City of Angels and Similar Scores

[trentsketch]

Posted: 10/30/10 at 4:23pm

In two weeks, I start working with a group of students on a production of City of Angels. I'm only the vocal music director and rehearsal pianist, so I was quickly overruled by the director bent on doing this show at a high school.

So here is my question. What are some other Broadway shows with heavily jazz-influenced scores like this? The closest I can think of in my head is something like Sweet Smell of Success or some of the numbers in Wonderful Town (Angel City 4, meet "Wrong Note Rag." It will be your lifeline these first few weeks so you get that the "bad" sounding harmonies are intentional). I'm just blanking out. It happens when I'm stressed over a potentially disastrous show.

I'd toss out actual jazz recordings at the students but that might be too alien to start with and won't even work for all the characters. I want to establish the jazz musical theater context to help them better understand why and how the random looking on the page melodies work for character and narrative.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 6:42pm

Check out Avenue X, an a capella piece with some very intricate harmonies.

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 8:15pm

I know you're looking for theatrical reference points but having worked on two prior productions of this show, my recommendation would recordings by Manhattan Transfer (the COA vocal arranger was and may still be their music director), Singers Unlimited and the like to give them the students the right "feel".

There are harmonically complex moments from some classic shows that approximate some of the easier pieces of COA ("Oldest Established" from G&D and some of the background vocals in "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat", "Standing on the Corner" from "The Most Happy Fella", the repeating "Thank You, Thank You" bit from "She Loves Me") but those shade towards a more barbershop/glee club idiom, where the chords, when sung properly, ring out and "sound right". In COA, there are many instances where even a given chord, sung 100% correctly, won't "sound" right (to most high school singers at least) without the chord before it and/or the chord after it and/or without the instrumental accompaniment.

Probably the hardest music I've ever had to teach in my life. And definitely the hardest parts tapes I've ever made in my life. Good luck.

[mallardo]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 8:48pm

The closest thing to a jazz score not written by Cy Coleman would be, for me, Michael John LaChiusa's Wild Party - albeit it's jazz of another era.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 9:36pm

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. My first thought was Manhattan Transfer. Unfortunately, that was squashed quite quickly when their chorus teacher told me that the students are revolting against her for teaching "Java Jive." What honors choir students wouldn't kill to sing Manhattan Transfer? Oh, the ones who I have to teach City of Angels to. No wonder she gave up music directing for the plays at this school.

averagbwaynut, it's good to hear from another survivor. About the nicest thing I can say about teaching this score is that I'll have to do very little full chorus work and the likely leads all have private voice teachers. I just have to worry about vocals and faking my way through rehearsals until the orchestra director takes over the piano.

[sparrman]

Posted: 11/1/10 at 7:23am

Truthfully, there aren't many "similar scores" to City of Angels. I agree about Manhattan Transfer, but as far as theatre music, I'd say the trio's music in Trouble in Tahiti is roughly, vaguely, in parts, kind of similar.