Profile for Blindbutlerdeafmaid

As a child of vocal selections (and cast albums), I both miss them and (without trying to sound pessimistic) wonder how we pass down our art form without them. 

With pages falling out of my still-within-arm's-reach 272-page Closer Than Ever score, I would absolutely be over the moon for a FULL Kimberly Akimbo Vocal Score -- and would be just as enthusiastic for a Vocal Selections. 

Is anyone else having a bit of trouble with the board today?  I'm getting ads over content -- not just where they're designed to be. Clicking the x only changes what the ad is and scrolling moves the ad with the content it's blocking. 

Refreshing my browser fixes it in the short term but then, randomly, it starts happening again. 

Anyone else experiencing this? 

Jordan Catalano said: "Which makes me ask again as I have for so long - why not just film the numbers on stage in their theaters and broadcast that? They did it before and it worked better than most of theTonys numbers we see. It’s only a downside for the people in the audience there and since the broadcast is trying to sell the shows, why not show the actual product in its original form?"

I think that this is more of an undertaking than people would imagine (and while these are specific to the Tony Awards, it certainly sheds some light on why so few shows are actually commercially captured... or why shows have historically gone "out of town" to be filmed):


• This is the slightest of costs, but not insignificant: you'd have to bring in the entire staff that it takes to turn on a hundred+ year old building from when load-in starts to when load-in ends. One set of house heads becomes 4 or 8 (if you're capturing the plays too), plus the crews. All on minimums on what is typically a day off... and Sunday (premiums for some unions). 

• filming takes a lot of infrastructure. Just this paragraph alone from the Local 1 collective bargaining agreement with the league would show that it's not a slight undertaking to "just" film a segment of a show. Times 4 or 8. "In the event of filming, taping, or television as referred to in Article XV, Section 15 hereof, the jurisdiction of Union hereunder shall also cover and include the following work to be performed in connection therewith: (i) all loading and unloading of technical equipment (excluding camera heads); (ii) the laying and running of cables from the theatre entrance to the equipment located in the house; (iii) the setting, hanging, positioning and striking of mikes and all in-house sound work (including any P.A. system but excluding sound booms) although final adjustment thereof may be done by others; (iv) the handling, setting, hanging, positioning and focusing of all lights and lighting or electric accessories (excluding battery-powered lights and equipment) and including all light direction functions relating to the filming, taping or televising of the show as distinguished from the functions of a Lighting Designer or Consultant for the show itself; and with respect to all of the foregoing work, it is distinctly understood and agreed that Union’s jurisdiction shall apply regardless of whether such equipment is house equipment or equipment furnished by the outside entity engaged in such filming, taping or televising activity."  To get proper b-roll for a show, the filming companies bring in platforms to cover the front of the orchestra for jibs and dollies.... all installed by a union crew. Times as many shows as you're filming.

• The orchestra and recordings are a major cost of the ceremony, and maybe you'd save something by capturing each orchestra in their natural habitat, it seems like that might have its own massive complications. (Great article on the 2019 orchestra for the Tony Awards and how they did it that year.)  

• Do you chance throwing to 4 or 8 theaters live? If so, what's the technical rehearsal process like? The Radio City rehearsal process is down to a science.

I suppose you could forgo live performances and do pre-taped ones: perhaps using one crew to film each nominated show in the days leading up to Tony Awards, but I don't think that would feel as great to everyone.)

Logistically, trying to do all them as a remote or even pre-tape just seems like a crazy undertaking... and I'm sure I've overlooked a hundred other reasons.

We saw Colleen Fitzpatrick tonight and was just blown away. She is winsome and wonderful and we will definitely go back another Tuesday to see her again before it closes.

For fans of the material, she is a consummate pro who is equally at home with the writing as everyone else and we left so glad we saw her.

 

It's a traditional, proscenium-style musical.

They're calling it an "unforgettable theatrical experience" because it seems like they want it to have the intellectual weight of a Light in the Piazza, and not be confused as a "MUSICAL!", as if they think all musicals are The Boyfriend or (the fictionalized) The Drowsy Chaperone and their serious artistic endeavor is above being thought of as those.

For reasons that they tout: the composer wrote the show in dramatic order "abandoning musical theatre conventions to propel the story through song", I found it extremely hard to listen to, and even harder to be compelled by. They recorded the entire show with cast and piano and then a few of the songs for full orchestra a few years ago and you can find bits and pieces of it all over the internet.

To me it feels like an assembly of film music cues: musicalized moments and ideas that sometimes build into perfectly pleasant songs, but leave the overall work rather devoid of a traditional structure. The breakout numbers are ... pretty, but don't really add much to the repertoire. 

I suspect that a very visual director (and a large budget) could craft a rather stunning production with the material, but it seems like it needs a director who can advocate for its audience and force them to do the dramaturgical /score work that allows you to emotionally connect with the characters not just watch them sing at you. I really felt like the show just washed over me and then I left.

They're raising money for a spring workshop in the hopes that it (and the two "sold out" presentations they gave in NY this year) will give them the momentum to be Broadway-aimed. I truly hope that they use the workshop to work on the piece and not just as an extended backers audition.

Here's a very old interview on it: https://playbill.com/article/stritch-and-gibson-help-read-operatic-little-women-april-23-24-com-96199

I was JUST talking about that memory to friends.

In an early performance the final light cue of act 1 wasn't enough of a black out to completely hide Sutton's exit after Gimme Gimme and with the audience going wild you could make out an extremely enthusiastic skip off stage. That brief moment -- in almost pitch black -- is one of my all time favorite theater memories. You learned so much about Sutton herself and it was impossible to not fall for.