American Idol: Wrecking things?

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=843567#901333

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And you did not even have to search since that post is still on the front page. Oy!

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I get the Times via e-mail. I agree with a lot of the article. I am not a fan of jukebox musicals to start with. I enjoyed WICKED because at least it contained original music. Yes, Idina belted her way through the show for the most part and was just a wee bit husky during Defying Gravity. Does anyone think that these shows are written with these "show stopping" songs that are just wreaking havok on singers voices? I can remember back when Evita opened, and a few other shows, that Patti Lupone did not do matinees due to the vocal demand of the show. And I think this happened with Phantom also. I think this is where it all may have started. I am not really crazy about where the Broadway musical is going but it does appeal to younger theatregoers. What upsets me the most is that when you get a show like Caroline..., people don't support it. Yes, Lot's Wife is one of the most complex and demanding songs I have heard in a show, but it is not a belting anthemish type of song. I read somewhere that the theatregoers who would attend a show like Caroline... are gone. And I don't think that 90 percent of the Idol contestants have what it takes to do 8 shows a week. I have heard that some of the pop stars that have taken over roles in RENT have not been that great. My thought is that they are studio trained and can do concerts every other night or every 3 nights plus a few tv performances but to do 2 shows on a Wed. or Sat. plus the rest of the week, they just aren't up to it. The broadway voice is just another kind of voice to me. It can withstand the rigors of an 8 show a week schedule because it is probably trained to. And as much as I like Jekyl & Hyde, Wildhorn got really repetitive and I doubt I would go to see anything else he does unless he freshens it up a bit! It's good that Broadway is thriving, I just wish there were more good shows to choose from and that I was not going to hear the Big Song being belted out but going to see the show as a whole. And I am not saying that about every show. But as much as I wanted to see Wicked (And I was OBSESSED with this musical before I even traveled to NYC to see it. I have since gone into therapy and am fine!!!), I found myself sitting in the Gershwin just waiting for Defying Gravity. But the show seems to be more about certain songs and the performers who are singing them then about the story also. Just my very random thoughts!

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