Encore's God Bless You Mr Rosewater- Page 2

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 10:31pm

Part of how a score must be assessed is how it works in context. 

Thank God for the Volunteer Fire Brigade? What exactly is terrific about that song? Sure it's wacky, but it comes out of nowhere, sung by characters we haven't met before and won't be seen from again, except for Mr Rosewater.  It's a surreal, what the hell is going on moment. 

What about The Rhode Island Tango? Once again, characters we haven't seen before are given a big spot- we do at least see the Rhode Island relatives again- but they feel both intregal and extraneous to the plot. 

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 10:32pm

Scarywarhol said: "Same, it has many of my favorite songs from any Off-Broadway musical. 

Since You Came To This Town

Thirty Miles From the Banks of the Ohio

Look Who's Here

I, Eliot Rosewater

A Firestorm Consuming Indianapolis 

Dear Ophelia

Plain, Clean, Average Americans

 

at least in the demos, I think these are all absolutely killer numbers. 

 

"

I'm glad I'm not alone--and yes to all of those choices (plus it has Cheeze Nips, the first of Ashman's "Food songs" like Feed Me, Be Our Guest, Growing Boy from the unfinished Babe, etc)

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 10:34pm

I haven't seen the score in context, but it's funny that you mention my two least favorite songs in the score. Fire Brigade was actually one of the two with lyrics mostly by Dennis Green, which might explain why it sticks out. 

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 10:37pm

Look Who's Here and the quiet Since You Came to This Town are probably the two best songs. They are the moments where they treat the citizens of Rosewater with some respect and dignity. Where Mr Rosewater reaches out to the disenfranchised and does some good. 

But then you get a song like Cheese Nips that undermines all that, presenting the Indianans like buffoonish slobs. 

And Mushari's Waltz- I mean, Astin delivered it with some elan, but the character is so thin and ultimately so ineffectual how could one be expected to care?

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 10:41pm

I must agree that Fontana is the go to man when dusting off an old script or leading a new one that has never tested the waters. He really is quite a trooper and I imagine a directors dream.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 10:43pm

Scarywarhol said: "I haven't seen the score in context, but it's funny that you mention my two least favorite songs in the score. Fire Brigade was actually one of the two with lyrics mostly by Dennis Green, which might explain why it sticks out. 

 

"

Yeah I was relieved to find out Ashman didn't do Fire Brigade's lyrics as even as a kid I felt it tried a bit too hard.  To be honest I can't remember what the Rhode Island Tango is lol and dont' have access to my copy of the demo here...

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 10:46pm

WhizzerMarvin said: "Look Who's Here and the quiet Since You Came to This Town are probably the two best songs. They are the moments where they treat the citizens of Rosewater with some respect and dignity. Where Mr Rosewater reaches out to the disenfranchised and does some good. 

But then you get a song like Cheese Nips that undermines all that, presenting the Indianans like buffoonish slobs. 

And Mushari's Waltz- I mean, Astin delivered it with some elan, but the character is so thin and ultimately so ineffectual how could one be expected to care?

 

"

Those are the two songs that are probably the most "instant".  I don't agree with Cheez Nips but it may depend on how its staged--I always felt it showed HER snobbery more than mocked the citizens. 

Of course you're right about context--however, knowing the novel it also is filled with a bunch of vignettes that seemingly come out of nowhere (maybe that works better in a novel?)

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 10:46pm

The Rhode Island Tango is the song at the top of act two that introduces the Rosewaters of Rhode Island, whom Norman is going to use to attempt to steal the Rosewater fortune. (How he was going to get the money away from the Rhode Island Rosewaters was unclear, but I suppose also irrelevant.)

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 10:46pm

There are some clever rhymes in Fire Brigade, but yes--it's sort of sweaty. Not purposeful. 

 

I agree, Eric, that Cheez-Nips always seemed to be about HER snobbery, but maybe it plays differently in the show. Or in this production. 

Updated On: 7/27/16 at 10:46 PM

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 10:50pm

I don't think Sylvia is a snob. She was trying really hard, as evidenced by joining the bowling league and even moving to Rosewater at all. She was trying to lay out a spread the only way she knew how...not to mention the song lands her in the psych ward and ultimately is the first major crack to end her marriage, so I thought it was supposed to be a sympathetic, yet comic moment for her. Not motivation for the audience to dislike her.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 11:06pm

I've always found this show to be slightly surreal.  It has always been a little bizarre and fable-like in a way.  I actually got to play Eliot Rosewater my freshman year of high school and so this show has a very special place in my heart.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 11:31pm

I will admit this is a bizarre little piece. It definitely took me a few minutes to get into it, but once I did, I had so much fun. I found it to be incredibly quirky and hilarious. I was grinning like an idiot for large portions of it. 

I think the book is strong in the sense that it is very clever and fun, but not in the sense of narrative structure or flow. The whole character of Mushari felt like such a red herring. I too got a "How to Succeed" vibe at first (particularly with Skylar Astin's little looks at the audience), until I realized that the show had very little to do with Mushari. I guess they explained his motivation by saying he was taught as a lawyer to go where the big money is, but his intense desire to tear down Elliot still didn't feel very strongly motivated. The resolution of the plot also felt so rushed and sudden. 

