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SweeneyPhanatic |
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Aspiring actor, currently contemplating a life in NY...
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The Official TONY Awards Thread Jun 10
2013, 04:20:37 AM
I was really enjoying the telecast this year until CBS Atlanta literally cut it off mid song to start the news.
If anyone wants a good laugh, behold how our local news anchor tried to make up for it. And the bastards probably won't get into any trouble over this unprofessional crap.
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re: Rent vs. Wicked vs Phantom of the Opera Oct 26
2012, 12:00:49 AM
I was thinking earlier about starting a thread, probably in the off topic section, about how we all came up with our screen names, but this thread actually ties into mine so never mind. 
Personally, I'd lump myself into the more sane spectrum of the Phans. I've only seen the show twice on tour, but I do pop in the video of the Albert Hall performance every now and then. I can see and hear everything that is wrong with the show, but it has yet to stop me from enjoying every second of it. It was the second show I got really excited about (the first was Chicago, which I've still yet to see live) Ans for that reason alone of holds a special place in my heart. It also introduced me to Andrew Lloyd Webber, and eventually led me to one of most favorite musicals ever, Evita. However, I don't bow down and worship every ALW score ever written. Joseph makes me cringe, and I've yet to complete the Woman in White album without falling asleep. But I do appreciate his work, and, call me dumb if you like, I think it's almost clever of him to write maybe a handful of melodies and somehow arrange them into 2 or more hours of songs.
On the other hand, I DO bow down and worship every Sondheim score. I've yet to ever be disappointed with any of the recordings I've heard, nor with the few professional productions I've been lucky enough to see (but please don't make me relive that God awful Into the Woods Jr. I had to endure at Thespian Conference in high school).
As for Wicked: I saw the tour the first time it played Atlanta. I enjoyed myself, but it's not a show that's stuck in my memory like some others have. If I see it again, it will only be as a gift to my mother, who really, REALLY wants to see it.
Rent: I saw the movie first and couldn't believe that THAT was the show all of my friends had been raving about. I avoided Rent as much as I could, the movie was so bad, to me. When the DVD was released of the "final" performance, I bought it just to see if it could change my feelings (nausea and rage) towards the show. Now at least I do appreciate the show foe whatit was, but I'm in no hurry to see it live. I will, eventually, but I can live if I never do.
What continues to bother me are the people who put all of these shows on pedestals as if Rent, Phantom, and Wicked are the greatest things to ever happen to musical theatre. At school it was easy to weed out the serious theatre majors from the people who would eventually change their majors by trying to talk about theatre with them. When Wicked/Rent came up and was declared the BEST MUSICAL EVER, I LOVE IT SO MUCH, LIKE, IT CHANGED MY LIFE, then it was a safe bet they wouldn't be around within a year. Phantom never came up much, really, except as an afterthought to most talks about theatre.
So, yeah, I'm glad these shows exist and can help usher in mew generations of theatre patrons, but I do get tired of the MEGA FANS who put them on pedestals and ignore almost any other show ever.
If it matters, I'm 22, and the only show I put on a pedestal is Gypsy. And apologies for any typos. Small touch screen keyboards are not fat thumb friendly.
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Does anyone still want/collect cast recordings on vinyl? Sep 12
2012, 01:45:22 PM
Bummed I missed out on the Chess album, but I'm really happy to see so many people are into vinyl, too. Thanks for sharing these, tazber!
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Does anyone still want/collect cast recordings on vinyl? Sep 11
2012, 12:38:44 PM
I'd definitely like to see the list of what you've got on vinyl. I recently acquired a large collection of musical CDs and records (almost a thousand items total, and many with programs and ticket stubs tucked into the sleeves), but I'd love to fill any holes in the collection if I can.
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the "Stage 1" and "Stage 2" albums Sep 10
2012, 11:57:09 PM
I found these two albums (Stage 1: How I Love You, and Stage 2: The Human Heart) in a big musical theatre CD/record collection I recently acquired. I haven't given them a listen yet (they're syncing to my iPod now), but it seems pretty obvious what they are: love songs from musicals sung by men, to men. I glanced through some reviews on Amazon, and people seem to really like these albums, so I'm looking forward to hearing them.
Question: Were these a big deal when they came out (199
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REBECCA postponed? Sep 7
2012, 10:37:42 PM
Did any of the European productions have issues like this when they were being mounted? It just seems odd to me that this production keeps running into trouble when it's been done successfully many times over six years. Or more, but I believe the original production was in 2006. Please correct me if I'm mistaken.
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CHESS - SWEDEN Sep 7
2012, 01:58:19 PM
Here's a synopsis of that production, apparently taken from an English handout given to English patrons at the theatre:
DAY 1
The Russian chessplayer Anatolij Sergievski leaves his family's suburban apartment in Moscow to depart for the World Chess Championships 1986 (Story of Chess). At the airport, he is greeted by the KGB-man and his advisor Molokov and another few KGB-men (Where I want to be).
