Anyone hear the Pirate Queen cast recording yet?- Page 4

[B3TA07]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 3:37pm

"I almost feel like they were so pressured to change the show they changed everything they could including some of the wrong things..."

Sad part is they couldn't even figure out how to change it to be good. Though I guess it's common knowledge now that Maltby had a lot of great ideas that the Boublil & Schönberg rejected. Sad, really.

But I enjoy the CD lots.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 3:46pm

What was on stage at the Hilton was a bloated mess-of-a-show that anyone with rudimentary knowledge of musical theater construction could have created.

As the great Peter Stone once said (I believe it was Stone), "A musical is 2 and 1/2 hours. 55 minutes of story, the rest is the singing and dancing."

There were points that were good, but as a whole, there should have been a complete overhaul. Boublil and Schoenberg's score was second-rate, at best, with a slew of melodies obviously stolen from their previous work. The book didn't have enough exposition, too much story, and in the end, nothing that added up to substance. Frank Galati's direction was simply too busy.

It was very visible that the huge designs were to cover up the fundamental flaws in the show's structure.

IMO, the reason why this flew was that Doherty and McColgan, the producers, were inexperienced. With Riverdance, they didn't have to worry about a book or anything "technical." The show was sold on the Irish step dancing. Pirate Queen had an actual story.

David Merrick would never have stood for what went on. Cameron MacIntosh wouldn't have, either.

How did they compensate? Castcom. Updated On: 7/4/07 at 03:46 PM

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 4:08pm

StephanietheStar - I think the original lyrics were a bit better, but the new ones make him seem less creepy and obsessed. Especially the "my memory freezes you," or whatever.

Are the "they will fall like dominoes" lyrics on the CD? That's when the show died a sudden death.

I do like the SHE WHO HAS ALL melody, actually. And all the Irish music.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 4:30pm

Just to be Devil's Advocate, would anyone like to point out (Besides "The Pirate Queen"/"Do You Hear The People Sing") what melodies are stolen and what they're stolen from? Kthx

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 4:33pm

The musical structure of "Boys'll Be Boys" is nearly the same as "Master of the House." In fact, you can switch around the lyrics and both phrases fit in each other's melody (arguably with one note extra).

I don't have the time or resources to look over both scores, so I hope that helps your quest to be Devil's advocate. Updated On: 7/4/07 at 04:33 PM

[sarab]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 4:35pm

I got my CD yesterday in the mail and absolutely love it! Everyone sounds so wonderful, just as they did when I saw the show in May! When you all receive your CD, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

[changinandhow]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 4:36pm

I don't think Stephanie meant that more people giving it a chance would make the show better, but that if less people had gone in there with thoughts of "wow, this is going to suck", it may have been more enjoyable for them. Or had even given it a chance in the first place rather than dismissing it because of what they'd heard.

Anyway, CATSNY,
My only complaint is that the opening number opens very abruptly and it would have been nice for them to have included some connective dialogue
Actually what connects the Prolouge and The Pirate Queen is oar-banging...which sounds highly ridiculous when I say it like that, but it did fit with the show and I think would've been nice on the CD. It also would've been nice if they had left most of The Pirate Queen -- they cut out a massive chunk in the middle there.

My only real complaint is Enemy At Port Side. I really don't see why they included that over something like It's A Boy or Lament. The dialouge between SJB & Brooke Elliot IS what they said onstage, but in the context of the show it makes a lot more sense and was a lot less ridiculous-sounding. And since people who didn't see the show don't know she just gave birth they're going to be like "...huh?" My other disappointment is the 17 second Christening, but eh.

Everyone SOUNDS excellent. I Dismiss You is fierce.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 4:42pm

Ah yeah, forgot about the "Boys'll be" song. That one is way similar too. Exact same lead-in to the chorus.

[TechEverlasting]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 7:51pm

Stephanie, I agree with your points about some of the new lyrics. My feeling at the time was they were trying to squeeze in way too much exposition. The overly busy bridge in the newer "I'll Be There" is a great example. At the same time many of the lyrics they started with in Chicago were astonishingly bad, to the point where I think anyone attending an early Chicago preview should have been able to get a refund because what was on that stage couldn't legitimately be called Broadway level musical theater. The best example I can think to site for this point is all the original lyrics to "Because I Am a Wife". Can it finally be acknowledged that Alain Boublil cannot write passable lyrics in English?

