SisterGeorge said: "Just how many endings can 1 movie have?"
In Musical Hell's review of the first Mamma Mia! film, she that "When you're wrapping up a 10-hour trilogy (like Lord of the Rings), you can justify spending time 15 minutes on the conclusion. For something that doesn't even break two hours, it's a bit excessive."
FANtomFollies said: "corninthesky said: "I think the show would benefit from some trims and actually broaden Mother’s POV."
I completely agree. I think a future (non-City Center) revival needs to do some work with trimming and even finessing some of the show. 'What a Game' needs to be cut completely and I think several songs could be trimmed down like 'The Night Goldman Spoke...' , 'Atlantic City', 'Coalhouse Demands'
I caught the tour in Durham last night. I’ve never read the original novel, but I remember hearing about it when I was in middle school. Especially the fun fact that it was written by a teenage girl. I have seen the movie, which I thought was pretty good. So what do I think of the musical?
Director Danya Taymor’s staging is not only cinematic, but also very creatively done on an inventively used set designed by AMP & Tatiana Kahvegian. Not to mention that she also crafts such striking images throughout the show. Brian MacDevitt’s effective lighting and Hana S. Kim’s stunning projections also play a large part in that. A good majority of the cast each gives strong performances.
Standouts to me were Nolan White as Ponyboy Curtis, Corbin Drew Ross as his brother, Sodapop, and Travis Roy Rogers as his other brother, Darrel (pun intended). I also did quite like Bonale Fambrini as Ponyboy’s best friend, Johnny Cade, Tyler Jordan Wesley as fellow greaser Dallas Winston, and Mark Doyle as Bob, the leader of the Socs. The choreography by Rick & Jeff Kuperman is very precised, stylized, and athletic. It’s especially impressive in the big rumble in Act II, where it literally rains on stage.
Among the Tonys The Outsiders did not win was for the score by Jamestown Revival & Justin Levine. If you ask me, it’s easy to see why. I actually have listened to the original Broadway cast recording a few times prior to attending. Even after seeing the show itself, I still feel the same about the songs. They’re enjoyable in the moment, but fail to leave a lasting impression. Although the ‘Great Expectations’ number in Act I is definitely an emotional highlight. The orchestrations by Justin Levine & Matt Hinkley are certainly authentic to the overall setting.
Now to be fair, it’s much more forgiving for a musical to have a strong book, but weak score as opposed to the other way around. Yet the book for this one by Adam Rapp & Justin Levine still isn’t great. For one, a key ingredient for any great musical is to have an active protagonist the audience is supposed to root for. Even in Sweeney Todd, we root for the titular murderous barber on his journey as he plots his revenge on the man who took his whole life away from him. However, I’m not sure if this story lends itself to the medium of musical theater as it doesn’t appear to have an active protagonist.
We basically follow Ponyboy as he writes in his notebook the events of what’s happened to him and his friends. There’s also several times where he narrates directly to the audience. That tactic can be a very effective tool in theatre. Even musicals like Ragtime and Jersey Boys use it very well. However, what those two shows have is a distinct narrative style, which this one lacks. During intermission, I was talking to a friend who wasn’t enjoying it as they personally find the story to be dated. I can easily see that as the creative team appeared to have focused more on staying true to the novel that they forgot to find ways of approaching it with more modern sensibilities.
The Outsiders may have won Best Musical, but it was in a season with a bunch of contenders that didn’t spark a ton of enthusiasm. I don’t flat out dislike the show itself. There’s certainly several aspects to admire about it. I was emotionally moved at certain points. There’s a few nice moments of comic relief. Yet I was also pretty bored throughout. On the whole, the show is largely just OK. I have no regrets seeing it as I at least get to chime in with my two cents on it.
Sutton Ross said: "Wendell Pierce was brilliant in the role only 3 years ago so it's interesting it's coming back so quickly."
Rudin probably doesn't care. After all, he did bring The Glass Menagerie back to Broadway with Sally Field three years after the previous revival with Cherry Jones.
Last year, the first Wicked movie over $114,000,000 at the U.S. box office opening weekend as well as $164,200,000 worldwide. Not only that, but it also set records as the biggest global and domestic opening for a stage-to-screen musical adaptation, beating the worldwide opening of 2012's Les Misérables and domestic opening of 2014's Into the Woods.
Pitting Henry and Uranowitz against each other also increases Nicholas Christopher’s Tony chances for CHESS"
Perhaps. But as good as Uranowitz is as Tateh— and he’s excellent - the show belongs to Coalhouse and Henry is stunning so I wouldn’t expect Uranowitz to pull many votes (and he already has a Tony). Meanwhile, Henry has been turning in great performances for years and so given that R
HenryTDobson said: ""I’d be genuinely shocked if both Cynthia and Ariana didn’t score Oscar nominations (I think Ari has a real shot at winning)."
