Profile for TG4802

Doug- your money would be better invested in a new bird flu vaccine. I've been lurking on this thread for some time now and I see both sides. That being said, you will never generate the interest you would require to make this a profitable venture. It has been tried here before with limited to no success. The obstacles are too great to overcome in regard to the finished product. The production costs alone will prove too great if all your looking for is a "souvenir" product. You will never be ...

Margo makes an interesting point. The genre has been around since the dawn of musical theatre. They were called trunk box musicals back then and I guess an example would be the staged version of the Marx Bros "Animal Crackers" (1924 I think) which utilized the "pop" songs of Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar. This is one of the reasons all the harsh criticisms are a bit perplexing for me. The genre has never lent itself to "high drama" but more light entertainment which has always had a place in the...

If you are an aspiring or professional musician living in the greater New York area and making a living or a significant portion of your income as a musician then you may want to consider becoming a member. Please understand that with membership comes responsibilities and the belief that the arts play a vital role in society, the arts deserve adequate funding and advocacy for live music is a priority.

TouchMe-- The union doesn't dictate whether or not a musician auditions, it merely guarantees that the musician is adequately compensated for the time and effort.

Being a musician this is a very difficult one for me. The VO is destroying the perception, standard, and quality of live performance. "Just my 2 cents, but if the virtual orchestra was just a playbak system, then musicians would have been replaced when CD's first became available." When was the last time you went to a wedding and saw a live band? How many clubs do you frequent that prefer the live band over the deejay? In many cases, live bands in shows have already have been replaced by digi...

Trpguyy- You've got to be kidding. The VO is a playback device. Would you just as soon do the production with tape? One of the most important aspects of live musical theatre is the interaction between the pit and the stage. How do you tell a performer to control their emotion to accommodate a machine? The sole purpose of the virtual orchestra machine is to replace live musicians. Is society really ready to give up its own aeshetics for profit? Go with as many live musicians as possible and th...

M.B. The way I understand it, Equity and the Musicians are negotiating with the employer on how to best fulfill the provisions of two entirely different contracts. There's no reason why Equity would have to negotiate with another entertainment union for anything. They all work together.

I was just wondering if anyone is familiar with the summer program "French Woods". Thoughts, opinions, all are welcome.

I didn't read any other reviews, not really worth the effort. The Shenton article supports my opinion, what of it?

Check out the BBC review by Mark Shenton from the West End production: Sweeney Todd (Trafalgar Studios at the Whitehall Theatre) This year alone I've already seen Sondheim and Wheeler's macabre 1979 musical version of the Sweeney Todd legend in two orchestrally lush stagings at London's Royal Opera House and at New York City Opera (with Elaine Paige starring in the latter). "This version of the musical short-changes its audience on just about everything..." Now, for its latest West End incarn...

Hmmmmm....Since the show started public performances at the Palace on Broadway, Cheyenne hasn't missed a performance.

If I hear the phrase "artistic concept"one more time I think I may explode. This is Sondheim for god's sake. It's about the score. Why short change it? Does anyone really believe that the visual presentation will make up for the lack of depth musically? It's about how the score serves the book and how the book serves the score. I'm a fan of the Maestro's work and this to me is an aberration.

After all, it is a MUSICal.

Break a leg Musicians, Cast and Crew!

Unfortunately Clouseau, this is no longer the case. Most road shows are self contained and utilize a watered down version of the original Broadway orchestration using half the number of musicians, if that, and/or the virtual orchestra machine, a computerized playback device. Yes folks, the audiences are getting ripped off.

Thanks, forgot about Ramin, he belongs on my list as well. Ramin and Kostal also helped Bernstein prepare the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story as well as the opera A Quiet Place.

I'm surprised no one mentioned "A Chorus Line". Truly one of the best orchestrated shows this musician has played. Bernstein did his own orchestrations and was quite good, but tended to rely on classically orchestral techniques to convey commercial concepts. For instance, the "Dance at the Gym" from WSS is written in 12/8 when he was looking for a swing 4 feel. Billy Beyers Jonathan Tunic Ralph Burns

Can't wait.....$100 to hear amateur musicians play one of Sondheim's more intricate scores.

Local One, I hope you're right, but having been there only a year ago, it's hard to be optimistic. They're pulling the same crap with AEA that they pulled with 802. You give and give and they get up accusing that you're not bargaining in good faith. The proposal Equity has on the table in my view is already highly concessionary. Local 1 would be smart to keep Plum out in July.

Plum, Please elaborate. I'm curious what facets of Broadway economics you suggest could change the current profitability, (25% higher than this time last year) or lack of, that could make Broadway more accessible.