BROADWAY OR BUST - PBS- Page 4

[newintown]

Posted: 9/17/12 at 10:24am

"THEY'RE JUST KIDS!"

Actually, they're young adults. Up until about 100 years ago, they would be starting their adult life at that age. It's only in our present relatively luxurious-lifestyle age that "childhood" seems to continue on to age 21 (and often older).

[Kad]

Posted: 9/17/12 at 11:57am

Dramamama- agree to disagree, I suppose.

"With all do respect, the process was not explained. But you must win your regional competition in order to reach the Jimmy Awards. All expenses are paid. You cannot buy your way into this."

By whom? The Jimmy Award site does not say that- it merely says the hotel is covered, nothing about travel or even the registration fee. Were they just paid for this documentary?

And, again, regional competition fees aren't covered, either. No one is saying that anyone "bought" their way into it- but it certainly helps if you come from a school that has money to spare.

[MikeInTheDistrict]

Posted: 9/17/12 at 9:04pm

I just caught up with the second episode.

I wish they would focus on some of the other kids besides the same handful we already saw last time. I thought Brittany was far better in the few seconds we saw of her number from The Color Purple than "And I Am Telling You." She should have picked something else for the competition because she actually has a very nice voice when she's not singing that song. I actually identified a lot with the Indian girl, being from a family that doesn't really encourage the arts. She had a very sweet voice, but needs to externalize much more. I think the acting coach who worked with her did a brilliant job of breaking through some of her psychological inhibitions.

So far, my favorites are Joshua (Light In the Piazza dude; I like his voice and personality) and Erica (who sang "Sal Tlay Ka Siti"; her voice is gorgeous, and she reminds me a bit of Nikki Renee Daniels). But, again, I wish they'd feature the rest of the kids.

Edit: Elizabeth (you can see her singing "Disneyland" on the website) is pretty good, too.

Updated On: 9/17/12 at 09:04 PM

[seaweedjstubbs]

Posted: 9/17/12 at 10:46pm

Kad - I know one of the guys in this show and when I asked him if he had to pay anything to go to New York he said "Not a dime." Whether or not it was paid for just for this documentary, I have no clue.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 9/17/12 at 11:01pm

I like the guy who can sing in Italian. I forget his name. from RC in Austin, Texas

[MFerlitaMTeater]

Posted: 9/17/12 at 11:08pm

The regional competitions cover the expenses for the nominees to represent their respective awards. Furthermore, (money to spare) has nothing to do with fundraising and doing what is necessary to enter into regional competition. I assure you my public school doesn't flaunt around any extra cash, hard work, dedication and talent have more to do with it then you seem to understand or be willing to comprehend.

[HoldThatThought]

Posted: 9/18/12 at 10:46am

Normally I would say that Brittany might win this competition, based on the judges review of her. But with these reality shows, they almost always say things on camera to mislead the audience. It will probably be someone who has not been featured.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 9/18/12 at 11:34am

I don't even know why I questioned who was cuter last week because it's obviously Evan. He's cute, hilarious and Jewish. What more could you ask for?

One thing I would ask for is that the one girl stop singing And I'm Telling You because it's not great.

[Kad]

Posted: 9/18/12 at 12:30pm

" Furthermore, (money to spare) has nothing to do with fundraising and doing what is necessary to enter into regional competition. I assure you my public school doesn't flaunt around any extra cash, hard work, dedication and talent have more to do with it then you seem to understand or be willing to comprehend."

I totally understand.

And what you don't seem to understand is that still doesn't mean this is an opportunity afforded all schools- or an opportunity all schools necessarily want to take.

Although I went to high school before these awards were formed, my school focused (and still does) on taking college-bound juniors and seniors to the South Eastern Theatre Conference and Florida Theatre Conference instead, to audition for and learn about schools and career opportunities. And even that, with all of our fundraising, was expensive.

[someone.else's.story2]

Posted: 9/19/12 at 10:28am

I feel like Brittany and Joshua will win, based on the fact that they have received the most coverage.

I am still not a huge Brittany fan and agree with the previous poster that she should have picked a different song.

However, Joshua is tremendous! Just watching him sing, I can imagine him in so many roles. He has such talent and charisma! Can't wait to see him succeed.

I do wish that they would cover a wider circle of kids, though.

[macnyc]

Posted: 9/19/12 at 2:44pm

Regarding the timing, I know the kids are seniors in high school. Was the documentary filmed at the end of the school year? Have these kids already been accepted by colleges? If that's the case, then NYU wouldn't be recruiting any of them, right?

Updated On: 9/19/12 at 02:44 PM

[supportivemom]

Posted: 9/19/12 at 3:49pm

This documentary was filmed after the kids graduated if they were seniors. Some kids were able to compete last year at the Jimmy's. All the rules say is you have to be a lead. I don't believe they say you have to be a senior. I know Josh Gross- (Light in the Piazza guy) is now majoring in MT at Carnegie Mellon.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 9/19/12 at 3:57pm

And what you don't seem to understand is that still doesn't mean this is an opportunity afforded all schools- or an opportunity all schools necessarily want to take.

True. And so many schools have cut performing arts altogether.

