"I miss the big overtures !"
"I miss the big overtures !"
#1"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 9:11am
I was watching a 2013 interview with Joan Rivers she did for a theater site. She mentioned she had seen just about every Broadway show, off-Broadway show, off-off Broadway show for as long as she could remember. She loved live theater and the excitement of the audience.
She was asked what biggest change she saw in theater, and what she was disappointed with. "I miss the overtures", she answered. "I miss the orchestra playing the audience out when the final curtain comes down."
She explained that musicals of the golden age and right through the mid-90s had a great big overture to welcome the audience once they took their seats, and the orchestra would play the audience out of the theater, too. The excitement builds from the overture, and then you leave in a happy mood from the closing.
She said for the past 15 years or so (at the time of the interview that would bring her back to the late 1990s), 'that's been missing'. The show 'just starts' and then it 'ends'. At the time of the interview, she had just seen "Kinky Boots" which she enjoyed, but was using as an example.
I have to say, I agree with her. I miss the great overtures, as well - getting ready for the start of "Hello Dolly" (what a treat in the revival), or 'Phantom'. Today, that grand overture is missing.
What do you guys say ? Do you agree with Rivers or not ?
#2"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 9:33am
Oh I 100% agree. I LOVE a good overture. Say what you will about TOOTSIE, but having that full overture AND entr'acte to boot was such a treat...
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
Broadway61004
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/14/11
#3"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 9:38am
Completely agree. I think unfortunately with all the emphasis being placed on spectacle and elaborate sets and costumes and such, producers are spending all their money there instead of on big orchestras. So I fear huge overtures are a thing of the past.
Alexander Lamar
Broadway Star Joined: 2/16/16
#4"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 10:02am
Most shows still have exit music, don’t they?
#5"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 10:06am
Alexander Lamar said: "Most shows still have exit music, don’t they?"
That's what I was going to say. I miss the overtures too, especially for classic-style new shows. But almost every show I've been to has exit music and sometimes it's quite lengthy. I always love the exit music.
morosco
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/10/04
#6"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 10:16am
When did overtures begin to go out of fashion?
#7"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 10:28am
Me too! But I also miss shows slowing up for a big song which takes your breath away.
EvanstonDad
Stand-by Joined: 5/10/16
#8"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 10:29am
Add me to the list of people who miss big overtures. Do you think part of the reason they've gone out of fashion is the perception that audiences don't have the attention span for them anymore?
#9"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 10:34am
EvanstonDad said: "Add me to the list of people who miss big overtures. Do you think part of the reason they've gone out of fashion is the perception that audiences don't have the attention span for them anymore?"
I'm guessing that's part of the reason. I have noticed both on Broadway and in local productions in recent years that people tend to chitchat as they are find their seat during Entr'Actes or even as they're just sitting in their seats. It seems like they see it as a warning the act is about to start instead of the actual start of the act. It drives me crazy!
#10"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 11:43am
I think it may have less to do with attention spans and more about how nowadays creatives prefer to just get right into the show. I remember an interview with Bartlett Sher a while back where he talked about The Light In The Piazza and the decision to not utilize the full overture featured on the cast recording in the show. He said something to the effect of how it felt off to have the audience staring at an empty stage for five minutes.
"You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" - Betty Parris to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible
#11"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 11:48am
Alexander Lamar said: "Most shows still have exit music, don’t they?"
Yeah, I'm not sure what she's talking about in regards to the exit music. The only time I've ever done a show without exit music is when it's a conscious decision by the writers, in order to maybe let the final moment sink in or something. I can't think of any right now, but I know there are shows that don't even have bow music, for the same reason.
As for overtures, yes, they're great, but I agree it has to do with diminishing attention spans. Also, the days of 5 or 6 songs from a show going mainstream are over. If you saw Cats in the '90s you already knew "Memory"; including it in the Overture was a great way to get people excited for what was to come. Nowadays I'm not sure how many songs the average tourist knows going in, unless it's a revival. Personally I think a nice little 30-60-second musical prelude works nicely; long enough to say "We're starting now" but short enough to get to the point, lol.
#12
Posted: 7/26/22 at 11:49am
Alexander Lamar said: "Most shows still have exit music, don’t they?"
