Profile for rufussars

Not to keep harping on this, but I'm surprised no one mentioned the blatant similarity in tone/instrumentation/concept of "I Am Africa" to "Circle of Life". Perhaps it was already said. Where is this said FIDDLER reference? That's the one I'm missing. And, can we assume that the spoken patter bits of "All-American Prophet" are a la THE MUSIC MAN? Although the music, too, does seem to ring a bell for me. Okay, I'll concede that this IS quite a substantial amount of pastiche. But, really, is it...

I second the SUNDAY quote when I first heard the opening note motive of "Making Things Up". Unlike the others, however, that homage just seems kind of arbitrary. And the verse to "Hasa Diga" is quite evidently the intro to "I Just Can't Wait to Be King"; really listen to the melody of both...it's identical. I have my LION KING score in front of me and can actually sing "There isn't enough food to eat, hasa diga eebowai" in tandem with the given notes. Of course, replicating the orchestration ...

I'll let the pro-faith conversation slide as everyone will have a different interpretation mostly due to one's own personal feelings about a particular religion/religion in general. As far as the references, there is quite a handful, but is that REALLY such an awful thing considering how few original scores come along these days among all the revivals and jukebox shows? What really bothers me more is the pop slant-rhyming in a good 1/3 of the score. "Days/AIDS", "late/way", "butt/c---"...and ...

I seem to recall that Trey and Matt have stated that they do, in fact, believe in a God...so, who knows. But, in any event, the show's moral is not "Mormons are ridiculous beings". I, too, am fairly religious, but didn't take offense with the takeaway message. Yes, of course the Tony performance's end goal is increased ticket sales, but that doesn't mean they'd hastily exclude the principals for a couple extra laughs. If it's impressive they want, I still stand by the "Man Up" finale, althoug...

To reiterate what was sort of already said, neither Trey nor Matt are atheists; they just find the outlandish tale of Joseph Smith and his golden plates to be the most unbelievable of all religions. The show is totally pro-faith. Any other message in this type of show would come off as stale, unfunny, and just plain cruel. As far as the Tony number, Kad has a point. Although "Along Came Bialy" may have seemed "messy" and "disjointed", it ISN'T a single song- it segues into a blissful Act One ...

As far as the song list, they've cut "Some People", "Small World", "If Momma Was Married", and "Together Wherever We Go"...who needs 'em? "Mr. Goldstone" has also been dropped in favor of an orgy spoken in rhythm (very artsy!). "Everything's Coming Up Roses" has been somewhat abridged, and portions of "Rose's Turn" have been excised; who wants to sit through all that, anyway? 3 new songs will be inserted into the work: an alternate "I want" character number for Rose entitled "Get the F--- Off...

While I did take small issue with the design elements, I'll retract that statement. I must concede that some (including the Venus flytrap and the squid) were actually somewhat impressive. OK, I'll give you that one. But, as one who knew precisely what was to be expected and intended by the creative team, I felt it was drastically lacking in terms of book & score, two elements that should firmly stand head and shoulders above anything else in the musical theatre. And, come on, you and your 5 f...

If the ticket-buyers and/or critics truly entered the Lunt-Fontanne without dragging along a sense of humor poised for anything but comic alchemy, schtick galore, and outlandish gags out the wazoo, then they're not intelligent enough to be spending that kind of money/critiquing anything. Everyone vaguely familiar with the franchise knew what to expect. Everyone knew what the end result should've been. Everyone knew that the show failed to deliver on its two most important creative elements at...

Woah! What's with all the slamming of Lippa's looks/oddities? God, he's a writer...mostly out of the public eye. The ONLY justification I can see for punching him in the face is for how smugly he's touting these numbers as if they're some of the best theatre tunes ever. However, with that being said, I have more reservations about this show than I did before. This is going to be INSANELY controversial, ballsy, and unpopular to say, but with all the comparisons this show has endured to YOUNG F...

Oh, gimme a break, AJ. If only financially successful shows went on tour (or, more specifically, waited to recoup before they did), there'd be about a whopping 2 new tours in any given season sent out. Investment as a paragon of success in this case is senseless. Really, why should that be the gold standard here? How many Sondheim or Jason Robert Brown shows didn't make money? Exactly. Regardless of how much money YF didn't make on Broadway (incidentally, it was a hair away from totally recou...

I can empathize with you, AJ. YF isn't nearly the paragon of sophisticated theatre like those hit Toronto-born musicals such as...oh, wait. Even though you're lying, did the fact that it has a "terrible score", "no real laughs", and is the "worst musical you've ever seen" really warrant its own thread, however? Personally, while the musical certainly didn't eclipse THE PRODUCERS in any way, shape, or form, I still found YF to be a delightfully quaint creation. Honestly- what appeals to your s...

That standing room has been pretty nude as of late.

Millie, that wasn't an attack on you or Roger; stay calm. I was just genuinely curious because, as I said, he did the same material several times over. I merely suggested that one of Stroman's improvments might've been the culprit for the missed line. No reason to go to pieces and get all vaginal about it. Now, can we get the review, BroadwayMelody?

Um...hasn't he performed this show like over 500 times?! I have a sneaking suspicion it was one of Stro's "tweaks" to the show that threw him. Can anyone confirm?

Wait, where's the MOVIN' OUT logo? I didn't see it.

Deciding which version to get largely depends on what purpose they will serve. The "Melody Line with Piano Accomp." is just that. So, if these songs were to be used for mostly audition/solo settings, that one would be your better bet as the pianist would have a more accurate orchestral reduction to play underneath your melody. Otherwise, if you yourself are the pianist, the straight (and much more common) "Piano/Vocal Selections" might be the better choice since it includes a (most likely) si...

YF is technically an '09-10 tour seeing as it's opening in September; plus, the show itself was from the previous season (the poster wanted shows from THIS season).

I just have to ask- is Dolly's "rhyme scheme" as pathetic throughout the whole show as it is in that clip of "Backwoods Barbie"? I just want to be prepared before I see the show to endure cringe-worthy rhymes, if this is the case. Yes, I realize aiming solely for rhyme is second fiddle to the content of the song, but "worth/hurts, believe/deep, heels/real" is just not settling well with me (ok, it's actually irking me to no end). I've always been a fan of Dolly, but it will disappoint and ann...

BobbyBubby, I completely side with you on this issue. Sidneybruhl's remark jabbed at me like a fork. I'm sure you'll see that I've responded to your thread. And, based on the reviews here, I think it's safe to say that 9 TO 5 has some degree of artfulness.