An ORIGINAL Disney musical? The world is coming to an end!... — Page 2

"Aida was more of an original musical than this."

How so? The musical was based on a children's book by Leontyne Price, which was based on the Puccini opera. Isn't that actually one degree less original than this? Three degrees, if you count that fact that the opera contained a score and was performed on stage prior to the musical.

If the entire project was produced by the Weisslers or Dodger Theatricals, would there be less animosity towards it? Unfortunately for this board, yes. The snobbery around here is too ridiculous. And how on earth can anyone predict it will be bad at this early stage? Because of the mention of the title of a story it is based on? Because the name Disney is attached? Please! Don't count your biased chickens before they subjectively hatch.

"Anyways this sounds really lame. I understand where there [sic] audience is, but this seems like another 'On the Record' or 'Hoopz.' Crap."

Huh? On the Record? How is this project even remotely similar other than the producer? And the only other element it shares with Hoopz is an original score by a respected musical theatre composer. Where is this assessment of "crap" for an as yet unproduced musical coming from? On what do you base your analysis?

There seems to be a lot of bitchy snarkiness to try and storm up a cloud of superiority a la Mean Girls in this thread. But then, it is summer time, so...

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what is the man in the ceiling anyway?

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Hello. I am a long time lurker and no-time poster, but the time has come! I'm sorry that some of you are being so cynical about this musical, but I, personally, am thrilled. Andrew Lippa may not be my favorite composer...but "The Man in the Ceiling" is definitely one of my favorite books. It is an amazingly touching, poignant, well-written, clever, interesting, and FUNNY book! I actually have forced several of my friends to read it because I think the message it has is so important. And yes, it may be a "children's book", but Feiffer is so clever and manages to pack in all sorts of adult humor and themes. SO: I was shocked and THRILLED when I saw this morning that they are making this into a musical!! I'm having a little trouble conceptualizing how they are going to do the comic-book sections, but am totally looking forward to getting to see how they stage the Robotica section, and Uncle Lester's newest Floperoo!

I have faith in this! This story has the potential to be absolutely wonderful and touching for all ages, so let's calm down on all of our harsh judgements, especially for those who don't know the story at all and are basing their bashings on....essentially....nothing.

I hope the show is artistic and financial success. I hope Lippa makes a ton of money and I hope he writes more and more!

Link Larkin Wanabe - Actually I've seen hotcakes sell. So it does happen. Not just an expression anymore!
:)

Adam

Updated On: 7/13/06 at 04:16 PM

I guess now we should be glad they didn't hire Linda Wolverton or David Henry to write the book. We should really be scared of them letting Bob Crowley, or Bob Ross direct.

"How so? The musical was based on a children's book by Leontyne Price, which was based on the Puccini opera. Isn't that actually one degree less original than this? Three degrees, if you count that fact that the opera contained a score and was performed on stage prior to the musical. "

Because the final product of Aida bears very, very little, if any, resemblance to the Puccini opera. I never said Aida was an entirely original musical.

And yes, Disney took a HUGE risk with that show. Elton John's name was not a guarantee. And, early on, the Disney name wasn't even used in their advertising. The show was advertised as being produced by "Hyperion Theatricals."

I think this project sounds really exciting. I am a big fan of Lippa's and trust him to give us something innovative and fresh. I also am a product of Disney. I, like many of us, was first exposed to musicals at ALL in the format of a Disney cartoon, and although I don't agree with their politics, I do think they know a thing or two about entertainment. I think this is exciting, after years of B&TB, Aida, Lion King, Tarzan, it is time they show us what they have been nuilding too. I think they are probably aware of the cynics out there (Lippa certainly is) and they will prove themselves to us with this project.

I just hope they don't cast Jamie Lynn-Sigler or Toni Braxton! Lol!

SHMOKNU---Welcome! Looking forward to reading your future posts. Nicely done!

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i think it's a great idea! i HAVE read the book, and it is delightful ... clever, original, funny. and they'll have to have a kid hunt like they did for billy elliot. some very talented boy/boys out there is/are going to be incredibly lucky!

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"Because the final product of Aida bears very, very little, if any, resemblance to the Puccini opera. I never said Aida was an entirely original musical."

No, but it is in no way more original than this new project, which was your argument. Aida was an adaptation of an adaptation. It makes no sense.

"And yes, Disney took a HUGE risk with that show. Elton John's name was not a guarantee. And, early on, the Disney name wasn't even used in their advertising. The show was advertised as being produced by 'Hyperion Theatricals.'"

Please. Aida opened on the heels of The Lion King, which introduced Elton John's first Broadway score, so it wasn't that big of a risk. It used a story recognized by classical music fans and a name that, even those who have never seen opera, have most likely heard of it. And finally, by the time the show opened, when it was most important to the success of the show, everyone knew it was produced by Disney, which had been announced prior to its Atlanta tryout. Not to mention the fact that there was a concept recording to introduce Elton John fans to the score prior to the musical's stage production. Disney knew it was charting new territory producing a musical directly for the stage and it took a safe and tentative route to do so. The biggest risk for Aida was in its rather ambitious set design, which was scrapped out of town when it was discovered it was too expensive and unreliable.

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Three things:
regarding the elton john score in Aida: I for one do not think highly of his musical scores. I love the Lion King, but I'm pretty sure most of the songs I like are the "African" or whatever text songs, probably written with lots of help from a couple of other contributers (I've heard). I do think Aida is okay.
regarding Andrew Lippa: I only know two shows he has been a part of, and I have only heard one (You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown revival) but I love, love, LOVE the music in it, and I am excited for him to compose this music for Disney! (of course, YAGMCB really is not all that great, it just has some fun songs, but most of the scenes are pretty hokey, just my opinion...)
regarding Disney: sometimes it is okay to just be entertaining. everything doesn't have to be "controversial" or "a risk" to be accepted as good theatre. Beauty and the Beast and Lion King are really, REALLY entertaining, whether it is acting, the songs, the sets, the tricks, whatever, it doesn't take away from the fact that they are entertaining. I personally love the music in On the Record, just like I love "A Grand Night For Singing" although there are big differences between these two. I have the soundtrack to Mary Poppins and Tarzan. I do enjoy the soundtrack to Mary Poppins, although I think the US casting for the lead will be better than the London casting, and I am sure this show does some neat things, and maybe people are turned off because of the differences from the original disney movie. I do not particularly care for the Tarzan soundtrack. There are a couple of songs I enjoy, but mostly I gave it one listen and filed it away. I also know that it got / gets very poor reviews, but I am sure that if I went to broadway to see it today, I would be entertained. the theatrics of some of this musical are probably, for lack of a better word, "cool."
I am very excited about this new collaberation. I doubt that any disney musical, regardless of who or what it is, will be a flop. even Tarzan will I'm sure be around a while. So, Disney can really use this power to get NEW material out there.