Posted: 3/31/17 at 4:22pm
carnzee, I completely agree with you that comedies/lighter fare/family fare are just as hard to get right as dramatic works. In fact, it's probably harder to pull off writing/directing a farce than it is to get a boilerplate kitchen sink drama to work.
I hope you can remember the name of this book. After seeing the revival I would love to read it too. I think reading analysis, whether professional criticism or more laid back discussions like those here, can only enchance ones enjoyment of a great work like Dolly. Admiration of fine craft is a wonderful thing! I never thought for a second while watching the Dolly revival about the construction of the book, but I'm able to know afterward that the strong book did indeed affect my enjoyment in a positive way.
This idea of anti-analysis and dissection is an interesting one. I find very few people who oppose dissecting and analyzing films- family, comedy, horror or drama- but when it comes to theater, especially when it comes to overpriced Broadway fare we are meant to turn or (critical) minds off.
To address After Eight's concern of "party poopers" I don't think anyone goes into a show hoping they waste their time and money just so they can rush to the internet to write a bad review. That's absurd. Sometimes we all need to come here to vent after we are disappointed, or worse angry, at what we've seen, but I assume people aren't critcizing others for enjoying a show, but rather to work out what went wrong for themselves and possibly to hear other perspectives and viewpoints.
and then it cuts to Anya & Dimitri singing "One step at a time, one hope then another" and then back to "Once Upon a December" but with "Journey to the Past"'s ending chords. It's pretty, but a little bit odd, and feels somewhat forced. I'm crossing my fingers that it goes back to the Hartford ending. 
