That's Entertainment?
That's Entertainment?
Mary_Ethel
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/6/04
#0That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:03pm
Many shows are pure "escapist" entertainment with no heavy plot to contend with (CATS, HELLO, DOLLY!, GREASE, etc.)
OTHER shows are a little more serious-minded that have a definite issue that they want to portray to their audiences, such as--
GYPSY - You can't live your life through other people's
FOLLIES - You can't go back and "recreate" the past
MAN OF LA MANCHA - You can't achieve the impossible unless you first attempt to achieve it
etc.
WHICH type of musical do you prefer viewing?
"I say YOU'RE the CUTEST one. No, I say YOU'RE the CUTEST One. And we go on like that from dawn to three."
Mary_Ethel
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/6/04
#1re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:11pm.
"I say YOU'RE the CUTEST one. No, I say YOU'RE the CUTEST One. And we go on like that from dawn to three."
popcultureboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/23/03
#2re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:12pmI like my musical to have songs.
Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.
#3re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:20pm
I prefer the deeper, darker shows with guts and heart...the "fluff" rarely appeals to me at all - I can get a good laugh anywhere - but when I pay good money to see a show, I like it to have a staggering affect on me. My favorite musical is Man of La Mancha (and I've done several productions of it over the years)...it never ceases to amaze and educate me. The story is profound. I also love all Sondheim because he forces his audience to use their brains AND their hearts - he makes you think and feel at the same time. I love that.
You couldn't pay me to see stuff like Mama Mia or Cats - (I should edit that - I've seen Cats and you couldn't pay me to sit in a theatre and watch it again)..or almost anything by LLoyd Webber at all. In fact, the only LLoyd Webber shows I've liked at all are Evita and Superstar. Give me a good dark show like Sweeney Todd or Parade or Passion any day over the broadway sparkle..I like to be challanged by a production and feel that I've come away from the theatre a better person.
"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!"
Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!
Mary_Ethel
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/6/04
#4re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:22pm
MY THOUGHTS precisely, RedHot.
Each time I listen to the FOLLIES recording, I learn something more about the folly of human nature.
(I don't really feel all that illuminated after hearing Betty Buckley sing "Memory!") :)
"I say YOU'RE the CUTEST one. No, I say YOU'RE the CUTEST One. And we go on like that from dawn to three."
#5re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:23pmWell redhot, sounds like you're the perfect audience member for FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, starring yours truly as Hodel, Sunday, December 19th at 12:30 and 4:30 p.m. at the 14th Street Y! PM me for tix!
Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson
Borstalboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/9/04
#6re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:25pmI quote--from the best of my knowledge--Stephen Sondheim: "Every good musical is about something important, and that's including GUYS AND DOLLS."
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
~ Muhammad Ali
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#7re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:26pmI don't mind floof as long as it's well-crafted floof. Even if it doesn't make me think much, I like to see that thought has been put into it.
Mary_Ethel
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/6/04
#8re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:30pm
Yes, Borstal.
I think GUYS AND DOLLS has a very "feminist slant"--especially for the early 1950s.
After seven aborted attempts, Adelaide finally gets Nathan to marry her.
Sarah transforms Sky from a real "player" to a Salvation Army Worker!
(And it's all laid out in that clever 11 o'clock number, "Marry The Man Today.")
"I say YOU'RE the CUTEST one. No, I say YOU'RE the CUTEST One. And we go on like that from dawn to three."
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#9re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:31pmI find "Marry the Man Today" to be pretty horrifying as a worldview, actually.
#10re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:32pmI agree, Plum, and it's also just an extremely annoying piece of music.
Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson
Mary_Ethel
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/6/04
#11re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:32pm
Plum,
Would you be so good as to give us an example as to what you mean by "well-crafted fluff" so we have a better understanding of your post?
Thanks!!! :)
"I say YOU'RE the CUTEST one. No, I say YOU'RE the CUTEST One. And we go on like that from dawn to three."
#12re: that's entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:33pmt & a, baby! gimme boobies flop floppping and firm round bottoms and i'm a happy camper! what was the question again?
r.i.p. marco, my guardian angel.
