ALW writes 6 new songs for WIZARD OF OZ...

[Pgenre]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 2:36pm

... "I'm writing six new songs for the show, but of course all the favorites will be there: 'Over the Rainbow,' one of the greatest songs ever, ever written. I'm not even going to try to challenge that."

I'd hope not!

I don't know what else to say!

A Good Nightmare Comes So Rarely,
P


Oh, my...

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 2:36pm

WTF.

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 2:45pm

Whaaaa? Okay, I hate ALW less than a lot of people do, but that is just crazy.

[James885]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 2:51pm

Why he'd feel the need to tamper with a pretty much perfect score is beyond me.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 2:52pm

From the horse's face, err, mouth... cat's mouth?

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 3:29pm

If they're not at least listenable, then forget it.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 3:40pm

I thought he pulled out of this faster than he did Sarah Brightman on their wedding night?

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 3:59pm

WTF?
WTF?
WTF?

Write your own ****ing Oz musical if you want, there's plenty of untouched material in the books. What is the ****ing point of this, ALW? The RSC version is a good, full show using only songs written for the film and it fills out fine.

[Kad]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 4:00pm

What's next, ALW? Adding stuff into Singin' in the Rain?

[Pgenre]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 4:04pm

So what tunes from ASPECTS and SONG & DANCE is he gonna throw into this? It seems a tune from one or the other shows up in pretty much all his recent scores...

... and will he go full out "Defying Gravity" with a massively inappropriate 80s style power-ballad act one finale?

P

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 4:09pm

He's actually adding tunes to Handel's Messiah next.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 4:37pm

I wonder what s***acular lyricist is working with him now.

[James885]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 4:40pm

Probably Glenn Slater, his collaborator for Love Never Dies and the same lyricist who gave us all those excellent lyrics for the new Little Mermaid songs.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 5:08pm

Hey! Slater's lyrics for SISTER ACT are the best comedy lyrics I've heard since CITY OF ANGELS.

His stuff for LOVE NEVER DIES is pretty impressive too.

Slater is THE ONLY lyricist ALW has worked with since Jim Steinman who has a true mastery of the craft, TLM notwithstanding. MERMAID was truly terrible, though I'm sure the lyrics could have been worse, and I really don't know what went wrong there...

P

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 5:17pm

I had no idea Webber was working with Glenn Slater on anything. Well, I had heard about LND but I had totally forgotten.

I'm surprised and impressed. His lyrics for Home on the Range and Little Mermaid, despite how both projects ended up, were very clever and Ashman-esque.

I'm just used to Webber having ridiculously awful lyricists. Sunset Boulevard, despite the gorgeous score and great story, has probably the worst lyrics of any major Broadway musical I can think of.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 5:17pm

I need to stop double-clicking on the post button.
Updated On: 9/19/09 at 05:17 PM

[gypsy4]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 5:20pm

Is he out of his mind? just a new scheme to make money no songs are needed maybe one solo for the wicked witch except MSG already proved that. except UK audiences receive the wizard of oz different than US audiences. but ALW is the wrong guy for that matter.

[James885]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 5:48pm

I'm only going by Slater's work on TLM and Home On The Range, both of which left me underwhelmed. Buy if what you say is true about his stuff for Love Never Dies, maybe he'll redeem himself.

Still, no matter how good the lyricist, Andrew Lloyd Weber is insane to even THINK about inserting six new songs into The Wizard of Oz score.

Updated On: 9/19/09 at 05:48 PM

[bwayguy22089]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 6:46pm

Awful. I don't even care if the songs are decent. There are too many fans of this perfect movie (and an already almost perfect stage adaptation (RSC) and none of them are going to fully accept this. I hate to say it, but I kinda hope it fails.

[Jenna Maroney]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 6:54pm

The Phantom made him do it.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 7:00pm

I posted about this when it was first announced a while back. It is indeed Glenn Slater as the lyricist, and it is indeed happening.

It will probably transfer, and run, because Americans are idiots.

[Taryn]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 7:01pm

You know. I bet the cat is the one writing his music now, and ALW's the one accidentally deleting the cat's work from his keyboard.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 7:09pm

Oh Christ.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 7:54pm

So we'll have "Over the Rainbow" and three more enormous power ballads for Dorothy to sing ... about traveling past the point of no return ... and how love can change everything ... and how she found that out home is where the heart is, just like an unexpected song.

And there will be one really rangy-belty number for the Wicked Witch to sing called "Give Me Those Slippers!"

And a big Masquerade party at the Emerald City.

And the Wizard will really hit it out of the park with "Up In a Balloon!" A dance number featuring clouds.

There, that's six.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 8:49pm

Maybe, finaly, Toto will get a song.