There are some great moments on this CD, I'm happy to see that it got released. I've heard that Boublil and Schonberg had to fund the recording themselves because no labels wanted to take the financial risk, and I was afraid the release would be tabled when the show closed.

Pirate Queen should never have been brought straight to Broadway after Chicago. There wasn't anything more the critics of the Chicago run could have done to drive this point home, other than physically blocking the entrance to the Hilton theater.

ETA: Here's another example of how the NY lyrical revisions were often clunky and awkward. When the New York run first started there was a passage in the opening number where Tiernan sighted an English Galleon. Dubdhara sang something like "Then we'll do what Pirates do, hide away behind this rise, then we'll take them by surprise!" It was fun and energetic. This was changed to: We'll hide here until she's gone, but when a trade ship hits the rise, then we'll take her by surprise."
The latter version might have had more accurate information in it, but it was wordy and lame.

Updated On: 7/4/07 at 07:51 PM

[EganFan2]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 8:29pm

Despite the lukewarm reception of the show, I was looking forward to hearing the cast CD. OF COURSE, I have to wait because none of the stores here in the good ol' Midwest town I live in are carrying it.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 8:37pm

I happen to really like Boublil and Schonberg scores (even if they are remarkedly similar from show to show) so I enjoy this CD a lot even if the actual show was too formulaic and dragged on a bit much for my taste. Sure, there are some clunkers, but when I am in the mood for a mega musical score this will do.

Woman, I Dismiss You, Sail to the Stars, and A Day Beyond Belclare are my favorites.

Updated On: 7/8/07 at 08:37 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 8:48pm

I don't think it's fair to blame them for using melodies from pervoius material. When I listen to "Bounce" I can't help but think about what else it sounds like. There are traces of Sondheim's other shows throughout the score. It's not a bad thing, I like when composers do that. They all have their own unqiue sound.

As for the recording, I haven't really gotten into it. The opening song to me (The Pirate Queen) was sort of a let down. It should have been this big opening song, but it wasn't. But I like the rest of it so far. But, admittedly, I've never been a huge Stephanie J. Block fan. Her voice just doesn't sound good to me. It's a little "too much."

[rgaywrites]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 8:57pm

Now that the "Ooh, shiny," moments have passed, and while I still think the production values are high, I have totally reaffirmed for myself that this show had serious problems.

Things that are currently driving me to distraction:

-The choices made with regard to the Queen. Wow. Just wow. I think Linda Balgord is a talented actress but she really sounds like she's shrieking most of the time and there's little harmony between her and Stephanie. Its a shocking directorial and/or artistic choice.

-Why is the score enamored with harpsichords? I understand using that particular orchestration to indicate that we're dealing with English-related scenes but its really grating. Something else could have been done.

-At four or five points, the male keys were just too low. It sounded like Marcus and Hadley were really forcing their low notes unnecessarily.

-There are some very bad lyrics. I was listening to the recording in bed last night and I laughed at loud at certain points. Boys Will Be Boys is a travesty.

-Poor Donal. They really made a mess of his "character." I get that he's mostly irredeemable, but he could have been written in a far more compelling manner.

On the positive side, I think Block and Hadley are nearly flawless and If I Said I loved You, I Dismiss You and Surrender are real highlights.

The show had such great potential and such a talented cast. Its such a shame, but on the bright side, there are new shows to look forward to.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 9:16pm

"The show had such great potential and such a talented cast. Its such a shame, but on the bright side, there are new shows to look forward to."

Exactly. When I bought the Pirate Queen CD, I also bought the Cast Recording for Billy Elliot after remembering its impending Broadway arrival. I have to say I am very excited about that production. Can't wait to see it on my next trip to NYC once it's opened.

[Greekmusicalfan]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 9:24pm

Billy Elliot is one of the most wonderful and fantastic shows I have seen in my life !!! However, for me, the score is the weakest link ! It leaves a lot to be desired and could have been way better !

[B3TA07]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 9:30pm

"Once We Were Kings" gave me chills. Are there any new song changes or other revisions you know of planned for Broadway?

[queenbee2]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 10:34pm

I've been a big supporter of this show, but hearing this CD gave me very mixed reactions.

On the positive side, the good is very good:
I'll Be There and Woman are quite well done.
Day Beyond Belclare and Sail to the Stars are very powerful.
Father Stand By His Son and Surrender are both incredibly haunting and beautifully sung.
And I Dismiss You is a complete powerhouse (even more so than in the theater IMHO).

