Now to be fair, I haven't seen both of them live. I prefer the Lippa version (though I wish they had done more with Nadine) but what I've heard is...
Pure score - Lippa Seeing the show - LaChuisa
Madame Morrible: "So you take the chicken, now it must be a white chicken. The corpse can be any color. And that is the spell for lost luggage!" - The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken
I am the biggest Sondheim fan, and have been for 30 years...and I do not understand the comparison between him and LaChuisa. I dont think his scores are sophisticated at all.
Guettel is the only young composer I'd compare to Sondheim...not LaChuisa.
"Carson has combined his passion for helping children with his love for one of Cincinnati's favorite past times - cornhole - to create a unique and exciting event perfect for a corporate outing, entertaining clients or family fun."
I hate threads like this, because it upsets me that people need to compare the two works. They're both different interpretations of the same poem, and they both highlight things the other doesn't in many ways. The shows are very different, and really don't need to be pitted against each other.
Lippa's score doesn't need to be as intricate as LaChiusa's because his vision of the show doesn't need that, it's fine as it is. Same thing with the stuff in LaChiusa's. Don't compare simply on the basis that one used an electric guitar and the other didn't. The guitar in Lippa's works; as much as it detracts from the "period piece" of it all, I couldn't imagine that score any other way. Same thing with LaChiusa's. I enjoy them both in different ways.
LaChiusa is the only one I have but from hearing samples of Lippa's and doing research on the two, I definitely prefer LaChiusa's Wild Party
Butters, go buy World of Warcraft, install it on your computer, and join the online sensation before we all murder you.
--Cartman: South Park
ATTENTION FANS: I will be played by James Barbour in the upcoming musical, "BroadwayWorld: The Musical."
I prefer Lippa's by far. I just haven't gotten into LaChiusa's from what I've listened to. Granted, it took me awhile to get into Lippa's too. I'm probably having issues with LaChiusa because I heard Lippa's first and learned to love it, so hearing such a different score to the same characters and story is throwing me off.
BrianS, yes, something is to be said about connecting with a bigger audience: the material is simpler and more accessible to people who may not have the capacity to understand more complicated and sophisticated material. I think it's unfair to compare Wicked and The Light in the Piazza, considering that Wicked is an entertaining theatrical spectacle, while The Light in the Piazza is completely the opposite: a deep, meaningful work of artistry. Granted, Wicked is a lot of fun and is making millions of dollar, but you can't say that its accessibility and box office revenue automatically mean it's comparable.
Boq101, what's wrong with comparing two pieces of art? Essentially, that's what we're doing. Isn't that what people do with art: discuss what they like, what they dislike, and how they like it in comparison to other pieces? I think to say that comparing two shows is upsetting, especially when they are based on the same source material, is absurd. Updated On: 1/23/08 at 06:34 PM
A few days ago I've seen a production of LaChiusa's Wild Party. It was horrible.
So I would say Lippa's version is more accessible. Although LaChiusa's version is more daring. I still prefer LaChiusa's other scores over his Wild Party.