Does "City of Angels" have enough heart?

[DryMartini]

Posted: 1/26/09 at 9:09am

I was talking to a friend about City of Angels and how it is truly amazing. The lyrics are David Zipple at his best and the score and book are sensational. So why isn't it done more? It doesn't seem to be produced as much as it should be.

And my friend turns to me and says, "It doesn't have enough heart."

It really made me think. Is that the reason? Does it not have enough emotional pull? Is it too slick? Thoughts?
Updated On: 1/26/09 at 09:09 AM

[once a month]

Posted: 1/26/09 at 9:26am

Sorry, I agree with that statement. It was clever, and the color and black and white transitions are what I recall most about it. I saw it the same day as Grand Hotel. Together, I thought they made great musical theatre, but neither one, on its own, completely worked for me. The humor and pathos of City teamed with the choreography and old-world charm of Hotel would've been a superb production, aptly titled City Hotel (or even Grand Angels).

[LuPonatic]

Posted: 1/26/09 at 9:33am

That music is DANG hard, especially that quartet stuff!

[Geoff2]

Posted: 1/26/09 at 9:52am

Thanks for the conversation. Actually there does seem to be a few productions happening out there- I am directing a production of C.O.A. in the Cleveland area that opens in March (www.cityofangels.freehosting.net) and I was recently contacted by another director doing it in California. I think what seem to be potential technical nightmares - multiple set locations, a movie within a play, etc. - make people shy away from what really is an interesting observation about a flawed writer and his relationships with his wife,his producer and his characters, many of which do the things he can't. I think if theaters would dig past the gimmicks of the piece to the simple story of it - they would find the heart in it. Our production is very stripped down technically...with the exception of multiple video and sound cues there are no walls or rooms, just a few wagons that act as multiple locations. This allows our great performers to hopefully tell the story that is at the heart of this piece.
City of Angels

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/26/09 at 10:12am

I think it's a great musical and I love the time period that it evokes. I agree with the others that it isn't done as much because the tight harmony in the vocals is challenging and the stage effects can be a bit overwhelming.

[TheCharleston]

Posted: 1/26/09 at 10:19am

if you do it, it has to be GREAT.

and to make it GREAT, it requires a sh*t load of time and talent and money and energy... it's not that it's a huge blockbuster show that requires extravagant sets and what not.

it's the fact that the music is extremely challenging, the color vs. black & white is SO specific, and the constant transitioning is a biitch.

got to have a really devoted technical team as well.

I think it has heart. when it's in the "Color" world. lots of relationships and conflict and emotional content, in my opinion. it just gets buried under the entire concept and movie part of it.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 1/26/09 at 10:42am

Oh, God, that opening is one of the hardest things for a musical theater person to learn, I think. If you're not used to singing jazz, it's just overwhelming.

[tazber]

Posted: 1/26/09 at 11:00am

I think everything about the show is brilliant.


Never really understood what exactly "not having heart" meant, but
I think it's a very emotional show. "Funny" is a great show-stopper and "You Can Always Count On Me", "It Needs Work", and "You're Nothing Without Me" always give me chills.

That, to me, is heart.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 1/26/09 at 11:06am

I have always loved the show.

YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON ME is a perenial fave of mine that I use in audidtions and all.

But I agree it has to be done right to reach it's full potential. Not necessarily money but the quality performers and tech team to make it run smoothly.

In short, yes, I think it has heart. A big one

[mallardo]

Posted: 1/26/09 at 11:18am

It seems to me COA is done quite often regionally. I've seen two quite good productions in LA within the last three or four years and if you look at the videos on the site-that-shall-be-nameless you'll see all kinds of productions - a lot of them from high schools!!

[DryMartini]

Posted: 1/26/09 at 11:33am

I never thought about the technical aspects. I'm sure that can be daunting. But it really is an amazing show. I guess "With Every Breath I Take" is pretty heartfelt, too. I'd love to see a Broadway revival. But for now I'll take mallardo's advice and check out the site-that-shall-be-nameless...

