Irv Kostal, as quoted in Steven Suskin’s “The Sound of Broadway”:
“One of the first things Lenny, Sid, and I did was to visit the Winter Garden Theatre to study the acoustics and also to hear the orchestra we might have to use. At that time, the Musicians’ Union insisted that each theatre designate four housemen, who had to play any show booked in that theatre. When Lenny heard the housemen at the Winter Garden, he groaned in despair. In particular, he cou
Dolly80 said: "Does it sound good musically? Good singing ?"
I too would like to hear more about the musical side of things (especially since the 2009 revival was sunk, for me, by insufficient attention to putting the score across with care and strength).
According to the West Side Rag, they weren't filming in Harlem last night but on West 107th between Broadway and Amsterdam. At least one of the photos in the Daily Mail article is clearly in front of 210 West 107th. (For non-New Yorker's, that the Upper West Side, bordering on Morningside Heights, but it's definitely not Harlem.)
joevitus said: "Also, for me,Sondheim's revised lyrics are simply superior to those originally used on Broadway."
Tiny clarification that actually supports your point (which I agree with): The lyrics in the movie are the ones Sondheim wrote originally, before Robbins decided it had to be a number for the women only. Sondheim himself says the new lyrics weren’t as good, partly because he resented Robbins’s asking him to redo them.
I’ve been watching the show with interest, but mostly joylessly. Tonight, even “Nowadays” was turned into a complete downer. Where have wit, sly humor, vivacity gone? The show seems intent on showing us why we mustn’t love Fosse and Verdon, but it doesn’t even try to show us why we should love “Sweet Charity,” “Cabaret,” “Chicago.” I feel like it’s lost the thread, or maybe I just can’t follow what they’
I can see both sides of it, but personally, I think it's nice to wait until you're at the bar next door having drinks to start in with the heavy criticism. There might be that person next to you who spent their life's savings to come to New York and see one Broadway show before they die, and even if in their heart they knew it wasn't any good, they don't want to hear it said aloud. Why not wait a couple minutes until you're out of the crowd?
Roscoe said: "I can only echo the praise of Ms. Channing's performance in SIX DEGREES. She really was that good. I remember being disappointed in the film, which couldn't summon the cinematic equivalent of the energy happening on that stage. The film seemed rather earth-bound somehow."
I know what you mean. The play is simply a better and livelier as a theater work than as a movie. But I have to say I think Schepisi did a great job overall, and I count it as
I like Jesse Green a lot, but sometimes I think he takes things too seriously. One of the charms of the Encores series is that occasionally, for a few days, with minimal preparation, they let us see what it’s like to watch a one-time hit show from another era that could never play Broadway again, a light whimsical piece meant for pre-television audience merely wanting a diverting couple of hours of tunes, jokes, and dancing after a long day at the office. Where else can you have that ex
rattleNwoolypenguin said: "Every moment of Gypsy is in theatres, hotels, restaurants. All of these can be shown and replicated on a stage. The medium of film adds nothing to this story. "
I agree. It's a great piece for live theater, and it gets revived all the time because of that. We really don't need a movie. I'd get more excited if some of the great names floated here came and did a Broadway production.
These discussions are good to have, but always make me worry that musicals as a genre are becoming defined in the popular imagination as children's entertainment; also, that for most people "family friendly" means only the most anodyne theater possible. I'm sure I'm not the only one here who's parents took me to lots of "grownup" theater when I was a kid, and it didn't ruin me or bore me (usually).
mfaye9 said: "and something is done musically (which I don’t really want to spoil) at the end of Our Time which was absolutely brilliant and probably the best part of the entire production."
Very intriguing! Now I must go and see what they've done. I always fantasize about how *I* would stage this scene if I were a director. It's such a searing number after all the cynicism and heartbreak of what comes before, and the anthem treatment, when the whole ca
Exciting news! A-R Editions has published a full score, libretto, and critical notes for Shuffle Along based on the original materials. (Hopefully a vocal score will follow.)
From the publisher: "The Broadway musical Shuffle Along—with book by Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles, lyrics by Noble Sissle, and music by Eubie Blake&m
This production had the charm I thought was missing from the 2006 revival, and I was impressed by how good things were musically. Dared? It always strikes me as a snapshot of 1975, and personally, I just love it for that.
^getatme said: "There's an interview I watched with Natalie Cortez from the revival a couple years ago and she talks about how on the first day of rehearsal, right in the script the cast receives it says something to the effect of "Never forget: A CHORUS LINE is a tragedy. At the end of the day, you become a member of the chorus and you are no different than anyone else onstage with you." Paraphrased (and probably made a bit harsher, apologies if anyone knows the exact
Three things related to this that always puzzle me, especially in the era of Google: that people will shell out large sums of money for tickets to shows they haven’t bothered to learn a thing about; that people assume all Broadway shows are appropriate for children; and, conversely, the idea some parents have that their children must be protected at all costs from difficult or grownup subjects, or even just everyday bad language (good luck with that). So I
