Is there an orchestra for PRISCILLA in NYC

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 11:25am

I'm just a curious skeptic who would like to know...

[winston89]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 11:48am

Yes there is. According to the bios on the website for the creative team, they list the bios for the person doing musical arrangements, as well as orchestrations as well as music director. So yes, I don't think that they would have those members of the creative team if the show's music was done by someone in the booth pushing the play button.

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 12:03pm

According to my Playbill there is a conductor and associate conductor and 7 people playing in the pit. There is also a Coordinator. they play woodwinds, guitar, trumpet, trombone, bass, drums and percussion. They sound great.

[Justin D]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 12:25pm

I'm sure there is, but I saw a photo of the theatre in london and it seems the pit is covered. Are they still in the pit or just off in the back someplace?

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 12:27pm

Yes there is. According to the bios on the website for the creative team, they list the bios for the person doing musical arrangements, as well as orchestrations as well as music director. So yes, I don't think that they would have those members of the creative team if the show's music was done by someone in the booth pushing the play button.

Wow, that is some of the most illogical and faulty reasoning I have ever seen on this site (and that is saying a lot). Even if the music WAS all pre-recorded and played by someone on the sound board, a musical arranger and an orchestrator would have to have been involved in creating the tapes. Unless someone went out and purchased the karaoke tracks of the original pop versions of the songs, but that's just as moronic, because that would assume that the actors are all singing the songs EXACTLY as the originals, with no key changes, cuts, tempo changes, etc. Not to mention the extra, unnecessary rights payments to the artists and/or studios of those recordings.

To the OP, all Broadway theaters have a minimum orchestra size required by the musician's union. Only in rare, special cases are shows allowed to hire less (and those have to be petitioned and approved by a committee). I am fairly confident in saying that the union would NEVER approve pre-recorded music in a Broadway musical.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 12:28pm

They are in the pit, and when the show starts, they cover it.
Pretty sad that such a huge theatre has only 7 musicians in the orchestra pit.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 1:25pm

No, it isn't sad. If the theatre was housing Sound of Music, it would be sad. However, given the music. An orchestra / band of that size is perfectly appropriate.

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 2:08pm

I didn't know they covered it when the show starts. I was sitting midway up on the left in the Orchestra. It was slightly distracting to see the conducter's music stand lit throughout the show. He seemed to be up really high. Maybe because the stage is so high up?

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 2:15pm

"I am fairly confident in saying that the union would NEVER approve pre-recorded music in a Broadway musical."

Except for that Stroman show that won Best Musical some years ago

[Tag]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 2:17pm

I can't remember but I think most (if not all) of this show is sung/played live. There are performers that lip sync but the music they are singing to is performed live by someone else on stage.

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 2:22pm

I can't remember which number, I think it was the number with the shoe and the fabric, I didn't see the conductor, conducting. It sounded pre-recorded.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 2:25pm

The opera number isn't live, I think.

[Tag]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 2:31pm

Yes forgot about that.

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 3:34pm

That was the number I was referring to. I saw it this past Friday and the number was fun but he wasn't spot on with the lipsynching and was just flailing all over the place. But the audience ate it up.

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 3:36pm

According to my Playbill there is a conductor and associate conductor and 7 people playing in the pit. There is also a Coordinator. they play woodwinds, guitar, trumpet, trombone, bass, drums and percussion. They sound great.

Can you tell me, according to that Playbill, who they are?

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 3:39pm

Whoops. Found it. Nevermind.

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 3:43pm

I was going to list them but didn't feel like typing out the names. :)

Posted: 3/7/11 at 4:04pm

I am fairly confident in saying that the union would NEVER approve pre-recorded music in a Broadway musical.

And I am fairly confident in saying that Contact featured all pre-existing pre-recorded music.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 4:06pm

Musical Supervisor: Stephen Murphy; Musical Coordinator: John Miller; Conducted by Jeffrey Klitz; Associate Conductor: Jeff Marder; Woodwinds: David Mann; Guitar: Ed Hamilton; Trumpet: Barry Danielian; Trombone: Michael Davis; Bass: Luico Hopper; Drums: Warren Odze; Percussion: Roger Squitero

[TechEverlasting]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 5:20pm

"I am fairly confident in saying that the union would NEVER approve pre-recorded music in a Broadway musical."

Actually that is some of the most illogical and faulty reasoning I have ever seen on this site. Ever hear of "Phantom of the Opera"? Much of what is heard in the opening sequence is pre-recorded music, although the live players do accompany some of it. There are plenty of other examples of prerecorded music being used in Broadway shows. The only thing Local 802 has jurisdiction over in this case is the minimum number of musicians hired, and they give lots of "Special Exceptions" to those minimums.

Broadway producers have every right to hire the required number of musicians and have them sit in the pit doing nothing while the entire score is played back from a recording if that's what they want.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 5:31pm

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I'm fairly confident that the union would never allow ENTIRELY pre-recorded music in place of live musicians in a Broadway musical.

I do not define dance shows like CONTACT as Broadway musicals, despite what the Tony committee says.

TechEverlasting, you're right that the producers have no obligation to have their musicians actually play anything, but that would be kind of silly if the pre-recorded score has the same number of musicians as the pit.

Updated On: 3/7/11 at 05:31 PM

Posted: 3/7/11 at 5:45pm

When I saw this in London there was definitely no orchestra. The 'conducter' was pressing play on a CD. This was glaringly obvious due to the arrangements being identical (not similar, not close, but identical) to the 70's and 80's tunes on my ipod. This along with the miming was one of my own major disappointments with the production. Oh, and the lazy book. It went beyond jukebox musical to karaoke musical. A new genre perhaps??

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 5:48pm

I agree with you on the classification of Contact as a musical, hence the wink at the end of my statement. I admit that I'm still kind of bitter that it was able to take the award for Best Musical over The Wild Party, which I absolutely loved, though I assume I'm probably in the minority with my love for that show.

And obviously AFM would not be happy about being replaced by a pre-recorded score. That was one of the motivating factors in the 2003 strike.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 5:51pm

Thank you, AEA, I understood your wink. I was responding to others.

I was thinking about that strike when I wrote that.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/7/11 at 5:52pm

How is the orchestra covered when the show starts? Just curious.