Whistle Down The Wind- Page 3

[chernjam]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 11:03pm

WDTW - where to begin?

When it was originally announced to open on Broadway - I remember ALW and Steinman appearing on WPLJ in NY and playing the "Metal Philharmonic's" Kiss is a terrible thing to waste - and being psyched about it. So psyched that I skipped going to DC to see it figuring I'd wait till NY (never imagining an ALW show closing out of town...) Well in the months that followed - Sunset closed, Whistle cancelled- and so began the ALW drought!

Anyway - I've "heard" the Washington DC cast - bootleg - I know - I know... anyway - there's alot that sounded better in that than the OLC - had a better "rock" sound and feel to it. Don't know how it looked onstage, but there was a lot that was better than the OLC

Really wish they could get this one right - great, great score and interesting story that if done right could really grab an audience's attention.

[JumpJumpJumpSoHigh]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 11:42pm

Faith2-- As for why they didn't leave the setting and children alone for the transition to the musical... well, the kids' names, at least, were from the Mary Haley Bell book, not the movie. I haven't read the book in a VERY long time (I got it out of the library after seeing the musical in DC in 1996), but I don't remember where it was set.

Eastwickian-- I get your point about being "asked to sympathize with stupid people," but I don't think we're being asked to do that at all. These are young, not-very-educated kids brought up within a rural religious culture that awaits the second coming of Christ -- and as young as they are, they haven't yet developed the doubtful nature that most of us have as we become adults. We're supposed to view them as outsiders to their innocence, because if we were supposed to see the entire plot through their eyes, why bother with the tortured soliloquies for The Man, or the worryings of the other adults in the story? It's about how the kids' innocence transforms The Man, and it asks us if we think he can be redeemed through their faith. The answers are all up to you, but whatever it is, it's not about stupidity. Just faith.

chernjam-- I remember that WPLJ broadcast too! I even taped it, and still have that original demo of "A Kiss is a Terrible Thing to Waste." :)

~JJJ

Updated On: 2/28/07 at 11:42 PM

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 11:43pm

EricMontreal22:

I've heard the stories about "Whistle" featuring Steinman's music. I'm not sure if they're true since they've never been verified through any official source.

I can say that the music for "Tire Tracks & Broken Hearts" is recycled from "English Girls", the number that replaced "Sheldon Bloom" in the '85 Broadway production of "Song & Dance" (it's on the CD with Bernadette Peters).

The chorus for "Kiss" sounds lush ALW but the verses have a unique structure that only a Steinman song has, IMO. This is the bit I'm unsure about. However, some of it is used as motifs through-out the score, particularly in the scenes with The Man ("Unsettled Scores" and "Nature Of The Beast"). If these are Steinman then he's OK'd their re-use in the underscoring of the "Phantom" movie (en route to graveyard etc.)

I hope that answers that.

Dean Pitchford, lyricist of Steinman's "Holding Out For A Hero", claims he was hugely inspired by Jim's music when he came up with those lyrics. I still think Jim had a hand in them (i.e. "Out where the mountains meet the heavens above...") because they read TOO Steinman-like.

Then again, it was thought for a long time that Steinman co-wrote lyrics for "The Confidence Man" musical. If you listen to the opening track on the 2003 Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS CD you'll notice that the music and some of the lyrics are the same as the last track on "Pandora's Box: Original Sin" (the failed concept album from the 80s).

Well, I spoke with the lyricist and he absolutely insists that all of the lyrics are his. Because "Pandora's Box" was never released in the U.S. I'm prepared to say the lyricist threatened litigation over the "plagiarism" of some lines. Unfortunately, this track has re-appeared on Meat Loaf's latest "Bat Out Of Hell III". However, Jim was not involved...

The English lyrics for the Broadway "Dance Of The Vampires" look like re-writes of the ones in the original English script, before it was converted into German. I requested a perusal of this script for a friend who wanted to conduct a reading (he was then told rights were not available in the U.S. until 2009!). I have no idea if Steinman wrote these or took credit for them in the B'way show (still, Kunze is clearly credited on the Broadway poster).


Chernjam:

I know that you're a big fan of Webber, but do you remember the reports of a new work by ALW & Steinman called "Metal Philharmonic"? You mention it in your post, but I remember hearing that a bigger orchestral work was premiered at the Sydmonton in '97. However, one of the players broke a protocol or something that prevented everyone else from performing. I barely remember it (?? :S ) I haven't been able to find any of the old articles.

Updated On: 2/28/07 at 11:43 PM

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 11/25/07 at 11:44am

Ah, Whistle Down the Wind. Love the score, hate the script, and I honestly think that almost none of the cast can act.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 11/25/07 at 12:58pm

What makes the movie wonderful isn't the story which is pretty saccharine stuff, but the rather anti-sentimental direction--there's a definite "working young Englishman" influence--and the excellent cast. I just can't imagine it working as a musical....especially one by ALW.