In the Italian town Merano they meet the American chessplayer Freddie Trumper
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OBCR of FOLLIES remixed and remastered! Aug 30
2012, 07:29:55 PM
AH! I can't believe I missed the announcement of the second edition. I was unemployed when the first edition was released, and figured it would be one recording of Follies I'd never get to have in my library. Then today I saw the second edition listed in Talkin' Broadway's Sound Advice email, and got even more excited about my new job. I'm going to make this my splurge-of-the-month. :)
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BROADWAY 2012-13 SEASON. Hidden themes? Aug 25
2012, 09:01:53 PM
Rebecca is not the main character in REBECCA. In fact, she never once appears on stage at any moment in the story.
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re: Evita National Tour - Don't Waste Your Time or Money Jul 28
2012, 01:10:32 AM
Well THIS was fun to read! No tainted memories of what I saw, thankfully. I'd be interested to go back and see this again to see if 7 more years of seeing shows and studying theatre would change my opinions.
To whoever called Kathy Voytko "short and pudgy" (I believe that was the exact phrasing, it's somewhere in the early pages): wow. I walked from the stage door to the crosswalk with her after the performance I saw, so I got a good look at her. If she is pudgy, I ought to be dead
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Hal Prince's Original Jul 28
2012, 12:25:42 AM
To be fair, I was 15 and my only other exposure to "Evita" thus far had been the movie (which I don't hate), the Tony Award clips of the original cast, and the Premiere American Recording. It could have been awful, but I wouldn't have known. If it was bad, I'm lucky I didn't know any better, and was able to enjoy the show and my memories of it. Now I'm off to read the aforementioned thread & taint my memories! 
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well Jul 28
2012, 12:17:31 AM
An old friend of mine from high school is in the ensemble of this production. I'm looking forward to reading some more detailed reviews of this later, but it's a shame what's been posted already isn't enthusiastic.
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Hal Prince's Original Jul 27
2012, 02:19:03 PM
LOL, I really was joking about wanting to mount a copy-cat production. I have more important things to focus on right now, like school and finding a job. But that's all good to know, just in case.
I should have been clearer: I did mean the physical production, like sets, lighting and such. I wouldn't ever try to analyze every bit of blocking from one production of a show to another. I mean it would be so...no!
I would have sworn the stage deck lit up. I remember moving fr
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Hal Prince's Original "Evita" vs. Re-creations Jul 27
2012, 09:59:53 AM
I saw a touring production of "Evita" back in 2005 (?) starring Kathy Voytko (who I thought was AWESOME, and who was so sweet all the way from the stage door to the crosswalk). The program stated that the production was a recreation of Hal Prince's original staging. It's my understanding that most productions which have recreated Prince's staging have slightly modified it for various reasons (space, budget, et al). I was just wondering if anyone here knows what (if anything at all) was differ
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Phantom Lip-Syncing?? Jul 21
2012, 07:52:12 PM
I know the entire title song, during the descent to the Phantom's lair, is pre-recorded because the real Phantom & Christine have to...well, I'm not sure exactly WHAT they're doing, but it involves disappearing through the mirror & getting into the boat off stage while doubles lip-sync on the ramp.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Phantom's voiceovers are pre-recorded, but the only song I know for certain is the one I mentioned above.
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re: Best Note on Broadway Ever Jul 21
2012, 07:48:28 PM
It's not on Broadway yet, but I have played the second-act title number from "Rebecca" far too many times on repeat just to hear Mrs. Danvers' BIG note at the end again, and again. There's a video of the Stuttgart cast performing songs from the show on what appears to be the facade of a big, pretty building (is it the theatre?). In that video, Pia Douwes hits that note like it's NOTHING. I don't know how to describe it. When I listen to the original cast recordings, I can tell it's the money
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Songs added to shows for technical reasons? Jul 11
2012, 08:01:39 PM
Doesn't FUNNY GIRL have quite a few in-one scenes and songs? At least, in my high school production, it seemed the scenes for Mrs. Brice, Eddie, and the ladies served mostly to cover big set changes. Anyone know if they were planned that easy, or came later in the original production’s process?
I also remember a few scenes in MARY POPPINS being done this way, obviously to give the massive house set time to shift.
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New website for the Phantom Of The Opera Prequel, Jul 3
2012, 01:08:34 PM
"Oh and note the term "Angel of Music" is also NOT from the book. It was a lyric for the show."
By what means indeed but that of music? He knew Christine's story. After her father's death, she acquired a distaste of everything in life, including her art. She went through the Conservatoire like a poor soulless singing-machine. And, suddenly, she awoke as though through the intervention of a god. The Angel of Music appeared upon the scene! She sang Margarita in Faust and triumphed!...
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RENT on Film Jun 14
2012, 04:15:00 PM
I was in high school when the movie came out, and I was one of the only theatre kids who didn't know the show. When I saw it I thought "This is it? This is what everyone has been raving about all these years?" It wasn't until I saw the live recording of the final Broadway cast that I was able to appreciate the show for what it was, and actually grow to like certain parts of a show I had hated for so long after seeing the movie.
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National Tour Playbills Dec 14
2011, 08:04:32 PM
The Fox Theatre in Atlanta uses a local publication called "Encore Atlanta." It usually has an artsy photo of some part of the Fox on the cover, but the last two times Phantom came through it featured a show-specific cover. I believe the cover in 2005 featured the shattered logo and a big mask, and in 2009, the normal small mask in the corner of blackness. [end details nobody asked for]
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