What musical should Meron and Zadan do next?- Page 7

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 2:35pm

Benanti would be a divine Mrs. Darling.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 2:43pm

MB, who would you cast as the stars of PETER PAN? Where do you even start with a character like Peter? Any out of the box casting a possibility here? I don't know many female or male superstars who might be appropriate for Peter.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 3:04pm

I know it was floated as a joke an in article, but I really do think Miley Cyrus could make an inspired Peter Pan. The character is cocky, arrogant, immature and defiant of authority, which is pretty much fits the public perception of her at the moment. But in truth, I think its all an act and she is dumb like a fox. She's had years of singing and acting experience and would be a draw.

Get Hugh Jackman, or Colin Ferrell or Jude Law or half a dozen great men to play Captain Hook and then fill out the cast with Broadway talent.

I think NBC is going to want to do something specifically for family audiences and all the Meron/Zadan productions have featured children. There is also an opportunity to have a more mixed race cast with Peter Pan than a lot of musicals. I think NBC is going to be sensitive to that for the next one...

[Kad]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 3:26pm

NBC was already dipping a toe in that water with Audra, so I'm sure we will see more of it if a presentation were to happen again.

[smallvillefan16]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 3:27pm

Boo. Of all the shows do choose from, Peter Pan? We already have SEVERAL recordings of 'stage' versions of this production. The idea of seeing a person 'fly' does not have the same magic it once did before CGI was invented. Don't get me wrong, I adore the Mary Martin version, but do something that hasn't been done before. What I enjoyed about the SoM was they did a version that has not been filmed before. Boo Peter Pan.

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 3:41pm

Peter Pan has everything I was talking about ... but I didn't think it would be such a frontrunner for one main reason----the flying. It's one thing to rehearse the production to death and do weeks of previews before opening on Broadway.

It's another thing to do it once, live, on TV.

Yes, they will have many dress rehearsals, I should imagine, but they get one shot at doing it right in front of millions of people. Just one.

I can picture all the tangled wires, the bruised shoulders slamming into set pieces and walls, and a lot of confusion and fear.

CAN'T WAIT TO TUNE IN AND SEE IT ALL!!!


Here it is, ladies and gentlemen!

Updated On: 12/7/13 at 03:41 PM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 3:46pm

Oh I don't think the flying will be that big a deal- I think they will do it just like they did for the Mary Martin telecasts. I mean everything about the sets for the Sound of music was night theatrical...

I know people on this board are bored with the idea of Peter Pan, but you have to think the way a network thinks. It's a hugely popular title and it has nostalgia all over it and nobody in middle America is going to say "but we have an out of print DVD of this already from ten years ago starring Cathy Rigby...

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 3:58pm

I would love more Audra in the future but I'm not sure what other roles she would really be well suited for that she would realistically be cast in for in the types of musicals NBC is likely to produce-- this was the perfect supporting role with a show stopping song-what could top it?

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 4:28pm

Oh I don't think the flying will be that big a deal- I think they will do it just like they did for the Mary Martin telecasts.

Well, for one thing, if they tried to do the flying the way they did in the 1950s and '60s, they would be laughed off the screen. I imagine the technical aspects being their biggest challenge. In a world full of CGI superheroes and Middle Earth adventures, watching a female Peter Pan sway between two walls on a thick, black piano wire ain't gonna cut it.

Updated On: 12/7/13 at 04:28 PM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 4:33pm

I don't think they'd even try to compete with CGI-- everything about that sound of music presentation was as old school live network TV as you can get and it still drew in 18.5 million viewers. I think they'd embrace the theatricality of Peter Pan in the same way. I mean they didn't even try to hide the actors body microphone cords for the sound of music and nobody cared.

Updated On: 12/7/13 at 04:33 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 4:48pm

I agree with you about the 18.5 million, but I don't agree with you that nobody cared. Even the critics mentioned it.

I do think the negative press and social media banter will affect the next telecast. And if it's met with a similar reaction, you will see those ratings numbers fall off dramatically.

No, they don't have to compete with CGI films, but they can't do it '50s-style and get away with it either. They'll never make it out of the nursery without millions of people changing the channel.

This is not something they would have to face with another musical. But if they want to do Peter Pan, they have to face a 21st century audience with it.

[justincharacter]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 4:49pm

@MichaelBennet "I would love more Audra in the future but I'm not sure what other roles she would really be well suited for that she would realistically be cast in for in the types of musicals NBC is likely to produce-- this was the perfect supporting role with a show stopping song-what could top it?"

Fairy Godmother in R&H Cinderella. Her "There's Music in You" would be incredible

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 5:02pm

Best-you and I will just have to agree to disagree on this one. I agree that there were many issues that NBC will likely look to correct the next time around- but I also know they aren't going to throw out the basic formula which somehow miraculously worked. I'm with you in that I would never have imagined so many people would have stayed tuned in to something that looked so stage bound in its execution for three hours but they did! I'm willing to say even if critics took it to task, it was all part of the charm of what made it feel like a live event. And that kept people interested.

There is no reason to try to bring live television into the 21st century becaus there is no reason to do live television in the 21st century. Trying to do Peter Pan with "sleek" modern CGI esque production values would essentially make it look like a TV movie and I believe that is the opposite of the real selling point here...

