Admit it--you know nothing about ____ show- Page 2

[ikmbway]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 9:12pm

C is for Company, haha are you serious? That's kinda funny. Just to add to the list I had no idea what Sweet Charity was about til I saw it. And also The Pajama Game I have no idea what that is about either. I'll be the one also to add Sweeney Todd.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 9:13pm

lol- Chrysan. I agree. How can you go through life without Sweeney? *freaks out*

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 9:15pm

*Joins Katurian and freaks out* You people. BUY THE CD! Buy the dvd! No excuses, folks!

[Pippin]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 9:18pm

the only thing I know about taboo is that a queen wrote it and a dyke produced it.

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 9:59pm

The shows I don't know anything about could fill a giant chasm, but I'm working on it. Currently, I'm reading "Hot Seat" by Frank Rich. While I'm not going to put Frank Rich on a pedestal, reading his book has given me (so far) a good sense of shows in context from one season to the next. I was led to this book after reading Ethan Morrden's "Happiest Corpse I've Ever Seen", and I can already tell that I'm going to read Moss Hart's "Act One" next, and I certainly respect Mr. Rich's opinion. The hard part of this obsession is being able to afford it. After reading Happiest Corpse and Hot Seat, I desperately want to know more about Edwin Drood, but I just don't have $200 to drop on a CD right now.

Updated On: 2/5/06 at 09:59 PM

[peggyandvelma]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 10:05pm

Hey, we can incorporate straight plays into this, too. So...what's Doubt about again??

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 10:15pm

Oh, gosh! Doubt is an EXCELLENT play. Read it. Or if you can, see it!

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 10:18pm

Sweeney Todd (except for the Jersey Girl bits as well)
Caroline, or Change
Miss Saigon

[YessicaB]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 10:19pm

Cats, ...don't kill me but HAIR, Bounce...
If you don't know what Sweeney Todd is about: GO SEE IT!

[BroadwayNick]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 10:23pm

Wicked




No, just kidding.

[Steve2]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 11:17pm

I am taking your title seriously. I know nothing about:

Company
Follies
A Little Night Music
Pippin
Grand Hotel
ThreePenny Opera
Pajama Game
Bye Bye Birdie
Mame
Guys and Dolls

Updated On: 2/5/06 at 11:17 PM

[GYPSY1527]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 11:19pm

Miss Saigon
Taboo
South Pacific

[VonTussleGirl]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 11:22pm

Les Mis. Cats. Miss Saigon.

Ehhh.

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 11:23pm

Follies
A Little Night Music
South Pacific
Pippin
Secret Garden

there are lots more

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:01am

I've actually managed to go this far without having ever seen "Oklahoma" or "South Pacific," although I am familiar with some of the music from those shows.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:12am

"What's with all the Sondheim mentions? Come on people! Listen to the master! That said:

~Light in the Piazza
~Gypsy
~Ragtime"

Katurian, Sondheim wrote lyrics to Gypsy...you made a Sondheim mention to! :-P

Wild Party
Threepenny Opera
BARE
Thoroughly Modern Millie(I know there's tap dancing...)
Caroline or Change the only thing I know is that there's a featured clarinet...I wish I saw it!

Here are some more older ones I could think of that I've actually heard of but don't know anything about:

Porgy and Bess
Girl Crazy
Pal Joey
Very little about On The Town and Wonderful Town

Umm there's lots more I could think of...Call Me Mister, How Now Dow Jones, No No Nanette, Paint Your Wagon, On A Clear Day You Could See Forever, but I suppose technically on that level all our lists could be infinite as no one knows every show and I'm getting tired so I'll stop there.

Updated On: 2/6/06 at 12:12 AM

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 12:48am

I don't know Porgy and Bess...

[BroadwayChica]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 1:05am

Many of the Sondheim shows that have been listed on this thread (and others that haven't) are available on DVD (Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Passion, Into the Woods...) You MUST see these shows, even if you decide you don't like them. Stephen Sondheim is an institution in musical theater, and it's almost a crime to not be aquainted with his best work.

Anyway, on to the thread: I know NOTHING about Woman in White, apart from the fact that there's some kind of mystery that involves ghosts. I see Andrew Lloyd Webber is connected to a show, and I lose any interest I may have in seeing it. (The abundance of negative reviews for this particular musical doesn't help matters)

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 9:19am

a ton of those older shows that were on Broadway before I was born

The fact that you were not born yet is hardly an excuse. Does this mean you ONLY watch movies and TV shows that were created after you were born? You never read classic books written before you were born?