[GottaHaveAGimmick]

Posted: 1/26/09 at 3:29pm

The talented Kay McClelland was in the original cast of City of Angels ("With every breath I take"). She was also one of the evil stepsisters in the OBC of "Into the Woods."
Anyone know what she is doing these days?
Updated On: 1/27/09 at 03:29 PM

[fetzles1490]

Posted: 1/26/09 at 4:20pm

I was in an amateur production (admittedly pretty subpar at that) as the alto in the quartet. That music is SO difficult, I can say from experience. Our cast was, for the most part, very very talented, but our tech lacked and that really brought down the show from what it could have been.

[Fan123]

Posted: 1/27/09 at 5:05am

This book, 'Backstage on Broadway: Musicals and their Makers' by Marty Bell (http://www.amazon.com/Backstage-Broadway-Musicals-Their-Makers/dp/1854592262/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233050428&sr=8-1) includes a chapter on Kay McClelland. The focus of the chapter was a different role of hers, but she did mention City of Angels in passing. She criticised the fact that her character's story - the real-life, husband and wife relationship - should have been the part of the show that the audience cared about, but that the show hardly gave any attention to it at all. Maybe she just wanted more stage time, but anyway, that's one explanation.
Updated On: 1/27/09 at 05:05 AM

[GottaHaveAGimmick]

Posted: 1/27/09 at 9:49am

Thanks Fan2. I look forward to reading more from your source.

[sparrman]

Posted: 1/27/09 at 9:54am

Agreeing with many posters here: A brilliant show, but in several respects an unusually difficult show to do well.

[ggersten]

Posted: 1/27/09 at 10:03am

It's not just the technical aspects. There are financial aspects as well if you're a community theatre, and not a University or other school. You have to sell tickets. I don't think City of Angels is well known enough to the general public as a show (not to mention potential confusion with certain films) to generate ticket sales, unless you have a solid subscription base that you know will turn out.

[jasonf]

Posted: 1/27/09 at 10:28am

I remember when I was in college the undergrad musical club did City of Angels. Though the acting was well done, it was clear that it was so "technical" - getting the music right, the sets etc. The impression I left with was they just had to try too hard. I had seen another regional production years before and enjoyed that, but don't remember too much of it other than it spurred me to get the CD. It's one of my all time favorite scores and the lyrics are some of the best in the entire musical theater canon. I think the show is just too DIFFICULT to do well without, as someone said, insane amounts of tech rehearsals and very well rehearsed singers.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 1/27/09 at 10:42am

I'm not sure that I agree with Kay McClelland. The Gabby/Stine relationship provides much of the drive of Act Two. Gabby has the dazzling "It Needs Work," which only suffers because "You Can Always Count on Me" was even more dazzling and staged brilliantly. And in a show with a lot of characters, locations and plot, I think the balance couldn't have been swayed any more toward her character than it already is.

Incidentally, while I appreciate the irony of the show's title, I always rather liked the show's original title, Double Exposure, which I think is more descriptive of what the show is about.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 1/27/09 at 10:48am

For what little it's worth, I saw the original. Because I generally like Cy Coleman's work, I was really looking forward to it. But this one didn't do it for me. I am inclined to agree that it's a "cold" show -- very slick, very professionally done, but I just didn't end up caring about the characters nor did I feel the score was anything extraordinary (okay, go ahead and shoot). Part of my trouble may have stemmed from having seen Grand Hotel previously -- a show which I adored and saw 9 or 10 times. It's interesting that, for the most part, both shows have vanished from the radar screen, apart from an occasional little theatre or college production of COA.

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 1/27/09 at 11:54am

I think the show is brilliant and is my 6th favorite show of all time. The score does not have a single dud in it and the original tech elements were innovative and amazing to see (I saw it at the Lincoln Center Archives). I believe it isnt done as often because the tech is so difficult and that score can be very strenous without well trained talented people. There was a production in an outdoor theater in a suburb of chicago and its coming to the city for a week now. But otherwise it hasnt been seena round these parts for a long time.

[jasonf]

Posted: 1/27/09 at 12:15pm

Smaxie - you hit the nail on the head. I've always considered "It Needs Work" to be the PERFECT lyric. That song is absolutely genius - I've always wondered why it doesn't get more credit than it does, but the contrast with "You Can Always Count on Me" makes a lot of sense.