...global warming can manifest itself as heat, cool, precipitation, storms, drought, wind, or any other phenomenon, much like a shapeshifter. -- jim geraghty
pray to st. jude
i'm a sonic reducer
he was the gimmicky sort
fenchurch=mejusthavingfun=magwildwood=mmousefan=bkcollector=bradmajors=somethingtotalkabout: the fenchurch mpd collective
...global warming can manifest itself as heat, cool, precipitation, storms, drought, wind, or any other phenomenon, much like a shapeshifter. -- jim geraghty
pray to st. jude
i'm a sonic reducer
he was the gimmicky sort
fenchurch=mejusthavingfun=magwildwood=mmousefan=bkcollector=bradmajors=somethingtotalkabout: the fenchurch mpd collective
Mary_Ethel
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/6/04
#13re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:35pm
IMO,
"Marry The Man Today" is not about sitting back and letting back and LETTING bad things happen to you--it's all about taking CONTROL of the situation and getting WHAT YOU WANT out of it.
I think I do see your point, Plum, the fact its a song about people changing other people--but again IMO, sometimes for a relationship to work, each partner has to "give a little."
"I say YOU'RE the CUTEST one. No, I say YOU'RE the CUTEST One. And we go on like that from dawn to three."
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#14re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:36pmAnything Goes is a masterpiece of well-crafted fluff. Today, I'd say The Producers falls under that category.
Mary_Ethel
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/6/04
#15re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:40pm
I see your point, Plum--and its well taken.
If a musical is there just to entertain but does it in a thoroughly accomplished manner--I believe these shows are worthy to be viewed as well. (After all, sometimes you have to have a little dessert in life!)
P.S. Another example of "well-crafted fluff" I would definitely add to the list is A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM.
"I say YOU'RE the CUTEST one. No, I say YOU'RE the CUTEST One. And we go on like that from dawn to three."
Mary_Ethel
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/6/04
#16re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 12:56pm..
"I say YOU'RE the CUTEST one. No, I say YOU'RE the CUTEST One. And we go on like that from dawn to three."
popcultureboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/23/03
#17re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 1:02pmAre the letters B U M and P broken on your keyboard or something?
Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.
Mary_Ethel
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/6/04
#18re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 1:09pm...
"I say YOU'RE the CUTEST one. No, I say YOU'RE the CUTEST One. And we go on like that from dawn to three."
popcultureboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/23/03
#19re: That's Entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 1:17pmThe thread didn't need bumping so what was your point this time? Would you be so good as to enlighten so I have a better understanding of your post? Thanks!!!:)
Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.
#20re: that's entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 1:24pmdoesn't bump stand for beautiful uppity mutant popcultureboy? silly, he's flirting.
r.i.p. marco, my guardian angel.
...global warming can manifest itself as heat, cool, precipitation, storms, drought, wind, or any other phenomenon, much like a shapeshifter. -- jim geraghty
pray to st. jude
i'm a sonic reducer
he was the gimmicky sort
fenchurch=mejusthavingfun=magwildwood=mmousefan=bkcollector=bradmajors=somethingtotalkabout: the fenchurch mpd collective
...global warming can manifest itself as heat, cool, precipitation, storms, drought, wind, or any other phenomenon, much like a shapeshifter. -- jim geraghty
pray to st. jude
i'm a sonic reducer
he was the gimmicky sort
fenchurch=mejusthavingfun=magwildwood=mmousefan=bkcollector=bradmajors=somethingtotalkabout: the fenchurch mpd collective
popcultureboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/23/03
#21re: that's entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 1:25pmNo it doesn't papa.
Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.
#22re: that's entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 1:28pmeh, my mistake.
r.i.p. marco, my guardian angel.
...global warming can manifest itself as heat, cool, precipitation, storms, drought, wind, or any other phenomenon, much like a shapeshifter. -- jim geraghty
pray to st. jude
i'm a sonic reducer
he was the gimmicky sort
fenchurch=mejusthavingfun=magwildwood=mmousefan=bkcollector=bradmajors=somethingtotalkabout: the fenchurch mpd collective
...global warming can manifest itself as heat, cool, precipitation, storms, drought, wind, or any other phenomenon, much like a shapeshifter. -- jim geraghty
pray to st. jude
i'm a sonic reducer
he was the gimmicky sort
fenchurch=mejusthavingfun=magwildwood=mmousefan=bkcollector=bradmajors=somethingtotalkabout: the fenchurch mpd collective
Mary_Ethel
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/6/04
#23re: that's entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 1:35pm....
"I say YOU'RE the CUTEST one. No, I say YOU'RE the CUTEST One. And we go on like that from dawn to three."
laactress
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/7/04
#24re: that's entertainment?
Posted: 11/12/04 at 1:39pmThe more music the better for me. I like less talking!
It started with a sipmle idea, collecting one paper clip for every life lost, the feelings that connect us...are greater than those that divide us!
Videos