LATEST NEWS

There Ain't Any Justice Dept.

Mr Roxy Profile Photo
Mr Roxy
#1There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 4:42pm

Stephen Schwartz wrote 2 musicals - one made it and one did not .

Wicked succeeded and is a mega hit

The Baker's Wife flopped and closed out of town

Problem is Baker's Wife has a far superior score.

Mull and discuss


Poster Emeritus
Updated On: 3/1/15 at 04:42 PM

Sorry-Grateful Profile Photo
Sorry-Grateful
#2There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 4:44pm

Stephen Schwartz wrote a whole lot more than two musicals.


TodayTix Code: XGAXA

Mr Roxy Profile Photo
Mr Roxy
#2There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 4:46pm

No kidding

I was,simply comparing 2 of those he wrote that went on to 2 separate fates.


Poster Emeritus

Play  Esq. Profile Photo
Play Esq.
#3There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 5:04pm

The construction of your first sentence is 1) grammatically incorrect and 2) misleading. Sorry-Greatful was right to comment accordingly. I won't even get into the typos you made within a very short post.

Mull and discuss.

FindingNamo
#4There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 5:05pm

Speaking of Godspell, that's the first musical I fell in love with all on my own as a kid.


Twitter @NamoInExile Instagram none

Mr Roxy Profile Photo
Mr Roxy
#5There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 5:10pm

It must be hard on you with your head so far up in the clouds.

Why don't you go out and play in the snow?

Was that grammatically teacher?


Poster Emeritus

Mr Roxy Profile Photo
Mr Roxy
#6There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 5:10pm

It must be hard on you with your head so far up in the clouds.

Why don't you go out and play in the snow?

Was that grammatically teacher?


Poster Emeritus

FindingNamo
#7There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 5:13pm

"Was that grammatically teacher?"

Oh, dear. Bless your heart.


Twitter @NamoInExile Instagram none

Mr. Nowack Profile Photo
Mr. Nowack
#8There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 5:49pm

What about PIPPIN, one of his greatest hits successful in both its original and circus revival incarnations?


Keeping BroadwayWorld Illustrated

FindingNamo
#9There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 6:01pm

I think that's in the There Ain't Not Any Justice Dept. down the hall.


Twitter @NamoInExile Instagram none

GavestonPS Profile Photo
GavestonPS
#10There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 6:03pm

And GODSPELL and THE MAGIC SHOW. I'm not sure about R&H, but at the time (mid-70s) it was claimed that Schwartz was the first composer to have three monster hits running on Broadway simultaneously.

As for THE BAKER'S WIFE and WICKED, both scores have gems and rocks. Thankfully, EricMontreal insisted I get the American recording of WIFE, which eliminates the latter. But if one listens to the OLC, one hears numerous songs about "Gossip" which never go anywhere and a musical orgy dedicated to "Bread".

WICKED, in my view, has some of Schwartz' best songs ("Loathing", "Defying Gravity"), but the score seems to lose steam in the second act. The problem may lie in the book: I've never cared enough to go and see it.

But as for Mr. Roxy's question, which seems to be "Why wasn't THE BAKER'S WIFE a bigger hit?", I can't speak to the infamous tryout problems; I haven't read about them all. In general, I'd say the show (and, yes, I have seen this one) has too little plot to sustain the gorgeous songs. There is no discernible subplot and the leading lady simply (SPOILER) runs off with a cute guy, changes her mind and comes home. Pretty thin stuff for 2+ hours of nearly operatic singing.

Play  Esq. Profile Photo
Play Esq.
#11There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 7:59pm

Thank you, Roxy. You certainly made my day with both of your posts.

Jay Lerner-Z Profile Photo
Jay Lerner-Z
#12There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 8:20pm

WICKED, in my view, has some of Schwartz' best songs ("Loathing"

I think you mean "What Is This Feeling?", but I'm surprised you think that's one of his best.


Beyoncé is not an ally. Actions speak louder than words, Mrs. Carter. #Dubai #$$$

Mr Roxy Profile Photo
Mr Roxy
#13There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 8:27pm

Glad to oblige Play.


Poster Emeritus

Elfuhbuh Profile Photo
Elfuhbuh
#14There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 8:40pm

I'd actually argue that "No One Mourns the Wicked" is Wicked's best number, but eh.


