Posted: 11/23/15 at 2:55pm
cabaret and chicago are really neck and neck for best musical and i would go see a good production of either over and over, with the edge to cabaret for being first and being so damn different than anything before it.....
Posted: 11/23/15 at 9:32pm
70, Girls 70 is a wildly underrated score. The show is such a mess that it's not surprising that this is so, but that cast album puts a huge smile on my face. Oh how I wish the show could be salvaged! Cabaret is sort of unarguably their best show, it seems to me, but they've written a crazy amount of good material for shows that didn't work or don't stand the test of time, including, which seems to have gone unnoticed so far, Woman of the Year.
Posted: 11/24/15 at 8:44pm
I am a big Kander and Ebb Fan. Always have been.
Some of their flops have amazing scores. 70 Girls 70 sounds like a hit as does The Happy Time. These are two wonderful scores but their books sink them. For 70 girls 70 to work, you would have to throw out the entire book and start over again. I saw the original and two revivals; the book is a mess.
I have to agree their best shows were the C Shows. Cabaret and Chicago. These are the best cohesive wholes in terms of books, music and lyrics. I think Zorba is a runner up.
Some of their other scores are terrific as well but don't work as well as their Best shows which have superior books.
Best Scoress, 70 girls 70, The Happy Time I love each of these scores.
Very Good Scores: Steel Pier, The Rink,
Honorable mention scores: Flora the Red Menace . ..Scottsborough Boys
Least favorite (though still commendable in part) Women of the Year , Curtains, The Visit, The Act
Women of the Year is their most disappointing score but Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Cooper saved that one with "The Grass Is Always Greener" You can always count on those two for a great novelty song in almost all of their shows.
Posted: 11/24/15 at 8:44pm
I am a big Kander and Ebb Fan. Always have been.
Some of their flops have amazing scores. 70 Girls 70 sounds like a hit as does The Happy Time. These are two wonderful scores but their books sink them. For 70 girls 70 to work, you would have to throw out the entire book and start over again. I saw the original and two revivals; the book is a mess.
I have to agree their best shows were the C Shows. Cabaret and Chicago. These are the best cohesive wholes in terms of books, music and lyrics. I think Zorba is a runner up.
Some of their other scores are terrific as well but don't work as well as their Best shows which have superior books.
Best Scoress, 70 girls 70, The Happy Time I love each of these scores.
Very Good Scores: Steel Pier, The Rink,
Honorable mention scores: Flora the Red Menace . ..Scottsborough Boys
Least favorite (though still commendable in part) Women of the Year , Curtains, The Visit, The Act
Women of the Year is their most disappointing score but Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Cooper saved that one with "The Grass Is Always Greener" You can always count on those two for a great novelty song in almost all of their shows.
Posted: 11/24/15 at 8:47pm
I think Cabaret and Chicago are equally genius, but given the choice I'll pick Cabaret every time.
Posted: 11/24/15 at 9:06pm
Even though I enjoyed the Cabaret movie, they gutted the score. It is a shame that after the original numbers like The Pineapple Song went by the wayside.
Interesting that the original Sally was a Broadway unknown Jill Haworth. Her forte was most film & tv . She did some Otto Preminger movies & some TV in the 60's and 70's
Updated On: 11/24/15 at 09:06 PM
Posted: 11/24/15 at 9:56pm
Best: Chicago. I know Cabaret is the consensus, but I've never been a huge fan of the show.
Worst: Woman of the Year. Outside one fun novelty number, the show fails to deliver the relevance that made the story so successful.
Most underrated: Curtains. Saw the show on a whim and was shocked how fun and entertaining it was. I completely fell in love with it.
