One thing that I have been noticing about Broadway musicals is that with most of them that I've watched, Act one is usually very action packed and exciting, but then in the second act it starts to get a little dull. There were one or two musicals that remained consistent throughout the whole show, but it seems like a lot of them lose that excitement in the second act of the show. A good example for me would be Dreamgirls. I haven't seen the Broadway show, so I'm judging it based off the movie, but the first act was great while the second is kind of a snoozer. I believe that's a big reason why it was snubbed for best picture at the Oscars.
I have to agree that sometimes I find musicals a bit more interesting in the first act as opposed to the second. That said, I can't really think of anything that falls apart in the second act right now, but if I do I'll post here.
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Sunday in the Park with George is one I've always thought was AMAZING in Act 1, and draggy in Act 2. (though a second-tier Sondheim is still better than most...)
Definitely Sunday in the Park. The first act is a lot of fun, but the second act is a real clunker until the song Move On, then it brightens a bit again.
Dammit, I wanted to get in *before* the 2nd-act-SITPWG-haters crawled out. I know it's a difficult one, but the show most certainly does not fall apart. I love the second act much more than the first act. :P
"You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" - Betty Parris to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible
Into the Woods. I see where Lapine was going, but it just doesn't work.
First and foremost, in a concept that punishes characters for killing wolves and giants (ask a wolf's mother!) why is killing the giantess the "happy" ending?
and yet there are quite a few shows where Act 2 really picks it up:
Grey Gardens Cry Baby (not that it was ever really able to be saved. lol But Act 2 WAS better) The Boy From Oz (because it had more of the later years with which people were familiar) Gypsy (I don't know many people that prefer Act 1 to Act 2)
"It's the little things; the details, that distinguish the Barbra Streisands from the Rosalyn Kinds."~Gilmore Girls~
And, PS-- I'm not a 2nd-act-SITPWG-hater. I just think it is lesser than Act 1. That seems to be most people's assessment... (Not hate, just some disappointment after a stellar first act.)
I would have agreed about Act II of Sunday in the Park. . ., until I saw the recent production. It bored me before. I was fascinated with the "connection" this time.
Xanadu's second Act is very slow compared to the first act. Hardly worth watching at all in fact. Updated On: 7/29/08 at 05:20 PM
Killing the Giantess is happy for the characters because their lives are no longer under threat from her. I don't think the show is trying to say that killing her was a "good" thing. That's kinda the point. I always feel bad for the Giantess when she is killed. She is angry and frightening but you can see WHY she's that way. I think she's sort of a sympathetic "villian".
"This ocean runs more dark and deep than you may think you know...I'll be the fear of the fire at sea."
-Marie Christine
The one that boggled my mind recently was SOUTH PACIFIC.
Despite the f**kin' fantastic production @ Lincoln Center, the story/book itself is dated and BIZARRE. And that bizarre-ness just gets worse in the 2nd Act. Throughout the last half of the show, I had to keep glancing over at my bf with the silent but quintessential expression of "wtf is going on here?" Updated On: 7/29/08 at 05:29 PM