Don't be stupid!

Almost every hit musical of the 20th century has been recorded whether by the OC or a studio cast. Many of these are available free to borrow from libraries as are published scripts.

I find the tone of this message series unsettling. Some of you seem quite proud of your ignorance. It doesn't make you look good at all to say you know nothing of shows that ran 10 years or more and toured extensively. Even shows I dislike, like POTO, I have seen.

If you are a theatre fan you should at least know the hits.

[Nothatsmrt]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 10:05am

I will be shot for sure, but I know practically nothing about The Music Man, except for the first few lines of "Til There Was You", and that I know from the 1st Beatles' Anthology. Sad, right? But I will give up The Music Man to know Follies better any day.

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 10:24am

Good for you Frontrowcentre2! I was born in 1957 but that didn't stop me from knowing all about Oklahoma, Show Boat, Call Me Madam, South Pacific, and a slew of other shows that came along before I did. Not only did I listen to all the OBC recordings, I studied the liner notes and, in many cases, checked the libretto out of the library and read that. I realize that times are different and that everyone is over-taxed for time these days, but if you fancy yourselves as theatre aficionados, you've got to learn the classics. Can you imagine an self-described opera fan not knowing anything about Rigoletto or Madame Butterfly??

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 10:28am

Well, the Sondheim vidoes is how I know Into The Woods(later saw the revival) and Sweeney(ditto). I tried watching Sunday in the Park...3 times in fact...and I really tried...but all 3 times I couldn't last 20 minutes before falling asleep! People told me after the first and second time it's so good I have to watch it full out, I prob watched it when I was really tired, etc but it's happened 3 times. Oh well.

In response to the before you were born thing, I'm one of those people that has a lot of difficulty listening to cast recordings of shows I've never seen or know nothing about. I suggest renting/borrowing the movies. Of course some are better than others, and usually the cast does not compare to that of Bway, but it at least gives you enough insight to know about a show. Through their movies I have discovered Grease, Sound of Music, King and I, Oklahoma, Carousel, Camelot, Oliver!, Annie, Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, A Chorus Line(pretty bad), Bye Bye Birdie, Guys and Dolls, Little Shop of Horrors, Hair, Evita, Showboat, Kiss Me Kate, Finian's Rainbow, a little of Man of La Mancha(the movie seemed so bad a bit in I had to turn it off the TV), and also recorded shows like Jekyll & Hyde, Joseph..., Jesus Christ Superstar, Sweeney, Into the Woods, and a host of others, mainly movies. The qualities of a lot differ but you at least understand most of the show, no matter how different it is from the stage play and learn most of the songs.

Not that smart---LOOVE your icon! I played pit for the Music Man, that's how I know it--IMO you're not missing that much, there's others I'd shoot you for first, don't worry

Updated On: 2/6/06 at 10:28 AM

[algy]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 10:34am

I also know nothing of Sondheims (except what I saw on Broadway: The American Musical). I know you've all already made suggestions, but could someone suggest the best one to start with - I've heard he's a bit of an acquired taste, and I'd hate to start with something that's going to put me off if you see what I mean.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 10:48am

Well for Sondheim how about starting with COMPANY (you have seen a bit of it in the BROADWAY doc.) In fact, use that doc as your guide of key shows to begin with for all authors:

SHOW BOAT*
GIRL CRAZY
OF THEE I SING
PORGY AND BESS*
PAL JOEY*
OKLAHOMA!*
ON THE TOWN*
CAROUSEL*
ANNIE GET YOUR GUN*
KISS ME KATE*
GUYS AND DOLLS*
MY FAIR LADY*
SOUND OF MUSIC*
WEST SIDE STORY*
FIDDLER*
CABARET*
HAIR*
COMPANY
A CHORUS LINE*
CHICAGO*
SWEENEY TODD*
42ND STREET*
LES MIZ
SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE*
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES
RENT*
HAIRSPRAY

All of these have full recordings and scripts and there are movies or videos of the ones marked *.

[algy]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 10:54am

Frontrowcentre - you're a lovely lovely person. *starts analysing budget for spare money to spend on cds!*