I have seen a number of predictors now questioning whether or not they'll even be nominated at this point. Even if Grande makes the Best Supporting Actress lineup, I still have a hard time seeing her win. The Academy can be pretty snobby towards fantasy characters. It's arguably why Ian
jlindsey865 said: "rosscoe(au) said: "No one is getting nominated for this. The more I think of it the messier it becomes. Which is strange cause for me on stage I think Act two is stronger. I did think the same as Jordan that maybe a double feature would work. Sadly I can’t see myself sitting through this again."
Most prediction sites have Wicked: For Good landing a Best Picture nomination (it’s definitely not winning but I think it will def
Unfortunately the trap door reveal remains in the film. It always felt cheap and silly on stage, and isn’t much better here. It also doesn’t make sense. Elphaba sees Fiyero as the scarecrow for the first time after the trap door, but when did they come up with this escape plan?<
Earlier today, I caught Wicked: For Good in theaters. Now that I’ve seen both parts, I’d say splitting this into two movies was the best decision the creative team made. If you’re familiar with the source material, you should know that Acts I & II both have very different tones. Gone is the more bright and vibrant tone of the first film, and it’s been traded for something much more serious. Similar to other musicals with darker second acts such as Oliver!, Fiddler on the Roof, and Ragtime. One of the complaints people had with Rob Marshall’s 2014 film adaptation of Into the Woods was how it adapted both acts into one movie (especially with its change of tone midway through). With Wicked split into two parts, it at least gives the story more breathing room.
Under Jon M. Chu’s direction, he successfully carries on a lot of the strengths of the first film into this one. The musical numbers are still mesmerizing to behold. Both Nathan Crowley’s production design and Paul Tazewell’s costumes continue to dazzle, Although Frances Hannon’s hair and makeup is even more impressive this time. A chief complaint people had last time was Alice Brooks’ cinematography. Does it still contain some plain white lighting? Yes, but the actual camera work is still easily the better part of it. As this installment follows parallel storylines for Elphaba and Glinda, Myron Kerstein’s editing impressively manages to balance out both of them.
Once again, screenwriters Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox successfully dived deeper into the story, characters, and world of Oz. Although Stephen Schwartz also managed to beef up some of his score from Act II of the stage version (especially in the beginning), which was a nice touch. He also wrote two brand new songs, ‘No Place Like Home’ for Elphaba and ‘The Girl in the Bubble’ for Glinda. Having as of now only heard both of them once, they have good intentions, but neither are particularly memorable. Yet Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande do at least perform both of them very well. Speaking of which, both ladies once again kill it in their respective roles.
Erivo’s Elphaba in particular has grown a lot since the last time we saw her. She may still be an outsider, but not just because of her green skin, but because of the enemy she’s been painted as by the public. Her big standout moment was easily her powerhouse rendition of ‘No Good Deed.’ With Grande’s Glinda, she may still be funny, but also works well with meatier material this time around. Together, they both share such a heartwrenching rendition of the second act’s most popular (no pun intended) number, ‘For Good.’ I must say that it’s hard not to tear up during it. Jeff Goldblum may still be more of a talk-singer, but he at least does fare better this time with his rendition of ‘Wonderful.’ Not to mention that Michelle Yeoh really comes into her own here as the true villain of the story, Madame Morrible.
How does Wicked: For Good compare to the first movie? Many will understandably prefer the latter for its bright tone and arguably more memorable songs. Plus, the story beats in the second half with the more recognizable characters from The Wizard of Oz are kind of oddly put together. The end results are probably not as accomplished as its predecessor. With that being said, it’s still a satisfying conclusion to this epic two-part adaptation of one of the biggest musicals of all time.
In her review for Next Best Picture, Lauren LaMagna, who gave the first film an 8/10, gives the second one a 7/10. https://nextbestpicture.com/wicked-for-good/
Dan Bayer of Next Best Picture writes "Act Two of Wicked is the reason I don’t like Wicked (on stage), but since the changes to Part One added depth, I was cautiously optimistic for this. Sadly, not all the book problems get solved, but Erivo and especially Grande yet again make the most of the new material. The design elements remain delectable, but the muddy digital sheen over everything makes it look cheaper, more plastic, and some of the visual effects sequences look seriously shoddy. Combined with the story issues, it fails to fly as high as Part One, I’m sorry to say." https://letterboxd.com/dancindan/film/wicked-for-good/
MadsonMelo said: "I think Lea can still get a nomination, especially this season and given the praise the got for many reviews and I think people will want to ''reward'' her career somehow."
Although if she doesn't get nominated, it would be another example of how awards voters by and large clearly don't think like that. They're just voting for what they liked most and not judging based on narrative.
BoringBoredBoard40 said: "I really want to understand why Ariana after winning an Oscar is returning to the theatre to do a small obscure off-broadway musical
she really needs new management"
Given how rough of a filmography she's so far had since West Side Story, she arguably needed this.