And I don't think the Execs frankly are going to care about the reviews- whether it was because it was good or "so bad it's good" - that kind of twitter feed that went on during the broadcast was a producers dream- they'd be THRILLED to have that repeated all over agin for the next one



Updated On: 12/7/13 at 05:02 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 5:51pm

The selling point is that it's done live, not that it looks cheap. They may not have to compete with Middle Earth in the movie theatres, but they will have to compete with Cirque and other large, touring arena shows with modern effects. I think it's naive to think otherwise.

And it's not the criticisms that should worry them. It's the expectations of the viewing audience that, for the large part, were only marginally met (based on viewer feedback, not critics). The 18.5 million might not be as curious a second time if they really didn't care for it. That remains to be seen. However many people decide to watch will tune in knowing what they got the last time. Whether it was a one-off for the Sound of Music, or whether a large audience will stay with it, who knows? But I think the quickest channel-flip will be watching an adult female Peter sway like a giant pendulum between two flat walls on a black wire. I can't imagine they're not thinking about ways to make it more ambitious and up the "wow" factor. But that ambition comes with risk to the performers. Still, to underestimate and write off the flying as incidental would be a mistake, in my opinion.

[JohnyBroadway]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 6:03pm

If it ends up being Peter Pan could we please have Audra make a cameo as Mrs. darling?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 6:13pm

I think Fiddler on the Roof has a chance. The ending is a bit of a downer for the holiday season, but the Lisa Welchel viewers know it's a safe musical and would tune in with their children.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 6:18pm

Has anyone seen the stage version of "A Christmas Story"? The movie has a cult following and I'm wondering if the stage version could play live? I haven't seen the stage show.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 6:24pm

Yes, it absolutely could.

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 6:28pm

^ That's a really good idea. Especially after seeing that Tony Awards performance with Caroline O'Connor and that tap-dancing kid!

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 6:37pm

I'd like to see WHITE CHRISTMAS before A CHRISTMAS STORY, though. I personally think it's a more widely known holiday property.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 6:37pm

How about a full production of CAROUSEL? Anna Kendrick could put a smart spin on Carrie. Has a bunch of kids in Act II and Audra could graduate from Carrie to Nettie with her 2 big numbers, one of which matches "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" to a T. Half of the cast from this year's concert production could reprise their roles.

Updated On: 12/7/13 at 06:37 PM

[bwayalltheway]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 6:44pm

I'd personally love to see Guys and Dolls done with its upcoming Carnegie Hall cast... Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally, Sierra Boggess, and Patrick Wilson. It has the star power, the talent, and I think it could be a real delight.

[JohnyBroadway]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 6:44pm

Let's play a game of cast Audra.
Updated On: 12/7/13 at 06:44 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 6:45pm

I think White Christmas is a bit too quiet for their next production. I think the same thing about Meet Me In St. Louis. I'm not sure that the audience would hang in to the end for either of these shows.

I'm also wondering if they did a show with a huge dance number, how that would go over. Sound of Music doesn't have much dancing. But I'd love to see a musical with a huge dance number. Everybody always loves The Rockettes. I think audiences would love a big dance number.

[SidebySidebyLogan]

Posted: 12/7/13 at 6:50pm

As far as theater people tuning in, I know I only watched TSoM because I'm such an advocate of live theater, musical theater, etc. and felt I should support the production even if I wasn't thrilled by the choices made. I also hoped my tiny ratings percentage might help spawn a similar event with a show and star I find more appealing. But if Peter Pan comes next, count me out. I understand that it must be looked at from a business perspective and not my usual point of "There are so many great shows out there that people deserve to know about!" but Peter Pan to me seems lazy. It's been done. I think there is somewhere between Evita and Peter Pan that Meron and Zadan need to shoot for. Kids shouldn't be their target. Tweens and teens are the younger generation that have somehow embraced old school theatricality, at least if I'm judging by my younger family members and their friends. My old high school's theater department is stronger than ever, musicals are cool to do now, my cousin played Ado Annie one weekend and was crowned homecoming queen the next. I think children aren't old enough to recognize that the magic stems from being live not from Peter flying, whereas someone a little older can see that. I wish they would try appealing to the young adult and up audience. H2$ is a show that could work here. It's smart and funny so that adults can enjoy it and if cast correctly (Radcliffe) youths would still flock to watch. That's another bit, I don't think the show matters for getting young people to watch, when attracting young eyes it's all about the casting.

The piece that bothers me is making it a holiday thing. I get the thinking behind it but it surely limits the types of shows you can do. They can keep doing a "family friendly holiday broadcast" but I really think something raucous and fun would bring in similar to higher numbers if done right. There are other times in the broadcast schedule that can benefit from event entertainment. A late summer Grease or a near Halloween Little Shop (or Rocky Horror on a cable channel :) ) would feel more like an EVENT because you're having fun not watching paint dry and running from Nazis. I guess I'm just afraid they are going to get stuck doing a "First Week of December Family Musical from the 1950's" type situation and if there is any lesson network tv (& NBC especially) needs to learn it's that their formulas aren't working in an era where a viewer can find EXACTLY what they're looking for on one the thousands of other channels available to them. I'd hate to see this wonderful opportunity to bring live theater to the masses fail because no one has the balls to take a risk anymore (said everyone about everything in the entertainment business).