The Music Man’ is the wrong Broadway revival for this crucial moment- Page 2

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 12:32pm

What an idiotic article.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 12:32pm

The theatre is a cafeteria, not a chef-selected tasting menu. It's fine that some people don't have an appetite for meat, and others don't have an appetite for dessert. And sometimes simple dishes have more complexity than meets the eye. 

Posted: 6/23/21 at 12:50pm

The LA Times is enemy #1 in terms of writing these type of clickbait cancel-attempt articles.

It's not really their fault, they were sold in 2018 and are in the midst of severe financial struggles, having gone through a bunch of cutbacks and buyouts. Articles like these are easy to write and generate a lot of engagement, so for a struggling paper it makes sense to invest heavily in articles like this that have strong return on investment. But it's the equivalent of a poor college student selling their body for tuition money. It works, they can get by, but it's not necessarily something to be proud of.

Anyway, this article is really stupid and I hate myself for feeling compelled to comment on it.

(Editing this because I somehow completely whiffed on who wrote the article.)

Updated On: 6/23/21 at 12:50 PM

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 12:57pm

Jordan Catalano said: "gypsy101 said: "yeah the author isn’t totally wrong imo. the show is a whitebread illustration of Americana. i think we could use a revival of Ragtime though it probably wouldn’t sell well"



sorry but that’s ridiculous. A “Ragtime” revival would be great but you ARE allowed to have both. Not every show needs to be a social commentary on the depressing events happening in this country.

"

Thank you, Jordan. I swear to god we're going to woke ourselves to death. (I mean just look at some of the threads on this board.) Sure, some things can be re-examined, but dammit, most people want to see a happy escapist musical. Because you know what lasts the longest on Broadway? Friggin' happy escapist musicals. So let people just have fun.

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 12:58pm

The Music Man is the RIGHT Broadway revival for this crucial moment.

The only thing I don't like about "The Music Man" is that I won't be able to see it.  But, I am happy to have seen both Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster in concert.

[jlindsey865]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 1:50pm

I find this article to be very irresponsible.  Obviously, the author is welcome to have her thoughts.  However, why in the world would someone attempt to shed negativity on a show that is truly going to help in the process of reviving Broadway (not to mention employee lots of performers, musicians, and technical/operational staff)?

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 3:17pm

I agree with everything Ashley Lee writes in her article…while simultaneously feeling completely exhausted of the nonstop “we need to do better when theater comes back” op eds. I get that there hasn’t been much else to write about for the past year and a half, but enough already. Now that theater IS coming back, can we just be HAPPY? Finally? The upcoming Broadway and major regional theater season is extremely diverse and a huge improvement. Let’s have a moratorium on the theater for social justice articles for a while. They are preaching to the choir anyway.

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 3:20pm

It's wild to me how outraged people are about her perspective. I think it would be cool if they dared to change the ending to be less conventional. Marion comes into her own and kicks Harold to the curb and takes over the music department. 

Also the comparison to Trump is entirely valid. He hoodwinked innocent small towners with his charm. Harold Hill didn't? 

Listen Broadway is coming back to make money regardless of this one show haha I mean what's wrong with wanting something fresher in its place?

Posted: 6/23/21 at 3:25pm

The Distinctive Baritone said: "Now that theater IS coming back, can we just be HAPPY? Finally?"

Don't we get to be happy, [theatre]?
At some point down the line, don't we get to relax?
Without some new tsuris to push me yet further from you?

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 3:36pm

jv92 said: "Oh please. This one can f*ck off. Anyone who misses the profundity of THE MUSIC MAN is a damn fool. It’s a very deep show about loss, rejuvenation and redemption. I think all audiences can relate to those themes and feelings. I swear, certain parties won’t be happy until this production is cancelled for good, and that ain’t gonna happen."

I love you. I honestly love you......

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 3:40pm

I mean what's wrong with wanting something fresher in its place?

Nothing is wrong with that. But, it's not up to you. Feel free to see something else. People are incredibly excited to see this show and don't seem to mind paying 500 bux a ticket, so let people live and be happy. 

People should resist the urge to sh*t on every little thing in life they take issue with, how exhausted and miserable they must be. 

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 3:44pm

rattleNwoolypenguin said: "It's wild to me how outraged people are about her perspective. I think it would be cool if they dared to change the ending to be less conventional. Marion comes into her own and kicks Harold to the curb and takes over the music department.

Also the comparison to Trump is entirely valid. He hoodwinked innocent small towners with his charm. Harold Hill didn't?

Listen Broadway is coming back to make money regardless of this one show haha I mean what's wrong with wanting something fresher in its place?"


They legally can’t change the ending, and Meredith Wilson is dead so he’s currently unavailable to do so.

I’m very happy that the theatre world is adjusting to the increasingly non-white demographics of our country. It is necessary and overdue.

That said, not every show can be for everybody, and that’s okay. Yes, The Music Man is one of the whitest musicials ever written. But ALMOST EVERY OTHER NEW SHOW opening on Broadway this season is by and about POC. Ultimately, it all balances out as it should. 

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 4:09pm

Sutton Ross said: "I mean what's wrong with wanting something fresher in its place?

Nothing is wrong with that. But, it's not up to you. Feel free to see something else. People are incredibly excited to see this show anddon't seem to mind paying 500 bux a ticket, so let people live and be happy.

People should resist the urge to sh*t on every little thing in life they take issue with, how exhaustedand miserable they must be."

Facts: The Internet - where someone always yucks on everyone else’s yum. 

