City of Angels and Nine compared

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 5/20/20 at 3:50pm

I was listening to a podcast describe Cy Coleman's "City of Angels" and ask why the show wasn't a bigger hit. As someone who's seen and performed in the work I'd say it's because the book revolves around the shows least interesting character. Stine carries the plot while the paper thin female characters get the best songs.

It occurred to me that the musical shares these traits with Maury Yeston's "Nine." Both Guido and Stine end the show abandoned by the wives they cheated on. Yet their 11'o-clock numbers are focused on works of art the audience has no reason to care about. "Funny" and "I Can't Make This Movie" are among the weaker songs in their respective scores.

And then the coda suggests the wives came back without the husband truly having to change for them.

 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 5/20/20 at 5:00pm

I think all that is true, Sally, and I would add the following:

1. There is so much plot in CITY OF ANGELS, I don't think we have time to care about any of it. Yeah, there's some clever scenery, use of B&W, etc., but no real characters. As you say, the women have better songs so they show a little better, but the story isn't really about them.

2. Though I love the ANGELS OBCR as a jazz album, the lyrics are just too damn complicated to be understood in the theater. I always think of "Familiarity/And in your case we both know what that breeds." Yeah, I get it: "Familiary breeds contempt." But by the time I rewrite the lyric to get that, I've missed the next several lines. Even the simplest lyric, a ballad: "There's not a morning that I open up my eyes/And find I didn't dream of you." WTF? How about "Each morning I wake up dreaming of you."? Okay, maybe Zippel was writing to Coleman's trunk songs, but jeez!

3. The double entendres are cringe-worthy, but maybe that's just me. I was embarrassed for James Naughton when he had to sing "Your pen is no match for my sword." (And that may be the clearest lyric in the evening!)

The above being said, I had a pleasant time at ANGELS; but I don't think it's the sort of show that is "must-see" or that brings many people back time and time again, both of which are required for a monster hit.

***

As for NINE, I have rarely been so bored. I would have much rather gone to the Thalia for another showing of 8 1/2. I realize others disagree.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 5/20/20 at 5:06pm

MrsSallyAdams said: "I was listening to a podcast describe Cy Coleman's "City of Angels" and ask why the show wasn't a bigger hit. As someone who's seen and performed in the work I'd say it's because the book revolves around the shows least interesting character. Stine carries the plot while the paper thin female characters get the best songs.

It occurred to me that the musical shares these traits with Maury Yeston's "Nine." Both Guido and Stine end the show abandoned by the wives they cheated on. Yet their 11'o-clock numbers are focused on works of art the audience has no reason to care about. "Funny" and "I Can't Make This Movie" are among the weaker songs in their respective scores.

And then the coda suggests the wives came back without the husband truly having to change for them.

"

What was the podcast you were referencing?

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 5/20/20 at 6:18pm

Gaveston, all good points.

 

Guru, The Jim and Tomic Podcast. Co-produced by the fellow who used to run the "Musical Theater Mash" vlog. I've been digging through their archives. Here's the "City of Angels" episode:

https://jimandtomic.com/episodes/37

Updated On: 5/20/20 at 06:18 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 5/21/20 at 12:29am

I am in total agreement with GavestonPS in his assessment of COA.  Interestingly, I hated the show the first time I saw it.  I friend of mine told me that he loved the score, so I purchased the OCR, and ended up really liking it, playing it frequently for years, I would imagine (not so much these days, no reflection on its quality).  Because I loved the OCR, I decided to see the show again before it closed.  I hated it again.  I just thought it was very clever for about 10 minutes, then I got bored with the conceit.  I could not wait for it to end; even the musical numbers did little for me, I assume because the were preceded and were followed by boring dialogue scenes.  I have always felt that my opinion was validated by the general public, insofar as it only ran for 600+ performances, despite winning the Tony, and was discounted for much of its run.  I do not know, but I always assumed that it was a financial failure, again despite being a big Tony winning musical.

Here is where I deviate from Gav.  As staged by Tommy Tune, with incredible music and lyrics by Maury Yeston, I thought the original production of Nine was a borderline masterpiece. There were so many show-stopping numbers, that someone not there would find that hard to believe.  The visual images were striking and the very last moment, a white tiled stage with aquamarine lighting intending to evoke a Venice  water everyone wishes were that color (maybe it was intended to be the Lido -- don't remember), and the releasing  of doves, with the lush Maury Yeston music being played by the orchestra, represents one of the most memorable stage images in my lifetime of theatergoing.  Alas, it was also not a big hit, although it ran longer than COA and I believe returned its investment; I always assumed it was a little too arty for the average musical theatre going audience.

The other issue that originally kept it from being a masterpiece for me was the Guido character.  Guido was very similar to Bobby on Company in that he is frequently an observer, rather than an active participant.  I was never much of a Raul Julia fan, so I am not sure whether it was the writing of his character or his performance that hurt the overall production.  Based on the performance that Antonio Banderas gave 15or so years later, I eventually concluded that it was his performance, as Banderas' performance led to one of the few times ever when I teared up at a theatrical performance.  Based on that production, however, which I did like, I did conclude that it was the combination of Yeston and Tune that made that for me a great evening in the theatre.