joevitus said: "She is literally the one to tell him/her "Blow out the candles and make a wish. Want something. Want something."That is literally the show's message she's delivering. And she's the only friend, along with Joanne, highlighted throughout in her relationship to Bobbierather than getting only a scene and then merging back into the chorus."
That’s Amy, not Sarah.
Jul 5
2019, 12:11:18 PM
Charley: Definitely get your hands on it if you can!
You bring up a good point about the energy of a lot of the numbers. The tempos are a BIT faster for the demo (I assume to make it all fit on one casette or record), but after the title song in Act 2, the pacing of the show does kind of slow down. It's not that the ending is bad or dull, it's just a big shift from Act 1, which as you said is very high energy.
If you can find them, there are some clips from the Bro
Jul 5
2019, 11:40:25 AM
Charley, have you read the licensed script? Some of your queries/issues about the score are answered in it.
I agree that "Bob's Song" is colorless and unnecessary, but the gospel and spoken word in "Young and American" are intentionally amateur. In the spoken word segment, Doria's doing a striptease all while talking about finding "beauty from within." It's pretty hysterical if done well. You can find that moment from the movie o
I don't mind inaccuracies for the sake of condensed storytelling. For example, when Verdon and Fosse are talking about Reinking's new boyfriend, Verdon says she learned about him while teaching Reinking the role of Roxie for Broadway. But Ann Reinking didn't break up with Fosse until Dancin', which is where she met her new boyfriend, and that was a year after she did Roxie on Broadway. That doesn't matter to me. I clocked it, but I let it go.
Call_me_jorge said: "I hope in like 5 years LCT gets a hold of the rights, because I’d just love to see a bart sher interpretation."
Why? LCT did it once before and it served them well. They have no need to do it again. Also, Bartlett Sher is a very wrong choice for Carousel. I know he's deemed the master interpreter of Golden Age musicals, and most of his revivals have been triumphs, but not all Golden Age musicals are built alike.
EllieRose2 said: "Yes, international opera singer Nathan Gunn, gorgeous and ungodly talented, was a horrendous Billy. Nope. Watch the DVD sometime, his songs will gut you. He's incredible and his voice is tremendous. His chemistry with Kelli is something Joshua and Jessie will never, ever have."
Gunn has a beautiful voice. That's the only nice thing I can say about his performance.
BroadwayBaby6 said: "I haven't seen the production YET but I'd like to mention a couple of observations: - Some critics liked and some hated the new choreography. While Agnes De Mille's original choregraophy is iconic, it's of its time (1945). One could argue thatnew choreographycould make us see this show with new eyes.
- As wonderful as the Hytner revival was, most people forget that Billy was played by Michael Hayden, a wonderful actor but not a sin
The Distinctive Baritone said: "What’s cut again? Geraniums and Stonecutters?"
Musically: most of "Give it to 'Em Good Carrie," "Geraniums in the Winder" and "Stonecutters Cut it on Stone."
Text-wise (*SPOILERS* for a nearly 80 year old musical) and this is from what I can remember from a week ago: The entire Act 1 closing scene post "Soliloquy," Mrs. Mullin coming back and seeing Billy's dead body and Juli
Nothing happens "off stage." Read the script, the carousel is on stage for the "Carousel Waltz," as is the entire carnival. Just about every production includes the carousel in the opening, from the original 1945 production to the National/LCT, to the Arena Stage production. Even the disastrous movie included it. The only major presentation I can think of not to include it was the NY Philharmonic production, but that was a staged concert with a limited budget, stage s
An exceptionally brilliant man. He's also responsible for bringing mystical beauty to The Secret Garden, vibrant jazz hands to both Curtains and Crazy For You, and giving majestic life to classic musicals like Hal Prince's Show Boat, RNT's Oklahoma, and LCT's Carousel.
JBC3 said: "Piazza not selling well? Nonsense. The show extended multiple times and ran for more than 500 performances."
Yes. Re-read my post, I acknowledge it ran for over a year and had a successful national tour...AFTER its success at the Tony Awards. All it takes is a review on Playbill Vault to see that it wasn't until the beginning of June that Piazza saw a significant rise in its grosses and seeing high capacity. The week before the
If the question is did it have a chance: Sure. All shows that are nominated do. Was it anticipated to win? No, not really. To understand why, you'll have to put your personal opinion about the show (which I share) aside and look at it from a historical perspective.
Spamalot was the huge, and I mean HUGE, hit of the season. It had the highest grosses, it had generally the best reviews (including a rave from the NY Times), it had a company of actors that were well liked wit
aliciag3 said: "...Having not seen The Little Foxes, is it weird that Laura Linney was nominated in leading and Cynthia Nixon in featured...?"
The producers have made it clear to nominators that they are submitting Linney for Leading and Nixon for Featured, so it is the performances where Linney is on for Regina and Nixon for Birdie that nominators will be given tickets to. Nothing weird about it.
Soaring: Billy IS young. He's not a teenager, but he is not a commanding, powerful, intimidating presence. He is a man/child who was the big fish in very, very small pond who doesn't know the first thing about being an adult. Carousel post "If I Loved You" is the audience seeing the vulnerable, insecure person Billy is hiding behind the raw sexual charisma he presents at most times.
A booming, operatic voice offers wonderful thrills with this score (John Rait
CPD: I know what it was written for. I'm saying what a different sounding voice could add to the performance. Not that a tenor voice is vital, but that a youthful presence is. I'm also aware of the stigma that comes with the role, that it being a major singing role. It is a role with very heavy duty singing to it, but it's not the ONLY thing that defines it.
No, Sher would've been the wrong choice for this. Carousel is hot blooded passion, intensity and life and death stakes. Sher would've brought a gentle, subtle hand to a piece that needs heat. O'Brien is a risky choice given his track record of late, but apparently his Porgy and Bess many years ago was something to behold and I've heard very positive things about his Sound of Music.
Still wish it was Phillipa Soo as Julie Jordan, but Mueller is a phenomenal talent and ac
muscle23ftl said: "Right, Billy Wilder himself said the show was a 85% just like his movie. I think the other 15% is even better than the movie, because the musical and the dramatic symphonies and the color of the music make it a 15% better. "
If you think some of it is better than the movie, well that's your opinion. But you misquoted and misinterpreted what Wilder said. When asked what he thought of the musical at the opening night party
QueenAlice said: "Every time I see a blurb about a "Carousel" revival, I get excited thinking they may some day bring back Nicholas Hunter's glorious RNT revival."
Would love a remount of the Hytner production, too. But since that's pretty much a pipe dream, I'd be on board with an O'Brien revival. I maintain that Phillipa Soo is the only option for Julie Jordan, but Jessie Mueller would certainly be lovely.
Trish2 said: "It's sad that Debbie Reynolds passed away today. Her work in the film, Singin' in the Rain, is sublime.
For all of you who commented on the "gorgeous dance sequences" in La La Land, why don't you take a look at Singin' again. The dance sequences in that musical are stunning and luckily preserved forever on film . They're lit beautifully, the actors have musical talent, the score is top-notch and the choreography is gl
