The Official Adam Pascal Love Thread, part eleven — Page 24

To the Stage, I'm not going to any performances, but I want to put in my two-cents on this...

I loved the film, gonna say that first. However, I was very upset that April's death wasn't shown at that Halloween and Goodbye Love were not used. April's death is such a huge point to Roger's character. As someone said above me, it's so chilling hearing Mark sing about Roger finding her in the bathroom. I really wish the film had been grittier. I'm 16, and I still would have been able to see it in theatres. Trust me, teenagers still get into R films, that's not the issue. I'm mad about Halloween and Goodbye Love because they're so huge pieces of Mark's character. Those two really address the fact that Mark is going to be alone and that he's scared of it. It also gives more reason to Roger running away, instead of him just looking like an @sshole. Anyway, that's my shpeel.

Welcome, sillyism! Sorry I wasn't here today. I won't be here at all tomorrow or Tuesday, I'll be away on a lovely retreat. Fun, eh?

i LOVE AIDA. It was the first show I did at my school. And, it's Elton John. And Adam. And Sherie. And...I'll stop. Sillyism, how can you not love I Know The Truth? It's one of my favorites!

---

Sorry that post was so long...*meep*

---

Zoser's songs aren't much of anyone's favorites on the CD, but they work pretty well on stage. I hope the tour sets are as wonderful as the Broadway ones. The look of the show was just spectacular.

Alex, several of us will be at the Queens show. I'm glad you can make it too.

Well, historical inaccuracies, and overall general campiness, I think. The book had a lot of issues, but it wasn't by any measure really a dreadful show. Just not perfect. But I remember being totally taken with the score, and the way the music shook and energized the theater. And the Disney production was so visually stunning. Plus, I can't resist the love story. :)

---

Updated On: 9/10/06 at 10:02 PM

Sillyism, I know you're not asking me specifically, but I think the main two flaws in Aida are the underwritten characters and the dialogue. Radames... well, there isn't much to work with there, and I think Adam has even admitted as much. Zoser is even worse; he comes on stage to do a few bizarre numbers, act like the token bad guy, and... that's pretty much it. You'd think that he'd have at least ONE redeeming characteristic to keep Radames under his control for so many years, especially since Radames is, based on his interactions with Aida, very easy to sway. The rate at which Aida and Radames fall in love also bothers me, but practically speaking, there probably wasn't a way to extend that without lengthening the musical quite a bit.

The dialogue seems overly simplistic in a lot of cases, and in others, completely unrealistic. I can't recall it off the top of my head, but one of Radames's lines in that post-Elaborate Lives love scene makes me cringe every single time. I mean, if my hypothetical boyfriend ever said some weird line about how "man enters this world naked" post-sex, I'd roll my eyes, but maybe that's just me. To be fair, I know Chloe has mentioned that the seemingly bad dialogue wasn't so apparent live.

The historical inaccuracies actually don't bother me at all; I'm willing to accept those considering it's a musical. And despite all the flaws that I find in the piece, it's truly one of my favorite guilty pleasures. However, I still wonder what the critical reception would have been if just a few things were improved upon.

I'm glad you get to go see it, sillyism. Have fun!

I've gotta get up early and I've still got some stuff to do, so goodnight guys.

---

Welcome Sillyism. I missed your grand entrance earlier.

I've never seen Aida live, but I love the music; I've been an Elton fan since birth (I must have been the only person among my friends to know Your Song before Moulin Rouge). There are some cheesy aspects and we've had lengthy discussions here about what might have been different had it NOT been a Disney show.

Lexi, I agree about not caring about historical accuracies in musicals. It's kind of the same thing about people complaining about the historical inaccuracies of cartoon Disney movies. There are *talking animals* for heaven's sake, who cares if Pocahontas was actually 10 years old when John Smith landed in Virginia?! Considering the Egyptians weren't known for their song and dance numbers in the first place, I don't see how other complaints are really valid. I can understand if you're already very familiar with the subject matter and it kind of bugs you. I've been listening to Joseph more than is healthy this weekend and they leave out a few subplots in the story, but I know not *everyone* knows the story that closely and would even notice that it was missing, let alone consider it an integral part of the story.

---

Updated On: 9/10/06 at 10:19 PM

I'm not sure if you saw it, but I mentioned that, Chloe. Sillyism was asking for perceived flaws, though, and even if they aren't as apparent when seeing the show live, I still consider certain things about Aida flaws in the show. I don't mean to imply that flaws necessarily make a show bad by any means, though. In fact, what is probably my favorite musical is absolutely plagued with flaws.

And... hehe, Joseph, skittles.

Oh yeah, I saw it, Lexi - just wanted to reinforce it a bit. Whenever I *watch* a show I've never seen live, I try to remind myself that it can be quite a different experience.

Skittles, I'd forgotten that you're an Elton fan too. Have you ever heard the very uneven but extraordinary Blue Moves album?

Updated On: 9/10/06 at 10:32 PM