I found the score to be a lot of fun in the context of the show, but only a couple of them struck me as songs I might listen to later on the cast recording.

Still, it's a sweet and charming story with a message. I loved the cast! The standouts for me were Weatherhead, O'Malley, McCartney, and most of all, Santino Fontana. I forgot how charming and talented he is. Seeing him tonight also reminded me how much I loved his performance in Cinderella, which was the only other time I've seen him live. His comedic timing was on point, and his "11 o'clock number" was beautiful. He really is an excellent performer, and so incredibly likable. 

For those of you who are big fans of James Earl Jones, BE AWARE: His performance can really only be described as a cameo appearance. He is only in the show for a couple of minutes at the very end. I had no problem with it, given that I've seen him onstage a few times before, and wasn't going for him. But if you're seeing this primary for James Earl Jones, maybe best to wait until he's onstage again in a bigger role. 

Updated On: 7/27/16 at 11:31 PM

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 11:42pm

Dreadful  --- and that's putting it mildly.

Lame, flat, labored, and thoroughly trying from beginning to end.

For those who take stock of such things, there was a song about Cheese Nips.

[BroadwayKiwi]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 11:44pm

Re: the Fire Brigade number, it worked fine for me as a "dream sequence" for Eliot, who has finally been accepted by these firemen who until then saw him, correct in their instincts, as a true weirdo, and which illustrates for us his obsession with joining volunteer fire brigades. He was definitely pretty into that world, right? So that's his fetish dream sequence...

Maybe I have that wrong?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 11:50pm

Personally, I think he actually joined the Fire Brigade. I don't think it was a dream sequence. Norman reported to Eliot's father that he had been going from city to city joining volunteer fire brigades, so I don't think we are meant to take as anything but the truth. Another vignette on Eliot's surreal Alice in Wonderland type journey through America. 

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 11:50pm

BroadwayKiwi said: "Re: the Fire Brigade number, it worked fine for me as a "dream sequence" for Eliot, who has finally been accepted by these firemen who until then saw him, correct in their instincts, as a true weirdo, and which illustrates for us his obsession with joining volunteer fire brigades. He was definitely pretty into that world, right? So that's his fetish dream sequence...

Maybe I have that wrong?

 

"

I don't know the script but certainly in the novel he is obsessed with joining a volunteer fire brigade and the make comraderie he imagines in that world 

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 11:54pm

"he is obsessed with joining a volunteer fire brigade and the make comraderie he imagines in that world"

 

Huh?

[jv92]

Posted: 7/27/16 at 11:58pm

After Eight, why do you still go to the theatre? You hate everything that isn't trying to be anything but DEAR WORLD. You have the musical and theatrical taste of a hot dog vendor. Get lost. 

 

Not that I consider After Eight a smart member of this board, but I'm sort of sad that a bunch of the smarter folks on here have been so dismissive. I've found it to be a really good score. Big fan of "Eliot/Sylvia" the pseudo-art song second act duet btwn. Eliot and Sylvia. I'm going this weekend, I'm really excited, and f*ck 'em all. 

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/28/16 at 12:01am

After Eight said: ""he is obsessed with joining a volunteer fire brigade and the make comraderie he imagines in that world"

 

Huh?

 

"

Sorry on my phone. I meant male not make. And Whizzer us right, he does join them in the book. 

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 7/28/16 at 12:04am

^ All I can say is sometimes things play differently on a demo/cast recording, for better or worse, than they do in the theater. I really didn't care for the book, the structure more so than the actually dialouge, and I think the lack of plot and strong, interesting characters harmed the evening. 

[jv92]

Posted: 7/28/16 at 12:06am

I respect that Whizzer. I'm disappointed, but I respect your opinion. I've also read the script, and thought it read fine. Maybe it just doesn't play fine. 

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/28/16 at 12:09am

"You have the musical and theatrical taste of a hot dog vendor."

What a condescending, snotty thing to say about hot dog vendors. How do you know that many among them aren't more cultured than you? They couldn't be any more coarse and crude, that's for sure.


 "and f*ck 'em all."

See? I rest my case.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 7/28/16 at 12:18am

jv92 said: "I respect that Whizzer. I'm disappointed, but I respect your opinion. I've also read the script, and thought it read fine. Maybe it just doesn't play fine. 

 

Maybe when you see it you will still find cause to enjoy the book, especially since you are going into it knowing what to expect. As JBroadway says though, why does Norman have such an intense desire to bring Eliot down? Why is there no resolution to his plotline of trying to steal the Rosewater fortune? Why are the Rhode Island relatives never seen or mentioned at the end? Why do we not see the final interaction between Eliot and Sylvia at the hotel?

The plot zigs where you think it will zag, and while keeping an audience on its toes is admirable, I found the lack of motivation and resolution frustrating rather than inspiring. 

 

[Cesare2]

Posted: 7/28/16 at 1:39am

I saw the show last night and thought it was terrific.  My only familiarity with the piece was a concert version done years ago at the Cooper Union that starred Jim Walton, David Pittu, and Carolee Carmello.  Crazy and off-beat?  Of course; it's Kurt Vonnegut. I laughed a lot and had a good time, even though I (at least) ended up finding the show quite poignant.


 

 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/28/16 at 10:30am

What was the running time for the show?