Costumes & Scenery On Broadway Please

I was dismayed to learn that the upcoming Broadway production of Wonderful Town, will in fact be a "concertlike" version, based on the Encores series performance, as was Chicago.

I think it is great that, if there is no other way, for a musical to play in a concert version. There are certain rare cases where stripping the costumes and scenery away could make for a better show. I'm not sure what those cases are, but I am sure it is very cool to say that we can enjoy a show without scenery and costumes. Whatever. But gimme a break.

I think there is a chance that were Bob Fosse alive, he might say "ok, now that we have safely assured a big profit, can we kindly put the scenery, costumes and stagecraft back into CHICAGO?"

There have been people desperately disappointed when seeing a "blackbox" or "concert version" of a show. For lots of folks the theater razzle dazzle enriched by exciting effects, scenery and costumes is very important.

I would hope that advertisements would let potential buyers know they are seeing a stripped down version of a show.....that was certainly not intended by its creators. This is not to say it may not be wonderful and all that, but folks should clearly know.

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yes handsomerob,

in the original production when Billy was in his underwear, he walked over to his tailor, as I recall when All I Care About is Love was finished.

The set and costumes of the original Chicago were great:)

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true true.

The play's the thing.

Wonderful Town worked so well in its Encores staging because it wasn't a stage full of scenery. We could concentrate on the show and the actors without having the "ooohh!" factor.

Chicago is very much the same thing. Less is more.

The production will be fine.

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Having seen both the original and revival productions of CHICAGO, I have to say I like the revival costumes more. Did we really need the silly clown costumes in Razzle Dazzle or to see Jerry Orbach got up like Clarence Darrow? I miss Tony Walton's set more. And without a table for the women to play poker, one of the best scenes got cut. Gwen & Chita only wore the two piece costumes out of town. They were changed to costumes more like what they wore on Broadway's Lost Treasures for NY.

I think it has been said the only way WONDERFUL TOWN would have been revived on Broadway was in a bare production. After the flops of BELLS ARE RINGING and ON THE TOWN, I guess it would have been hard to get the money for a full, elaborate production. And as Ken Mandelbaum pointed out, it will need a rave from Brantley to run and he loved the concert version.

Well, one of the things that was mentioned about the CHICAGO revival was that the show was, in many ways, more relevant today. We live in the age of the glorified, infamous celebrity. Paring down the production makes us deal with the material and it's message.

The 'Razzle Dazzle' you speak of comes from those fabulous songs and the movement of those bodies through space. The performers (when great) make up for any lack of scenery or costumes.

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Personally, I like the less is more concert version of Chicago. I think it allows you to focus on the talent in the cast (which with the exception of Melanie, the cast is SUPER talented!!!!) rather than flashy scenery or costumes. Just my 2c

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the great world of brilliant scenic and costume designers have had a longstanding tradition in the theater. When in doubt, I prefer to see a show
as the original authors intended...

with a fully designed set and costumes....I saw the production of Dreamgirls that played Broadway just about two years after the original closed. For me, having virtually no sets, costumes, etc. didn't add much to the show. I loved it, but I also loved the full blown original production.

Robactorguy, the current revival of Chicago is based on the Encores Series presentation. The shows in the Encores Series are done in concert. That explains the costumes and stuff in the Chicago revival.

One guesses that the Wonderful Town revival will "look" much like Chicago.

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Double post...

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Updated On: 9/12/03 at 06:07 PM

Double post...

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Updated On: 9/12/03 at 06:08 PM

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Updated On: 9/12/03 at 06:36 PM

I agree with you WOSQ. Arguments are not well supported with generalizations like, "There have been people desperately disappointed when seeing a 'blackbox' or 'concert version' of a show." Really? What are their names? Maybe we could all send them a little note.

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