Broadway Legend Joined: 1/3/05
Honey, it's got nothing to do with your age.
Yeah, we'd kick a two year old and a 97 year old with the same strength for making those comments.
They aren't doing it because of your age, which I wasn't aware of, there are plenty of young posters on this board.
soooooooooooo, about that 9 to 5...
Swing Joined: 8/12/09
Well I'm sorry that you have to criticize wicked and its fans, because we enjoy the show.
I enjoy the show, but it isn't the god of all theatre shows.
My appreciation for 9 to 5 the musical decreased considerably after I watched the film version again and realized most of the dialogue was word for word. For me, Patricia Resnick's book was the weakest aspect of the show because it lacked the fresh quality that other movies to musicals somehow muster. Her book and its structure also suggested the sporadic and continuous set changes that broke the show's flow.
Why don't you express your joy for Wicked on a thread about Wicked?
Love the show but you can't deny that it is horribly flawed. Enjoyable, sure. Flawed, you bet your ass.
Swing Joined: 8/12/09
"And most of us didn't have message boards and google when we were "newbies". We had these things called books. I hear they used to be all the rage.",
"When do the children go back to school".
I don't know, but when I read this I would think they were saying that I am young and I don't know anything about Broadway just because I like Wicked.
So you want us not to judge you because you're young but to be gentle with you because you're young. You can't have both Mary.
I'll try to get back to topic :)
I agree with most of what you said especially the part that SJB can't act and it's such a shame b/c if she could she would be so amazing. Janney isn't a natural singer but she does sell it as much as she can and her acting makes up for it. I personally really enjoyed the score and felt it was the best part of the show. It was really catchy and I really love the OBCR. But the book is where the show really fails. If it was taken and restored and made fresh it could have been a much stronger show but it was a replica of the movie which is NOT a good thing. The movie was a major hit in 1980 if you want it to be funny and a good book you have to make it fresh and new not take line from line and put it into the show.
Swing Joined: 8/12/09
Thats not what i'm saying. Don't judge me because you think i don't know anything about broadway and that I'm just a wicked fan, and don't be assholes or immature about something that other people like.
'
Wicked is the McDonald's of Broadway.
Wicked is the McDonald's of Broadway.
Oh, shoot blaxx, now I want a double cheeseburger and dollar menu fry to cap off my night.
Let me guess Diva...you thought Janney should of won the Tony??
And Menzel deserved to win over Tonya Pinkins??
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
First of all - to wake up to find 65 replies...that's awesome.
Second of all - the reason WICKED succeeded was because it has, more than less, a story young women can relate to.
While I'm sure there are some people who can relate to the goings-on in 9 to 5, the plot lost its significance 20 years ago.
Understudy Joined: 7/22/09
I saw 9 to 5 a few weeks ago, and was happy to have gotten great seats for a discount. (Had I not, I would have been very irritated)
Let me try to remember what was stated in the original post...I think the show itself is average. The music is so-so. There are a few good songs, yet only "9 to 5" remained with me on the way home.
Alison Janney is clearly the weakest of the three in terms of her voice. While she can act, she's a mediocre singer at best. But she does try to sell every number, so I'll give her props for that.
I have to disagree with the comment that SJB can't act. She can act, and had a hell of a voice. The problem lies within her character....it's so very bland and boring. She does well with "Get Out...", but I thought there would be more show stopping numbers.
Megan Hilty...again, had a hell of a voice, and doesn't get to showcase it at all here, which really disappoints me.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
Wicked had a cast member from Rent. 9 to 5 has 2 cast members and the director of Wicked. Of course the kiddies love it.
"One thing that can be said for the more commercial shows like Wicked, Lion King, etc is that they bring in audiences that otherwise might not see theatre."
Said audiences, i.e. tourists and tri-state-area date-nighters, are then made accustomed to receiving enough (or more) bang (special effects, power ballads, crazy belting, bad projection screens, dumbed down plot lines, stunt casting, movie>stage transfers) for their considerable buck.
This precedent is perpetuated by producers looking to make back their investments and therefore gives us the sad, sad state of Broadway today.
Whilst papering for [title of show] I played a little game called "TV, Movie or Recognizable Commodity" with a friend. I walked down the row of posters in Shubert Alley and was horrified to see the overwhelming percentage of shows that fell into those 3 categories.
Theater only survives when there is an audience and unfortunately the audience to be catered to today is the people not fully immersed or educated in it. Huge productions => huge budgets => exorbitant ticket prices => theater is now a luxury instead of an everyday form of entertainment for a New Yorker who could at one time buy a ticket for a price lower than that of the new movies at the multiplex.
Of course, one can't solely blame Wicked or The Lion King for this entire issue, but using the excuse that we need to "break in" new theater patronage to excuse the completely desolate and lacking in creativity Broadway of today is way off the mark.
Oh, shoot blaxx, now I want a double cheeseburger and dollar menu fry to cap off my night.
And I'm not joking about Wicked being like McDonald's - it makes millions every week, it's cheap, it's accessible, people crave it and everytime you consume the product you feel satisfied and not aware what it does to you in the long run.
Oh honey--somebody has a lot of feelings today!
"...people crave it and everytime you consume the product you feel satisfied and not aware what it does to you in the long run."
That said, I am about to go out and get one of those greasy Angus burgers - free fries and medium drink with purchase! This is going to be one healthy night.
Sorry to threadjack.
"The problem lies within her character....it's so very bland and boring."
It's the same bland character that Jane Fonda, an actress, was able to make charming, funny, poignant and memorable. In the musical, I forgot about the character while she was right on stage in front of me. Until, of course, she brought down the house with her terrific, if unearned, 11:00 number.
ETA: Yankee, as usual, you are spot on with your assessment of the show. And Millie, see it anyway. You might regret it if you do, but you'll always wonder what you'd missed if you don't.
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/28/08
"And I'm not joking about Wicked being like McDonald's - it makes millions every week, it's cheap, it's accessible, people crave it and everytime you consume the product you feel satisfied and not aware what it does to you in the long run."
How is Wicked cheap when it's never discounted?
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