Lack of good musicals upcoming...

[japhun2]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 8:42pm

Am I the only one who thinks the upcoming line-up of musicals to hit Broadway seem lackluster and are generating no buzz or interest?



Any insight into this?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 8:52pm

I'm actually pretty excited about this upcoming season on Broadway!

[Wynbish]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 8:53pm

Not even excited about Edwin Drood?

[japhun2]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 8:53pm

which shows? The only one I am remotely interested in is Chaplin. Scandalous seems like a total flop because the subject matter is uninteresting (and Kathie Lee, need I say more...) and Rebecca seems ok at best. What are you looking forward to?

Updated On: 8/21/12 at 08:53 PM

[japhun2]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 8:55pm

is Edwin Drood a musical? I love Dickens...but have not read much about this one.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 8:57pm

Rebecca
Cinderella
Matilda
Kinky Boots
Edwin Drood
Annie (Korins' set design looks like it is going to be stunning)

[japhun2]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 9:00pm

just saw Annie in Singapore--straight from the West End and now on the way to Broadway. Was ok...

Rebecca may grow on me and Matilda is family fare with a bit of potential. Cyndi Lauper's efforts in Kinky Boots deserve a look too--but I guess the excitement will build closer to previews? Hope so! :)

[jv92]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 9:13pm

NONE of these upcoming new musicals have scores that are by actual musical theater writers that have established themselves as talented and worthy. The one NEW musical I'm looking forward to happens next spring at Playwrights Horizons, and that's FAR FROM HEAVEN.

None of these people are trained, tried and true writers. Cyndi Lauper? Great pop artists, but I could honestly care less if I hear a Broadway score by her. And Kathie Lee? Oy.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 9:15pm

How do you know there's no good musicals if you haven't seen any of them yet?

[japhun2]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 9:18pm

Exactly! I am all about new talent and giving them a chance, but the lack of established veterans offering new material is almost zilch!

[Wynbish]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 9:18pm

Edwin Drood is a revival of a musical previously featuring Betty Buckley. The audience gets to choose certain things during the show, like ultimately who killed Edwin. Chita Rivera is in this revival


At the 1986 Tony's

[japhun2]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 9:19pm

Ok--thanks for the insight! Have not heard much about this one yet, but you have piqued my interest. I like the audience participation ones from time to time--and I love Dickens (and Chita of course!)

[jv92]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 10:59pm

If audience participation involves getting selected to go onstage and do a dance with Chita Rivera-- charleston, tango, tap, whatever-- I'm there.

[japhun2]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 11:05pm

Haha...she would put us all to shame!

At Godspell last year I was pulled up to play charades with Hunter Parrish! Was so excited and nervous all at the same time...was a blast! I wanted a picture! :)

Updated On: 8/22/12 at 11:05 PM

[japhun2]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 11:05pm

Haha...she would put us all to shame!

At Godspell last year I was pulled up to play charades with Hunter Parrish! Was so excited and nervous all at the same time...was a blast! I wanted a picture! :)

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/22/12 at 12:52am

Drood is the tony award winning best musical of 1986.

[japhun2]

Posted: 8/22/12 at 12:53am

Great--does anyone have any more info on this upcoming production of Drood?

[Nickhutson]

Posted: 8/22/12 at 4:11am

Looking at the list provided...

Rebecca
Cinderella
Matilda
Kinky Boots
Edwin Drood
Annie (Korins' set design looks like it is going to be stunning)

____

"NONE of these upcoming new musicals have scores that are by actual musical theater writers that have established themselves as talented and worthy."


Cinderella - Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rebecca - has been playing around the world since 2006
Matilda - is the biggest British musical in the past decade
Kinky Boots - I know nothing about this
Edwin Drood - Rupert Holmes did the book for Curtains (and The Nutty Professor, if I am not mistaken)
Annie - Charles Strouse...


So, surely some new musicals have reputable scores and backgrounds.

Unless you meant new as regard brand new...

[tazber]

Posted: 8/22/12 at 7:28am

If you don't know about Drood you should definitely investigate it more! It's a fantastic musical, one of my faves in fact.

It's a musical within a musical, meaning that the cast are playing music hall performers who are presenting their version of "Drood".

There's tons of stuff you'll find about it, but as a Dickens fan you probably know it was his last (and unfinished) novel.

So the audience gets to vote every performance how they think the show should end (meaning who the murderer is). The cast then proceeds with the ending accordingly.

It's great fun.

Otherwise I'm not really excited about the line up either. I'm curious about Rebecca. And Chaplin looks like it may be much better than I anticipated (based on the comments from the first preview posters).

[japhun2]

Posted: 8/22/12 at 7:59am

Thanks for the info--just booked tickets to Drood for 29 Nov! :)

[Urban]

Posted: 8/22/12 at 8:30am

Matilda is the biggest thing to hit the West End in years. I cannot imagine it not being as good on Broadway.

I couldn't get even a single seat when I was there in June. In terms of popularity it is like Wicked multiplied by Book Of Mormon.

The reviews from critics and the public alike have been nothing but down right stellar and glowing.

Plus don't be put of by it being 'family fare', if it is even a smidgeon like any of Dahl's works, including its own source material, there is plenty of wicked dark adult humour to boot. :)

Plus the book is my second favourite Roald Dahl book, only after 'The Twits'. What is not to like? :)

Updated On: 8/22/12 at 08:30 AM

[jv92]

Posted: 8/22/12 at 1:46pm

Nickhutson, I meant BRAND new. New score, new book, etc. Not a revival. Not a transfer. Not Kathie Lee.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/22/12 at 2:38pm

Am I the only one who thinks the upcoming line-up of musicals to hit Broadway seem lackluster and are generating no buzz or interest?

I'm pretty sure you're not. We hear that at least half a dozen times every season.

Rebecca may grow on me and Matilda is family fare with a bit of potential.

Matilda is not your typical "family fare".

NONE of these upcoming new musicals have scores that are by actual musical theater writers that have established themselves as talented and worthy.

First of all, so what? We've had a lot of new successful scores from the first outing on Broadway (Urinetown, The Producers, Avenue Q, The Secret Garden, In the Heights, The Full Monty, Spamalot, Grey Gardens, Book of Mormon, Les Miserables, Godspell, etc). Do you feel they need your validation first? What do you consider "worthy" and who are "actual musical theatre writers" other than people who are writing a score for a musical in a theatre?

Secondly, Matilda has already been earning accolades in the UK and Rebecca's music is from Levay, composer of one of the most successful European musicals ever written, Elisabeth (as well as Mozart! and Marie Antoinette).

[ACL2006]

Posted: 8/22/12 at 4:23pm

Matilda seems like the girls' version of Billy Elliot. The three leads that share the role will win Best Actress & the show itself will win Best New Musical. Interested in Chaplin & Kinky Boots as well as the Jekyll & Hyde revivals.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 8/22/12 at 4:48pm

Exactly, Matt. Plus, it should be pointed out that Drood was the first major musical by someone seen as a pop composer until then (and had some cynicism attached to it because Papp seemed so desperate to do a similar in style follow up to his successful mounting of Piratzes of Penzance--down to re-hiring much of the team and some of the cast), so I find the argument that none of these shows are done by established theatre writing teams neither here nor there.