold Case, where period pop songs were used throughout. In most cases, they just aren’t released to dvd or streaming (in the case of Burnett, her shows were originally released with only the skits, although a certain number have finally been released with the musical numbers).
by Anonymous | reply 578 | September 15, 2020 2:49 AM |
[quote]Most hilarious Melanie Griffith movie: Shining Through, where she plays an American woman who speaks German with a natural Berlin accent (because her mother was a Berliner) so she volunteers for a dangerous spy assignment in Berlin during WWII. She was hopelessly unconvincing, even though all her “German” scenes were done in English.
I have never seen that movie, but it's legendary. I remember the horrendous reviews when it came out. This is an honest question; Does anyone have any idea why that woman had a pretty good movie career for a while? Was EVERYONE screwing her?
[quote]This is why when old films and television shows are released for DVD or streaming they do not have the original music.
I also have read and heard of this happening, though I'm not sure how often it happens. I think it applies more to background music of TV shows and even sometimes the theme music, not to actual songs in TV shows or movies. I wish I could remember the examples I've read about.
by Anonymous | reply 579 | September 15, 2020 3:55 AM |
Griffith was probably best in the first half of "Something Wild". I never understood the critical raves for her OK performance in "Body Double".
by Anonymous | reply 580 | September 15, 2020 4:34 AM |
Can anyone share the Nt Cyrano....I have lost it.
by Anonymous | reply 581 | September 15, 2020 11:35 AM |
And the search function is off.
by Anonymous | reply 582 | September 15, 2020 11:36 AM |
R578, I am really baffled. You say that I am wrong but then note that The Carol Burnett Show, or China Beach or Cold Case have been released without the original music because the rights were not covered.
Those (along with Daria and WKRP) are the best know examples of what I am talking about. In each case some of the original music had to be replaced because the rights negotiated were limited.
I am fascinated by your strategy of arguing that something is wrong then listing the evidence that it is actually right. Does it ever work?
At least I understand more why you lack even a common understanding of IP and labor law.
by Anonymous | reply 583 | September 15, 2020 12:28 PM |
R578 is wrong. Here's an article on the WKRP situation.
I seem to recall that there was an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show where Mary sang an Irving Berlin song, but when that show was released on DVD they had to remove the song.
by Anonymous | reply 584 | September 15, 2020 2:17 PM |
WKRP is somewhat of an anomaly in that it actually replaced some of the songs (and Shout Factory was roundly criticized at the time of release for doing so) instead of holding off until clearance for every track in every episode could be taken care of.
Cold Case is a strange example. While it has been said that the show will never get a DVD release because of the music rights, the entire 7 seasons is available to stream (with ads) on the Roku Channel with all the original music intact.
I'm trying to think of other examples. I know when Sixteen Candles first came out on home video, many of the songs used in the theatrical release had been swapped out because of clearance issues. I was a kid back then and was obsessed with the movie so I'd seen in the theater at least four times and knew every music cue so when we rented the tape, I was super pissed. They've subsequently been able to clear all the original music for later DVD and blu ray releases.
All this to say that there's no hard and fast rule about what's done in terms of music clearance for ancillary rights. I'm a filmmaker, myself and have gone through this process several times. I remember one time I had a classic song in a sequence in one of my films and we had to renegotiate a lower fee with the estate (for reasons that are too tangled, and boring, to elaborate) and the estate came back and said they would agree to it for all ancillary releases but not for theatrical (which was crazy since it was a limited theatrical release). We said okay, played the film theatrically as is, it ran its 10 city playdates and no one was the wiser.
by Anonymous | reply 585 | September 15, 2020 2:31 PM |
Melanie Griffith's success can pretty much be chalked up to two things- she looks great onscreen and men want to fuck her. It's the same reason Cameron Diaz won a New Your Film Critics Award for Best Actress for There's Something About Mary. You have a bunch of horny old straight guys that no woman would look at twice, they become enchanted with the vision of this woman onscreen and their desire somehow convinces them there's more to be seen.
by Anonymous | reply 586 | September 15, 2020 2:33 PM |
R585, thanks for the information. Sad, but I guess it all comes down to greed: The companies that own the films and TV shows want to pay AS LITTLE MONEY AS POSSIBLE for the rights to re-release those movies and shows on DVD or whatever with the original music, and the owners of the music rights want to receive AS MUCH MONEY AS POSSIBLE for them. In the end, I would say it's the composers who suffer, because they don't wind up getting ANY additional money, plus their music is removed from shows and movies it was once an important part of.
[quote]Melanie Griffith's success can pretty much be chalked up to two things- she looks great onscreen and men want to fuck her.
Yes, that must be it, but aren't there lots of actors who look great on screen and are fuckable AND who also have some talent AND are not difficult to work with due to substance abuse issues or whatever? I guess maybe Melanie got her initial shot(s) due to family connections, and then once she began to be established, producers kept going with a quantity that was already known to the public. As for her fuckability, it is quite impressive that she was married (sequentially!) to three of the hottest men in show business -- Don Johnson, Steven Bauer, and Antonio Banderas.
by Anonymous | reply 587 | September 15, 2020 2:58 PM |
Melanie's blowjobs are LEGEN-DARY.
by Anonymous | reply 588 | September 15, 2020 3:42 PM |
R583, you made the blanket statement: “This is why when old films and television shows are released for DVD or streaming they do not have the original music. Because they only payed for a few broadcasts, not perpetuity.”
Which simply isn’t true. I was pointing out the exceptions, where shows were, in fact, held back by music rights, and the reasons. *Some* old tv shows don’t have their original music because of the music clearance issue. More often, shows with that issue just aren’t released officially. Care to name an “old movie” where the music has been replaced?
by Anonymous | reply 589 | September 15, 2020 5:05 PM |
[quote] Melanie's blowjobs are LEGEN-DARY.
Meh. She was an amateur.
by Anonymous | reply 590 | September 15, 2020 5:05 PM |
I’m always surprised by how utilitarian Broadway dressing rooms are. With a bunch of gays usually onboard, you’d think they’d look better.
by Anonymous | reply 592 | September 15, 2020 5:27 PM |
No Follies r592.
by Anonymous | reply 593 | September 15, 2020 5:35 PM |
Not exactly, r593. Somebody had to have Barbra's dressing room at the Winter Garden.
by Anonymous | reply 594 | September 15, 2020 6:21 PM |
R589, There were two possible readings of my ambiguous sentence was meant. Rather than reading it as saying that this is why releases without the original music lack the original music, you read it as meaning that ALL film and television shows lack the original music. Either you were so addled that this last possible meaning made sense, or you were angry that you deliberately misread the sentence as a way of lashing out.
This is why all DL posters should keep a copy editor on retainer. Mine was at the dentist when I posted....and I paid dearly for that.
by Anonymous | reply 595 | September 15, 2020 7:29 PM |
Yeah, r 595, well...get over it. Moving on...
by Anonymous | reply 596 | September 15, 2020 7:44 PM |
Much appreciated r595. May your good advice be taken.
by Anonymous | reply 597 | September 15, 2020 7:45 PM |