Profile for chernjam

Curiousity hit me tonight as "Beautiful Ghosts" came on my play list - the Taylor Swift/ALW original song for the Cats movie. Was there any discussion of adding this to the Jellicle Ball?

@somecheapfrenchthing - of all the ALW shows/scores, WDTW is one of the most frustrating to me because like you I really love the score and there's a fascinating story there that just hasn't had all the elements come together in a way to make it successful. It was funny because I remember on Z-100 or WPLJ months before the Washington DC tryout ALW was interviewed and they played the entire Demo of "A kiss is a terrible thing to waste" which was amazing - and ran something like 7 minutes. I ha...

@chrishuyen - thanks for sharing that pic with that info... it's really interesting that basically you were at a workshop of something. I think had they been a bit more clear about that it might have been helpful in advance. I just remember the articles saying "the rarely performed ALW Whistle Down the Wind will be on stage in Poughkepsie" with the Deaf West collab being highlighted. I do hope this breathes more new life into it and that eventually it becomes something. @Pernigraniline - I ha...

first off @chrishuyen - thanks for giving the only report I've been able to find since this weekend's performances. When they first announced WDTW in the spring, I was excited that it would finally be staged locally so I could actually see a performance of a score that I've loved since I first heard the songs from it in the late 90's (a VHS I had imported from the UK of the Andrew Lloyd webber birthday celebration which turned into a music fest which highlighted at least 4 songs of WDTW which...

Anyone going to this? I actually had forgotten that it was this weekend - this summer has flown by so quickly - and I was originally excited about this to make the trip up to Poughkepsie - but I havent heard or seen a thing about this production that I'm wondering if its worth the trip

Voter said: "Transfer announcement tomorrow? Evita instagram wiped all photos for the London production" That - and ALW posting himself playing DCFMA on piano on his socials - not to mention a picture of Rachel quoted in Vogue talking about returning to broadway "with a knowing smile" that was connected to the Evita socials.

Honestly reading all your responses has been a delight and underscores my belief that there's a fascinating story of faith, innocence and redemption here that's not ever been fully realized in the previous productions (least of all the Kenwright productions). I wonder if Hal Prince had more time if he would've been able to unlock it. Especially with Steinman's lyrics and Lloyd Webber's score - there's so much potential. The first time I saw the boot of the Act I finale of No Matter What (a so...

You have to take your ALW discount on this - meaning he speaks out of all corners of his mouth - but I do remember an interview in the last decade or so where ALW talked about WDTW (this was post West End run and one of the Kenwright tours) where he said he regretted that the Hal Prince version ended so abruptly and that he often thought that there were elements there that would've made the whole work better than what eventually played in London. Having seen the boot on youtube, I enjoyed the...

kdogg36 said: "I figured this show was dead as a door nail after the tour folded, and that's been almost 20 years. I'm glad to see it's showing signs of life!This isn't the top ALW show I'd love to see come (or come back) to NYC- that would beAspects of Love- but it's a solid second. It's a strange but affecting story with a fewsoaring, high-energy songs and a few lovely ballads, too (though there's some filler mixed in there for sure)."Score wise, I'm with you Kdogg-- Aspects was my first br...

Jarethan said: "Merkin2 said: "They have still been doing around a million give or take every week. I guess the stunt casting hasn’t been as good as they want? I wonder if this closing announcement could spur higher numbers at the box office and they could finish out the year? Maybe announce Aaron Tveit is coming back to close it out?If not, ATG will have three big theaters to fill this fall, St James, Hirschfeld, and August WilsonDo you really think Aaron Tveit is going to leave Chess to go ...

Kad said: "chernjam said: "Kad said: "I just walked by the St James, where QoV is in the middle of its loadout. There is a new poster for this production on the loading stage door to the right of the lobby- the doors were open and somewhat blocked, so I couldn’t see if there was venue or date info, but it’s very clearly for this production."If that was on the outside doors - that was up in May prior to Sunset's closing/ pre London opening"I somehow missed that! Apologies for creating any conf...

Kad said: "I just walked by the St James, where QoV is in the middle of its loadout. There is a new poster for this production on the loading stage door to the right of the lobby- the doors were open and somewhat blocked, so I couldn’t see if there was venue or date info, but it’s very clearly for this production."If that was on the outside doors - that was up in May prior to Sunset's closing/ pre London opening

Jarethan said: "AKarp2013 said: "I don't think the return ofBeetlejuiceis paying off the way the producers were hoping it would."Is anyone surprised that Chess did only 92% of capacity last week. I know the gross was great, but I would have expected it to be closer to 97 - 98%. Makes me start to wonder if this is going to end up like the shows that start off really strong, but peter out after 6 months of so, e.g., Follies revival, Finding Neverland, Company revival...."Its hard to imagine Che...

sorry if I missed this, but has it been the case that the balcony is closed for this since it started? Was looking at tickets for this weekend and was surprised that even on Friday night it seemed closed (and plenty of availability)

I'm legitimately puzzled how the NY Times labeled it a "critics pick" while the rest of the reviews were so mixed to bad. I realize that these things are subjective (for example, I'm not a fan of Ragtime, but I can completely understand why people were raving about it and why it receives such creative accolades), but this really stands out as bizarre.

JSquared2 said: "chernjam said: Yeah I was surprised to see that Kristin was also a producer for this. More knowledgeable people on here can share whether a star of a Broadway musical is also a producer is as rare as I think. It's interesting to see how often that clouds judgment for creatives (I'm thinking how much better things have gone for Andrew Lloyd Webber when he's simply a creative and not a producer)."When in recent memory hasALW not been a producer on one of his shows? Michael Harr...

Auggie27 said: "The morning after, the culpability for disaster here feels so organic to the unsuitability ofsubject chosen for a musical play,and the better critics-- notably Feldman and Teeman in the Daily Beast - strongly support it. The reviews do not suggest that more development, selection of different moments to musicalize, tighter control over the narrative or any other after-the-fact corrections would offer fixes. Though not universal, the consensus finds the piece's unworkability ti...

Hamilton with a $1500 top ticket price?? Was there a special reason for that?

carolinaguy said: "quizking101 said:F. Murray Abraham being forced to do a country western number about being the Timeshare King was borderline elder abuse.This sentence will carry me through the rest of the week."Same - it's these most cleverest of writers on here that keep me wading through some of the more unpleasant parts of the forum. And you all deliver :D

I wonder if part of the agreement /settlement between RUG- ALW & Faye was that any recordings would be destroyed - or by now I'm sure they would've surfaced. I kind of feel it would have only vindicated ALW. We kind of build up the "what could've been" scenarios in our minds but there's a reason they never happened. For example, when I found the recordings of Rita Moreno from London when she stepped in temporarily (I think for 3 or 4 weeks) when Betty Buckley had an appendicitis how disappoin...