Profile for MusicMan

"a whole new crop of passionate creative artists creating a new era" Obviously, the third entry will be a satire.

Michael Feingold expressed it best in a review many years ago: Listening to Andrew Lloyd Webber is like walking down the halls of a music conservatory with all its doors open. Enough said.

"It's a gorgeous score." This abysmal excuse of a score has not a measure of anything musical, melodic or memorable about it and, like The Adding Machine, only put audiences to sleep with its hollow pretension. The tin-eared Chicago critics should be ashamed of themselves.

TheatreFreak (an unfortunate handle, really you should change it): Don't do dreary songs from THE SECRET GARDEN. You'll be much better off doing songs like ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE from SEUSSICAL or MY PA (change the lyric to MY MA) from THE YEARLING or NEVER-NEVER LAND from PETER PAN or MAMA, A RAINBOW from MINNIE'S BOYS or I WANT TO KNOW from BIG. Good luck. Bill Sykes London Bridge, London

The shows and their scores are self-explanatory.

"It has way too much negative buzz around it to succeed." Sounds like a Jason Robert Brown show to me.

"in recent years' auditions this has become one of the most over-used baritone songs" As the published version goes to a high B flat, it's hardly baritone material. Frankly, it's one of the few decent songs Wlldhorn has written, eminently actable and a GREAT audition number for specific circumstances.

Worth skipping. The missing props are the least of it. A poorly-designed set and unimaginative lighting plot make this one of the cheapest-looking and gloomiest productions of a musical I have ever seen. Even minimalism needs to have some texture. And like the Roundabout FOLLIES, this stripped-down version defeats the show at every turn.

Make bold choices.

THE RIDDLE SONG from FLOYD COLLINS, a most annoying song.

In every work of art there is not only the problem of communicating an immediate subject (story and theme) but the problem of evoking through the subject a universal sense of life beyond itself. This is the essence by which works of art truly move us. And nowhere is this accomplished with greater force than in the theater, which, at its summit, confronts us with the elemental human condition and the creative and destructive gods of our nature.

Depends on the occasion. Wouldn't exactly be fitting for a wedding or a baptism.

I couldn't agree with you more, MichaelBennett, regarding THE MIRACLE WORKER's shattering brilliance and its unjustifiable neglect. WillParker, you might consider enlisting the services of a fight director or even a choreographer who can help you stage the fight scenes without injury to the ladies themselves.

That's the least of it.

I believe it's one of the definitions from SPELLING BEE.

It's from a musical called RUMPLE. Here's what Gerard Bordman (AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE) has to say about it: "A carefree lark called RUMPLE (11-6-57, Alvin) had a novel plot. Unless cartoonist Nelson Crandal can recapture some of his original inspiration with in 48 hours, his comic strip RUMPLE will be discontinued and his beloved little figure consigned to Oblivia, a sort of Valhalla for cartoon figures. At one point Rumple is allowed to visit Oblivia and consort briefly in a comic ballet w...

But for one song, the score is forgettable.

Marisa Berenson published a memoir about her sister which was only released in Europe. Berry was also a noted photographer.

Take a look at the LOVE IS GOOD FOR ANYTHING THAT AILS YOU sequence from PENNIES FROM HEAVEN. Or listen to TAP YOUR TROUBLES AWAY from MACK AND MABEL. Or I WANT TO BE HAPPY from NO, NO, NANETTE.

"Interesting. I used to perform that song, and it never occurred to me that 'pile of flesh' couldn't refer to absolutely anyone. Aren't we all a pile of flesh, whether 90 lbs. or 200?" Absolutely. In his biography KING OF COMEDY, Mack Sennett describes Mabel Normand as "barely five feet tall and never...more than ninety-nine pounds." Which rules out inappropriate choices like Sara Ramirez (!) and Emily Skinner (!!).