"Was uns befreit, das muss stärker sein als wir es sind." -Tanz der Vampire

Jay Lerner-Z Profile Photo
Jay Lerner-Z
#15There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 8:47pm

I just listened to "What Is This Feeling?" again for the first time in ages, and actually Gaveston, you could be right!


Beyoncé is not an ally. Actions speak louder than words, Mrs. Carter. #Dubai #$$$

AEA AGMA SM
#16There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 9:19pm

"WICKED, in my view, has some of Schwartz' best songs ("Loathing", "Defying Gravity"), but the score seems to lose steam in the second act. "

If you are only going by the cast recording keep in mind that there is a large section of Act 2 that was left off of the recording to avoid "spoilers." Not that it would necessarily change your mind about it, but it does obviously make a big difference to the movement and pacing of the second act.

Mr Roxy Profile Photo
Mr Roxy
#17There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 9:21pm

I may be biased as we did not think it deserved the hype it got.


Poster Emeritus

Elfuhbuh Profile Photo
Elfuhbuh
#18There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 9:22pm

^ From what I recall, only one song was left off the cast recording, and that wasn't really one of the show's most memorable tunes anyways.


"Was uns befreit, das muss stärker sein als wir es sind." -Tanz der Vampire

AEA AGMA SM
#19There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 9:31pm

I admit it's been a long time since I've seen the show (about 11 years now), so my memory may be hazy, but I recall the Witch of the East sequence in Act 2 (the stuff that I am referring to that was left off of the recording) to be fairly lengthy. Again, though, I'm going off of 11 year old memories. And of course it does provide a better through line than what you get from the cast recording going directly from "No Good Deed" into "March of the Witch Hunters."

Mr. Nowack Profile Photo
Mr. Nowack
#20There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 9:49pm

"Wicked Witch Of The East" is a very odd sequence. If you count it from beginning to end it's quite lengthy but the actual song portions are sporadic. A verse here and there amidst dialogue and almost recitative like portions.

It also ties in significantly to earlier portions of the show, musically and plot-wise, and plays a crucial role in the development of the second act arc.

I actually really love it but it seems few others do. It could easily have fit on the CD if they cut out a bit of the dialogue and I've never got the whole "spoilers" thing. Seems like a cop out cause they didn't want to just slap the entire scene with the dialogue on CD but couldn't be bothered to adapt the integrated scene as many other cast albums have.


Keeping BroadwayWorld Illustrated
Updated On: 3/1/15 at 09:49 PM

AEA AGMA SM
#21There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/1/15 at 9:57pm

I kind of understand the "spoilers" bit, since the sequence was a pretty big departure from the book. In the book Boq becomes the wealthy Munchkin from Baum's book that took Dorothy in for a night during her journey to the Emerald City, and though Elphaba briefly wonders if the Scarecrow is Fiyero coming back to her in disguise it's pretty quickly shown that he isn't when removes all of his stuffing to protect Dorothy from one of the Witch's attacks (the bees).

Now whether the spoilers were their main reason, or not wanting to go through the trouble of editing that sequence down, I guess we'll never know. I'm kind of surprised when they did the special release of the recording for the fifth anniversary that they didn't stick it in amongst the bonus tracks.

RippedMan Profile Photo
RippedMan
#22There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/2/15 at 1:09am

I think Baker's Wife is one of those shows that will get a new book in like 20 years and be a hit. It's got such a great idea. This whole like Suburban love affair thing. And the music is great. I've never seen it, but might checkout the Gallery Player's production just to get some background.

TheGingerBreadMan Profile Photo
TheGingerBreadMan
#23There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/2/15 at 7:11pm

I'm not sure what confuses me more - the title of this thread or the original post.

It's been about 2 years since I last saw Wicked, but I don't recall Wicked Witch of the East being something that would be hard to adapt into something more fitting for a cast recording. The major spoiler involved would of course be Boq turning into the Tin Man, which IIRC happens during the song (or perhaps the dialogue in between verses) but other than that, there really wouldn't be any reason to leave it off the recording.

bwayphreak234 Profile Photo
bwayphreak234
#24There Ain't Any Justice Dept.
Posted: 3/2/15 at 7:23pm

Wicked Witch of the East is my favorite song from the show. I am bummed it was left off the recording.


"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "