NYT series: Questions about B'way answered

[karen24]

Posted: 2/26/09 at 4:56pm

I don't think this has been posted yet--I did a search and didn't find anything. The New York Times has been running a series of Q&As with Ken Bloom and Frank Vlastnik, authors of the newly revised “Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time." The series was divided into three sections, on Broadway's past, present and future. I thought it was really interesting. Here's the link:

Your Questions about Broadway Answered

[canmark]

Posted: 2/27/09 at 12:46pm

Thanks for the link. Very interesting reading.

[midwestsarah]

Posted: 2/27/09 at 1:40pm

Thanks for the link. Very interesting reading. Are you buying much of what they're selling?

In particular, I don't know if I believe "Trust me, there’s absolutely no comparison between a touring production and the original Broadway production." I have seen very clean, polished tours and some very sloppy Broadway performances. Perhaps I agree with the star statement and I do agree in most cases but not all about the scaled back sets. I don't know if I can agree with the overall sentiment though.

[brightredday]

Posted: 2/27/09 at 3:59pm

midwestsarah, I agree with you that there are some very fine tours and some very poor Broadway productions, but I've found that by and large the tours I see--now that I have been priveleged enough to see some original Broadway productions--lack the indefinable sparkle of a perfectly-rehearsed cast fully inhabiting their characters. It hasn't been as much a problem when I've seen shows here in Boston, typically at the beginning of their tours, but the last tour I saw in Minnesota was a total letdown aside from the leading lady. I never noticed a problem when I saw tours growing up, before I'd seen the magic of any OBC.