Shows that don't age well
Shows that don't age well
Skip2
Featured Actor Joined: 12/17/04
#1Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/17/11 at 10:20pm
Of Thee I Sing
Applause
(Can we include Les Miz?)
#2Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/17/11 at 10:23pm
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Updated On: 8/17/11 at 10:23 PM
Skip2
Featured Actor Joined: 12/17/04
#2Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/17/11 at 10:25pmWell, yeah...(Applause) after the original run, I've never seen a good production cause the stars just don't exist anymore.
#3Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/17/11 at 10:25pm
I misread the thread title. I thought it said "shows that don't age". And, obviously, APPLAUSE is NOT in that category!
My apologies!
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
siny
Broadway Star Joined: 2/8/07
#4Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/17/11 at 10:39pmPromises, Promises. It should be retired for good.
SondheimFan5
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/10
#5Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/17/11 at 10:58pm
It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman
The Boy Friend
No No Nanette
Rent (to me) feels very dated now - it was so relevant back in the 90s but now it feels tired...IMHO...
dare I say it...Oklahoma!
#6Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/17/11 at 11:12pm
Skip2 wrote: Of Thee I Sing
Seconded.
And it hurts me to say this, but another show that hasn't aged very well is Oklahoma.
It can still be entertaining, but the power it used to have - the power to make grown men tear up in the theater - is gone; partly because we're not fighting World War II anymore; partly because since the 60s we've become much more suspicious of art that celebrates established traditions in general, or small town life in particular.
Updated On: 8/17/11 at 11:12 PM
Gaveston2
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/11
#7Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 6:25am
Alm sums up well what can make Oklahoma! seem quaint. But if you'd opened a production on Broadway in the six months after 9/11, who knows? There may come a day when it moves us again. I think its appeal has more to do with how we feel about American unity than with nostalgia for small towns.
Applause is dated because we no longer believe a woman must choose between marriage and her career. Of course it doesn't help that it wasn't that good to begin with (though I admit I thought Bacall's performance was thrilling).
I think a lot of shows that seem dated do so because they weren't particularly good, they were just timely when they opened:
Purlie
The Magic Show
The Wiz
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
But the one that breaks my heart is Li'l Abner. One of the all-time best Broadway scores, but I can't imagine that book playing as anything but a museum piece. (Not because the book is bad, far from it. But it's as specific to 50s politics as Call Me, Madam.)
#8Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 7:40am
Gaveston2 wrote: I think its [Oklahoma's] appeal has more to do with how we feel about American unity than with nostalgia for small towns.
That's an interesting idea.
#9Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 7:45amI never really understand when people says Rent is dated now. Yes its a 90s show but im pretty sure poverty is still around, im pretty sure self expression is still around, im pretty sure shouting for something you belive in is still around (protests and riots) and im pretty sure HIV/AIDS is still around and killing people
Namo i love u but we get it already....you don't like Madonna
#10Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 7:49am
It's a tricky call to make. If a show is absolutely rooted in the period it was written it can still be produced well if handled properly.
The culture may change, but the emotional core does not.
Look at Hair. Talk about a show of its time. But it played well and maintained its vibrant message because of (unspoken) modern parallels.
Another one is The Wiz. I used to think it was unable to be done in modern times. It is so completely based in the specific era of 1970s black culture. The songs really can't be arranged with a contemporary R&B/hip-hop spin. But it's still the Wizard Of Oz, and that's a timeless tale of facing fears and finding your inner strength.
I saw it done exactly as it would have been done in the 70s and it was presented as sort of a period piece, but with universal and timeless themes. it was a magical experience.
Granted, there may be some tweaking needed (not like Porgy, but more like South Pacific with subtle updates).
Having said all that I think these shows would not play well today:
Hallelujah Baby (shame too, what a score!)
House Of Flowers
I Love My Wife
....but the world goes 'round
Updated On: 8/18/11 at 07:49 AM
henrikegerman
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/29/05
#11Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 9:48amDisagree about Promises, and I actually liked the revival apart from Cheno, who gave an uncharacteristically poorly acted performance in addition to being miscast.