But the bad is not so good:
I still can't stand the numbers that take place in England.
The opening number is unfortunately just as bad as I remembered it.
I still can't believe Boys'll Be Boys wasn't completely re-written (although it ended up being a decent number in the show).
And most unfortunate to me, is the inexplicably "small" sound of the orchestra. Along with some of the other obvious problems PQ had, why it didn't at least have a HUGE sound is beyond me.

All that being said, the album is well produced, incredibly performed, and a nice reminder of a show that I liked, and hoped to have loved. I am certainly happy to have this CD and think we fans of the show are fortunate that they even made it under what must have been shaky circumstances, due to the shows critical bashing.

-QB

[StephanietheStar]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 11:15pm

changinandhow---that's pretty much exactly what I meant! thank you.
and really...think about how great this show could be if it wasn't rushed at all? if they workshopped, and workshopped and workshopped it some more?



What really hurts me, lyric wise, was the "Pirate Queen"/Coel Na Mara change....when Stephanie sings her "I've seen many ships but she's the most exciting ship of all!" (seriously?!) and the whole "Holy God, Bless this Ship!" because Ship will always make the listener think "****" even with the overemphasized P. LOL Also, I'm used to, and think I prefer the original "Holy God, Bless this Clan!" though I suppose that wouldn't work for what they changed the song too. Also, I didn't think really anything was wrong with "Boys'll Be Boys" to begin with. It wasn't the greatest thing in the world, but it certainly wasn't the worst...and how it is now is sorta...awkward.


and P.s. I sorta love "Because I am A Wife/The Woman that I am"...I saw Steph do both versions and they were definitely spine-tingling...:)



as for the similarities in the show's sound, etc. to Boublil and Schonberg's other stuff: Isn't that sorta true of ALL composers? I know that I can just about always tell when I'm hearing a Guettel song, or a Jason Robert Brown song, and DEF. Andrew Lloyd Webber (since just about all his stuff is recycled...lol).
And while I hear things on PQ that remind me of Miss Saigon, and one of the Queen's little music at the beginning of "Woman to Woman" is similar "Plumet Attack" Les Mis, and "Boys'll Be Boys" is A La "Master of the House" it's all still different, and pieces like "I'll Be There", "Woman", "Here on this Night" and "If I Said I Loved You" we should be VERY greatful for :)

[TechEverlasting]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 11:21pm

"And most unfortunate to me, is the inexplicably "small" sound of the orchestra."

Claude-Michel Schonberg was the producer of this CD, and the choices about the size and make-up of the orchestra were his. The explanation for the sound of the orchestra is the same as the explanation for the way Queen Elizabeth's part was written. It's all what Boublil and Schonberg wanted.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 1:28am

During one scene, with the burning British flag, all I could think about was the French loathing of the English. I bet Schoenberg and Boublil were laughing that they finally beat those British bastards.

Guess we all know who got the last laugh for this one.

[kaycee]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 10:42am

I haven't been able to stop listening to it since I bought it on Tuesday. I never got the chance to see the show on Broadway, only in Chicago. So it is interesting for me to hear the changes. I am thrilled that they actually released the recording. I was afraid they would pull a Lestat. I think it sounds wonderful, even if I prefer some of the Chicago songs/lyrical versions better.

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 11:53am

I also listened to it all weekend. I love it.

[theactorsociety]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 12:00pm

Which song was sung by Block on the rock? When it looked like they were channeling Little Mermaid? She belted her but off in it, and I can't find it on the CD.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 12:12pm

It was cut for a less-fierce reprise of "I Dismiss You" (which I guess works for B&S; it's musical foreshadowing). They thought the inclusion of the song would slow momentum of the show (hah!) too much. SJB was given the final decision and she chose for it to be cut.

I personally would have loved to re-tool the show, making "Son of the Irish Seas" the opening song and "Woman That I Am" an electrifying 11 o'clock. "Sea of Life" could be a friggin' bonus track.

[queenbee2]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 12:50pm

"SJB was given the final decision and she chose for it to be cut. "

Come on Ben.

Thou knowest not of what you speak. I'm not trying to be rude, but if you know anything about B and S, no one makes final decisions for them. In fact, they are known to be over protective about their material to a fault (much to the detriment of this show). And while I'm sure SJB had her input on this subject, I highly doubt she had the "final decision".

-QB