Great Opening Numbers & Downhill After That- Page 2

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 12:38pm

It can't be said often enough - "The Lion King".

[Fantod]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 1:10pm

Why are you so bitter? Are you saying that young and old aren't welcome to be fans of Broadway. I would much rather have posters like Mr Roxy, who kindly share with us memories of shows long closed, like Baker Street, so we can get a small glimpse at what it must have been like to be there. There are even older posters than him, like a woman named Miriam who's entire posting history I've read. She was born in 1922 and danced in shows like One Touch of Venus and Pal Joey. Those are the kind of wonderful stories that you get "oldsters". As for young people, are you saying that you don't want young people interested in Broadway? Where is Broadway's future if young people aren't interested in it?

Updated On: 2/16/15 at 01:10 PM

[tazber]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 1:20pm

I'm with you Fantod.

The first hand accounts are priceless.

I don't get the reverse ageism going on here. Of course my opinion is going to differ from that of a teenager(on occasion). We all come to shows with our own frames of reference, but that give and take is what drives conversations.


And what in the heck does a owning a Lexus have to do with anything?


ETA: Fantod, Mr. Nowack started the Baker Street thread.
I, for one, love those "birthday" threads of forgotten shows.

Updated On: 2/16/15 at 01:20 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 2:25pm

Fantod

Their ain't anyone older than me except maybe Dolly.

Some people here are prejudiced old folks.Funny thing is that one day they will be in the same boat.What goes around comes around. Watch out praising me as you will draw the ire of a few on this board.

Take care.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 3:24pm

Titanic -- I got goosebumps in the opening number and thought the rest was good but plodding. Lack of a central character hurt.

On the 20th Century -- I don't know about great, but a very entertaining number followed by, for me, much boredom (minus Kevin Kline and marveling at the sets).

Agree on Golden Rainbow, with caveats. The opening number was very entertaining, in a slick but mediocre way. The whole show was lousy, but somehow entertaining.

Agree re comments on the Lion King...sorta like Titanic on a larger scale...incredible opening number...okay show with intermittent moments of brilliance and magic.

Disagree with the Scrooge who identified Follies (even if you don't like the show as a whole, there are moments of greatness, even in relatively mediocre productions); Les Mis -- the end of the first act is one of the greatest production numbers I have ever seen; and Ragtime...IMO a great musical if ever there was one...still don't understand how it hasn't been successful financially / run wise.

Sacrilege: Kiss Me, Kate...I loved the opening number, grinning ear to ear, but found that I was bored midway into Act 1. I did not like any of the Taming of the Shrew Numbers.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 3:36pm

You knew Golden Rainbow was in trouble when they substitute Edward G Robinson for Edie Gorme. Granted Gorme was better looking and had a better singing voice but the whole heart of the piece went south quickly when his character was gone.Score was not bad but they bastardized A Hole In The Head. In other hands, "it could have been a contender".

[goldenboy]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 3:43pm

Why are people so hard on Golden Rainbow?
I loved it. Okay I was very young but I love it and love the cd.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 3:44pm

I did enjoy it but it could have been so much better.

[James885]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 3:49pm

I totally agree about Titanic. I never saw it on Broadway, but I caught a regional production. I thought the opening number was outstanding but the rest of the show was a snooze fest.

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 3:54pm

Did someone really just namecheck Ragtime? The music throughout the whole show, including what was left on the cutting room floor in Toronto, was superb.

Lion King, yes. Taymor could never top the opening number and the remainder of the show feels like a slow, painful death.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 3:57pm

Right on Benjamin

Ragtime was a classic musical. Lion King was an event. Whenever anyone says Lion King, I automatically think of Forbidden Broadways take on it and it is right on the money. Great opening but a snoozer the rest of the way. When you talk about Tony robberies, Ragtime was robbed Bigtime.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 4:17pm

I actually have to agree with Ragtime, the longer it goes on, the more I want to either turn it off or leave the theater (also because I find the plot totally ridiculous and overblown).

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 5:15pm

I though The Lion King had a magnificent opening number and was mostly brilliant for the remainder of the show. Ragtime had a gorgeous score, but schizophrenic staging and wildly uneven book. I wouldn't count either show in this category.

The one that comes to mind for me is Seussical. The show was sorta cute and fun with a dynamite cast, but I kept waiting for the exuberant joy and energy of the opening number to return. The only number that really matched it again was the curtain call of Green Eggs and Ham.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 8:18pm

I also actually think the bulk of RAGTIME pales in comparison to its opening, which is astounding. And I mean the show, not the score which is pretty consistently wonderful throughout.

For me it gets progressively messier as the show moves along, quite literally declining as if going down a hill.

[Fantod]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 8:26pm

Yes, I feel similarly to Mr. Nowack. I also feel that the opening is not only one of the best theatre songs written, but a jaw dropping portrait of the time period that captures the epic feel of the show. The songs after that are all "good", but they all sound like a cheap national anthem and get repetitive quickly. I find the book to be a tonal mess above all, and it switches between tragedy and satire very quickly. I just don't think the book is that well constructed. I like the additional characters that weren't in the book, but I think they should have sought E.L. Doctorow to help them construct the plot.

[little_sally]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 9:39pm

The Wedding Singer. And I really enjoyed that show but nothing else in it came close to "It's Your Wedding Day."

[jkstheatrescene]

Posted: 2/17/15 at 8:38am

Though I enjoyed both of these, I think their greatest moments were their opening numbers:

Grind - "This Must Be the Place" was dark, dangerous, glamorous and tense. The anger through a thin veneer of theatricality was palpable, and the way the set (at the time a true achievement) was revealed, layer after layer, was breathtaking.

Tarzan - The entire opening, from the storm tossed ship to Tarzan's zip line entrance, was jaw-dropping. It remains one of my most cherished memories. The rest was okay... I love the score. But the rest of the staging never came close to that opening.