#12Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 11:03am
When Oklahoma! is done well, trusting the material, it remains fresh and captivating.
Updated On: 8/18/11 at 11:03 AM
#13Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 12:29pmVery first thing that comes to mind is Hello Dolly.
#14Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 12:45pmStaunch, you've just killed DollyPop. Shame on you.
Cheyenne Jackson tickled me. AFTER ordering SoMMS a drink but NOT tickling him, and hanging out with Girly in his dressing room (where he DIDN'T tickle her) but BEFORE we got married. To others. And then he tweeted Boobs. He also tweeted he's good friends with some chick on "The Voice" who just happens to be good friends with Tink's ex. And I'm still married. Oh, and this just in: "Pettiness, spite, malice ....Such ugly emotions... So sad." - After Eight, talking about MEEEEEEEE!!! I'm so honored! :-)
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#15Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 12:53pmHonestly, I think the general consensus was that Hair was dated until this country started waging wars in the Middle East.
#16Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 12:58pm
Baby - Love the score, but the ideology of the book is already dated.
They're Playing Our Song - What made it fun the first time around has been done to death in style and concept, so the book now comes across as corny and thin. It hardly ventures beyond community theatre.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#17Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 2:19pmWell then let me rephrase myself D2: I feel that Dolly only works with a star at the helm. Then its sincerely one of the best nights you can have at the theatre. I can't tell you how many times I've watched my Carol Channing bootleg clips. But I've also been to many a miserble community theatre production. I love the show, and have all the recordings of it, but for general audience in today's society it doesn't fare well.
Gaveston2
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/11
#18Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 2:46pm
Mister Matt, what is the ideology of Baby?
(Serious question, not a challenge. I know a lot of the songs, but I've never seen the show.)
greensgreens
Broadway Star Joined: 10/14/09
#19Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 2:54pm
I disagree about The Wiz. I have seen several productions over the years that have not had a hint of the 70's about it (one even had a French impressionistic flair). The dialogue can get a little jivey at times, but if a creative team approaches the material honestly and without a pre-set nostalgic perspective, it plays just as well today as it did years ago. It's all in how you play it. I've even seen it with predominantly white casts and those productions managed to not come across as minstrel shows at all, which was very impressive and a testament to the strength and universality of the source material.
Now, will it play the same in another thirty years? That remains yet to be seen.
bobbybaby85
Featured Actor Joined: 8/3/11
#21Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 2:57pm
You have the young college couple who (gasp) aren't married and not sure if they're ready for a baby. The 30-something couple who's main issue is trouble conceiving (a subject that's been exhausted to the point where we obsessed over an octomom). And the ANCIENT 40 year-old couple who wring their hands at the thought of having a baby so "late in life". The accidental pregnancy becomes a talking point for...abortion (the show's heaviest moment). Pretty much all of this was covered in a couple of seasons of Roseanne, but with more wit, frankness and a far more modern approach. Give Baby another 20 years and it may become a quaint period piece of outdated attitudes towards parenting.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
Updated On: 8/18/11 at 02:57 PM
Gaveston2
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/11
#22Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 3:11pm
I appreciate the answer, Matt. Your response lists issues that you believe have been done better and too often elsewhere, and that certainly makes sense as to why the show feels dated to you.
But you specifically mentioned ideology. Does the show have an ideological view of abortion that strikes you as passe?
#23Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 3:24pm
Thanks for sharing your experience greensgreens. I'm glad the show plays well and I would love to see a new version. There is so much room for creativity in that show that until now always felt was untapped.
Wasn't there a production out in CA a few years ago that was eyeing Bway? Anyone see that one?
....but the world goes 'round
Ed_Mottershead
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/20/05
#24Shows that don't age well
Posted: 8/18/11 at 3:38pmHello Dolly still works IF you've got your Dolly. If nothing else, the title number can still bring an audience to its feet -- with the right Dolly. IMO, it's still got some life in it yet.
BroadwayEd