But that doesn't mean the kids who do get to New York haven't worked hard. Kad never said anything like that.

[newintown]

Posted: 9/19/12 at 4:30pm

It just means they aren't necessarily the "best" of anything. They're merely qualified applicants for one particular competition.

[supportivemom]

Posted: 9/19/12 at 5:14pm

Bingo newintown! That has been my point from the get go! That's why I didn't like that the show is promoting these kids as the best high school musical kids in the country. Young Arts also says that. When my daughter used to compete in cheerleading, there were so many competitions and everyone claimed they were national champions. I know it's not the same but you get my point.

[macnyc]

Posted: 9/19/12 at 5:45pm

Still, I'm enjoying the show. I've seen the first two parts. I think the editing could have been better, with not so much footage from the first episode repeated in the second. Also, I agree with the poster who said he/she would like to have seen more of the kids, rather than focusing on just the few who are featured. I don't mind Brittany's version of the song. I think she improved a lot. What I most enjoy is watching how the coaches work with the kids.

Supportivemom, thanks for answering my question. After the series is over, I'll google the kids and find out what happened to the rest of them. I think Josh Gross is really good, and I'm happy he's at a top program like CMU.

[supportivemom]

Posted: 9/19/12 at 7:40pm

And Josh Grosso is a great kid who really works hard for everything and is well respected by his peers. He's not one of those arrogant boys who got cast in everything because he was the only boy. He is humble. I saw his performance in "Light in the Piazza" about two years ago at state and I watched everyone's jaw drop when he sang his first note. I do enjoy watching the series but it's so unfair that many of the kids have not been featured at all.

[macnyc]

Posted: 9/19/12 at 7:46pm

Do you know what happened to the young man who had a conflict in his schedule and couldn't attend in New York? It's nice that Josh got the chance to perform in his stead though!

[supportivemom]

Posted: 9/19/12 at 8:05pm

I wish I knew whose place Josh had taken. I didn't chaperone at state this past year. Most of the time, the kids are so busy socializing that they don't even pay attention to all of the announcements. I know my daughter said the girl that represented Florida was someone no one really knew about. There are a couple of girls that went to the same high school as Josh who are amazingly talented. One of them is a freshman at Penn State in MT. That girl has serious skillz and yet she didn't get to compete at the Jimmy's.

Posted: 9/23/12 at 10:07am

ahhhhh...

how does anyone feel about these 'competitions'?

there's such a double edge sword to this.

In one way- it's good o teach competitive business practice in this industry.
In other ways- it's such a difficult thing to pick ONE kid to win.

awards and competitions.........uggghhhhhhhhh
do those ribbons, trophies really mean anything at the end of the day???

[HoldThatThought]

Posted: 9/24/12 at 9:05am

So did anyone here watch the final episode last night? I thought it was pretty good. Based on the little bit that they showed the guy who sang the song from Dracula, I would've never guessed he'd make it into the top 6. Also, at one point I was pretty certain they pulled Erica's photo down when they were discussing who they were going to put in the top 6, just as they did with the guy who sang the song from Jekyll and Hyde. They must have changed their minds on her. I'm not sure if these misdirections were intentional or not. Editing decision, maybe?

I think it would've been interesting if they listed at the end who actually went on to study MT in college. I wonder if any of these kids did actually get calls from the scouts there after the show?

[supportivemom]

Posted: 9/24/12 at 3:00pm

I agree- they should show what schools they are attending. Some of these kids are seniors this semester- like Brittany Dankwa. Evan goes to the University of Georgia- don't know what he's studying. Drew is studying MT at Elon, and Josh is at CMU in MT. I'm still disappointed that they didn't show some of the kids at all and it also disappointed me that when the girl was on stage singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow- they chose to show the boys backstage lipping the song. How disappointing for that girl. I also thought they got rid of Erica and that Kent Gash didn't care for the girl doing Kiss Me Kate. Also, they kept saying the kids were performing their songs from the shows that they won from to get them into the competition. However, Josh was in Light in the Piazza his junior year and Phantom in his senior year. He won with a performance he did 2 years ago. That was just a bit confusing- even though he is extremely talented and deserved it- just didn't seem right.

[supportivemom]

Posted: 9/24/12 at 3:13pm

p.s. The Girl that won is at Northwestern- she did say she is a math nerd and I suspect her grades got her there because there is no audition for MT to get in as a freshman. Erica is at Penn State in MT.

[theobsessed]

Posted: 9/24/12 at 3:15pm

I see how it's confusing, but he actually did win for his role in Phantom. The songs they sing in their medleys (Josh sang All I Ask Of You) are from the shows they were nominated. The solos that the six finalists got to sing (The Light In The Piazza song for example) were just whatever songs the nominees chose. From what I hear it isn't uncommon for students to pick shows that they have been in before (sometimes they even pick one from the show they won for), but they can choose any song they want.

[macnyc]

Posted: 9/24/12 at 3:18pm

I agree with your comments about lip-synching to Over the Rainbow. If I were that girl, I would be so angry/horrified/despondent!

I watched all three parts and I really enjoyed seeing the process, however flawed. I can't believe how talented those kids are. Best of luck to them all!