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 4:29pm

The beautiful thing about Broadway is no one show must appeal to every ticketbuyer. No one show represents what Broadway is. Broadway has different offerings to appeal to different people. 

The other dumb thing is the people (on Twitter) who are saying "they need to diversify the cast." Broadway absolutely needs to diversify itself, but you cannot promote a cast for 15 months of a pandemic and then fire them because of their race –– and certainly not after this reckoning surrounding poor behavior. It's not "right" that the principal cast is all white, but this ain't the way to solve Broadway's racism problem.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 4:42pm

Yessssssss

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 6:26pm

cougarnewtin said: "The vitriol that ‘Music Man’ gets has always baffled me. I can accept that the sanitized version of early-20th America might be a bit outdated, but I’ve seen so many people act like it’s the most offensive musical of all time.

This might be controversial, but in my opinion, the actual threat to the development of new works on Broadway is the increased presence of mainstays like Wicked, Phantom, Chicago, and even relative newcomers like Evan Hansen, which will absolutely not be closing anytime soon."

I disagree that long running shows like Wicked, Phantom and Chicago are a threat to the development of new works.  In normal times, each season has its successes and unsuccessful shows.  Now that Broadway is reemerging from  its covid "interval", theatregoers will be looking to see favorite, popular and familiar shows.  Yes, they'll also look also to new plays and musicals.  In any case, time will tell if a certain show has a chance of success. The theatre public will either embrace new shows...or not... on their own merits.  I hope that the Music Man is successful.  

 

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 11:28pm

F the L.A. Times…and I live there.

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 6/24/21 at 12:05am

Ridiculous- with a capital R.

[ViniFromBrazil]

Posted: 6/24/21 at 12:43am

Robbie2 said: "https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-06-22/commentary-music-man-broadway-hugh-jackman"

 

I am a staunch liberal with no intent of jumping to the other side but I find posts like this to be so counterproductive, and I like Ashley Lee generally. I'm definitely coming back next year and MUSIC MAN will not be my choice of a musical to see but honestly what is the end game here? Have the company cancel the production because it's not "right for this moment"? I firmly believe in starting new conversations that are controversial and uncomfortable but there must be a way to do it that makes sense with the stage of the (in this case, unseen) production. Maybe instead of writing an ARTICLE, Ashley could have waited to see the production and write a REVIEW about it.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 6/24/21 at 11:07am

Belief in conflict with facts will remind people of Trump.  How could it not? 

But this isn't a Harold Hill problem; it applies equally to Willie Loman, Blanche Dubois, Violet Venable, Violet Weston, Cassandra, Falstaff, George and Martha, Starbuck, Mme. Rose and the casts of every other play by Chekhov, O'Neil, Wilson and Beckett. 

Are we to be deprived of half the canon because some dim souls might see in it a vindication of Trumpism?

Updated On: 6/24/21 at 11:07 AM

[MlleDaae]

Posted: 6/24/21 at 2:59pm

A bore of a musical about a local woman ostracized by her community until a grifter con man woos her ..there by making her acceptable again.

The town shuns her due to an untrue rumor that she was in love with an older man. The town accepts her again once she.. falls in love with an older ma -- wtf??

And don't forget the moral of the story - "Maybe we should just believe the con man and everything will work out".

Other than its use of diegetic sound, barbershop a cappella, and the song "Til There Was You".. I dislike this musical greatly.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/24/21 at 3:13pm

Cool story, bro. 

[Dolly80]

Posted: 6/24/21 at 6:53pm

I’d say a musical that will be a huge sell out, attract lots of excitement and publicity for Broadway, starring a sensational cast is JUST a the kind of show that should be opening now.

Go see Caroline or Change if you wanna be bored senseless and worthy. No problemo! Both exist.

[jv92]

Posted: 6/24/21 at 8:01pm

Dolly80 said: "I’d say a musical that will be a huge sell out, attract lots of excitement and publicity for Broadway, starring a sensational cast is JUST a the kind of show that should be opening now.

Go see Caroline or Change if you wanna be bored senseless and worthy. No problemo! Both exist."

Here’s the thing. I like CAROLINE, OR CHANGE, too. It’s an exciting evening of theatre. I’m looking forward to seeing both. There should be room for both kinds of shows. 

[edmundog2]

Posted: 6/25/21 at 8:39am

Incidentally, regarding the unbearable whiteness of this show, I saw a production at the Stratford Festival a couple of years ago where both Harold, the suspected outsider, and Tommy, the boy from the "wrong side of the tracks", were played by Black actors. Obviously, they couldn't change the text, and the text that existed wouldn't bear overly pointed direction, but the subtext was there, and it was brilliant. And after you've seen "You Got Trouble" done in the style of a southern revival preacher, you'll never want to see a white Harold again.

Now, obviously, the fact that a team of Canadians in an unrelated production found levels and nuance not often found in this show doesn't mean a damn thing about this production, which will surely be a much more basic and by-the-numbers production, albeit with an overqualified cast. But I did think it was interesting.

Anyway, regarding the essential question of the article, it's a big splashy classic with huge stars that's going to sell like hotcakes and drive tourism. It's exactly the right one for this crucial moment. We're going to have to deal with a few years of sales-driving shows. In 2020, I was going to finally check Pericles and Two Noble Kinsmen off my Shakespeare list. But no one is doing those shows this year. The Shakespeare festivals are all doing Midsummer and Much Ado and Macbeth. Because those are the ones that sell tickets, and sometimes, you just gotta make money.