Not like they used to. I find the exit music to be brief - most of us in the audience is still standing in the aisles waiting to exit and the music has already ended. Unlike the revivals of the big musicals (such as 'Hello Dolly' 
, where the last person leaving the theater could hear the music.
I agree with the comments above - I think it has to do with money (spend more on 'spectacle' so the audience attention span doesn't wander too much) which brings us to the shortened attention span of the general audience these days. Now people take their seats and do 'selfies' rather than wait for the production to begin and enjoy the overture.
BrodyFosse123
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
#13"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 11:56am
CATS is from the 80s and “Memory” isn’t in the Overture. The Overture is the running theme music used throughout the show - no songs from the show are in it. Similar to the COMPANY Overture - it’s the running “Bobby, Bobby” melody used throughout the show.
#14"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 12:59pm
BrodyFosse123 said: "CATS is from the 80s and “Memory” isn’t in the Overture. The Overture is the running theme music used throughout the show - no songs from the show are in it."
That's not what I was saying. I know Cats is from the '80s, lol. I said "If you saw Cats in the '90s you already knew "Memory"..." Meaning you went into the show already knowing some of the songs because it had been around for a while.
However, I did not know Memory wasn't in the Overture; it's been a while since I did the show and apparently I purged it from my brain as quickly as I could, lol. But my point still stands that I think a lack of hummable songs, in addition to diminishing attention spans, has led to the extinction (or at least endangerment) of the Overture.
#15"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 1:34pm
Nowadays after the show ends I mostly see people open up their smartphones and check texts/apps/notifications
#16"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 1:53pm
DooWahDiddy said: "I did not know Memory wasn't in the Overture; it's been a while since I did the show and apparently I purged it from my brain as quickly as I could, lol."
The Cats overture is more or less a fugue and is not a medley of songs from the show like a traditional overture. However, the exit music used in current productions is a medley and does include "Memory" which is what you may be remembering.
Observation
Stand-by Joined: 12/3/15
#17"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 1:56pm
Based on the music video for "Some Like it Hot" I'm feeling hopeful there will be a nice overture to start the show! Fingers crossed!
#18"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 2:18pm
bwayphreak234 said: "...Say what you will about TOOTSIE, but having that full overture AND entr'acte to boot was such a treat..."
During the out-of-town TOOTSIE tryout in Chicago, the overture was added on the third night. It was ecstasy.
There’s no overture for THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, just a recording of walking high heels for a little over 40 steps. The sound of the clicks of the heels is on a rotation to different speakers in the house during the short sequence.
windowwaving
Stand-by Joined: 12/14/19
#19"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 2:35pm
When I saw the tour of My Fair Lady in Detroit, I was so surprised by how loud the audience was during the overture. Granted, there was no pre-show announcement and the lights weren't fully dim yet. But people were talking through almost the entire overture.
This is one of the first shows I've seen in a while with no pre-show announcement. Is this common?
#20"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 3:10pm
Mostly agree, but there have always been shows without overtures (The Sound of Music hasn't got one, A Chorus Line hasn't either; those are two very popular shows, and both, of course, produced prior to the 1990's).
But, oh, exiting the theater and spilling out on the street with the music from the show you just saw still playing, merging with the exit music coming from the other theaters on the street. The crowds mingling, and the energy level high. What a magnificent experience! Really one of my great joys of seeing Broadway productions. Or at least, it was.
#21"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 3:18pm
I wouldn’t mind if The Sound of Music did have an overture. I’m pretty sure I saw a regional production when I was a kid that played the entr’acte as the overture.
#22"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 3:32pm
I don't think it works, at all, due to the nature of the opening, but that's just me. For the record, Carousel had no overture, either.
#23"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 3:37pm
I will shamelessly admit that MAMMA MIA! has one of my favorite overtures.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
#24"I miss the big overtures !"
Posted: 7/26/22 at 3:47pm
bwayphreak234 said: "I will shamelessly admit that MAMMA MIA! has one of my favorite overtures."
I will agree with this. I just wish the London cast album included the full overture. It omits the "Mamma Mia" section.
pethian
Leading Actor Joined: 5/23/22
#25
Posted: 7/26/22 at 4:16pm
I too miss them. I suspect some feel it's 'old fashioned' and not the way to start a 'modern' show. Also, most of the great overtures are a medleys of great tunes. That too is less in vogue.
Updated On: 7/26/22 at 04:16 PMVideos
