Great scores, not-so-great books- Page 2

[belterboi]

Posted: 1/2/05 at 7:17pm

THo the music isn't that great.....FOOTLOOSE's book is awful as well as Saturday night fever...ugh..so bad

[misterchoi]

Posted: 1/2/05 at 7:23pm

In Merrily I don't think we're supposed to like anything other than the original passion, exuberance, and youthful optimism that is found in "Our Time." We don't have to like the characters, and since when was that a requirement of a good show?

[magruder]

Posted: 1/2/05 at 7:24pm

I place Mary's whole arc on one line. When she meets Frank on the rooftop, and raves to him about writing music, he says, "I just met the girl I ought to marry." For me, that explains everything that happens to her. I think it's just the type of offhanded remark that affects someone's entire life. She lives in eternal hopefulness and keeps getting crushed. You're right that it's as much her as it is him, but Frank's a jerk for choosing Beth over Mary.

I buy into Mary's rage and Charley's breakdown, because I've had incredible knock-down, drag outs with friends and loved ones, and they ring true to me. Yeah, no TV station would allow Charley to explode like that (or maybe in today's era of reality television, they would.) But I just go along with it, I guess.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 1/2/05 at 7:37pm

I haven't seen it so I don't know if it falls in this category or not. In fact that is my question: What was HIGH SOCIETY like. It seems like it would have good music, but that the script would suffer due to the butchering of the classic Philidelphia Story, but I could be way far off. Any thoughts?

Akiva

[VeuveClicquot]

Posted: 1/2/05 at 7:49pm

Is Frank wrong for choosing Beth over Mary? It seems that the authors want you to feel this way. (The general casting choice of having Mary played by an overweight actress reinforces this.)

But what does Mary have going for her, really? She's a terrible procrastinator, has absolutely no self esteem, and projects a victim mentality. Worse, she's a complete hypocrite. While she spends much time degrading Frank's career choices, what has she done about her own career, exactly? Planted her face on a gin bottle, that's what.

This is one of the reasons I find the book for MERRILY so problematic. What are the authors saying, exactly? On the one hand, it's great to have high ideals. But according to MERRILY, the simple fact of having those ideals is better than "selling out" and making money for your art. Is it really better to keep your high ideals and become a raging, bitter alcoholic than ever betray them? Not that Mary really ever betrays her ideals. She's just lazy. So, according to Sondheim and Furth, being lazy and talking about your high-minded ideals is more admirable than actually getting off your fat butt and creating art. I can understand why audiences have a hard time buying this particular philosophy.

[misterchoi]

Posted: 1/2/05 at 7:55pm

I don't think that is what they were getting at. I don't think they were even going for something near that.

[MusicMan]

Posted: 1/2/05 at 7:58pm

The "art vs. commerce" argument of MERRILY is the least of its problems.
The structure of the show self-destructs. We're expected to become involved in this cynical story of unsympathetic characters and follow them backwards into their salad days. And the book mistakes bitchy, camp attitudes for dialogue and characterization. There is simply no compelling reason for the audience to stick along for the ride.
Finally, though the score has its lovely moments and contains one of Sondheim's best ballads, it simply doesn't work in the theater. I've seen the show in several incarnations and it isn't until OLD FRIENDS that an audience responds with any enthusiasm. By that time a sense of diminished expectations has set in and the rest of the score plays, with minor exceptions, to general indifference.
A show best left on the shelf.

[magruder]

Posted: 1/2/05 at 8:17pm

I don't think that the authors condone what Mary becomes. But Mary is like the type of person who can cogently tell you what's wrong with you, even though she can't help herself. Don't you know people like that? I do.

She's an embarrassment in the party scene, but she is also telling the truth about Frank to Frank's face, when there's absolutely nothing left of their friendship and her love and admiration for him. She's like Tiresias at that point. Just one scene further in, and there's still that glimmer of the old Mary as she fights for Frank and Charley's collaboration in "Like It Was".

Charley is the one of the three friends who remains true to his ambitions, even if it means the end of his friendship with Frank. (Clearly, Frank is resentful when the success of Charley's play is mentioned in the first scene, so it does tap into Frank's fear of what he has become).

I think the point of the show is that we leave school, maybe come to New York or some other big city with dreams and aspirations that we betray all along the way, or we don't, if we're very lucky. The trick is staying in touch with that 22-year-old dreamer inside of us. ("Better look back...," as they sing in the opening number). The hope is that at 35-45-55, we don't hate or regret what we've done with our lives. ("One trip. All we get is one quick ride.") That may not be a new or profound thought, but Merrily makes a potent case for it.

I took a friend of mine to see the show in Washington. He doesn't particularly like or get musicals, and had no familiarity with Merrily going in to it. About 20 minutes after leaving the show, while we were walking and discussing it, he said it reminded him of when he first came to New York 16 years ago with a lot of hope for what would happen to him, and two friends of his in particular, who are no longer in his life. Like in some sort of residual shock, he just started to bawl because the show had affected him so deeply, even though he was trying to resist succumbing to his feelings.

As far as the score, I don't really agree with MusicMan's assessment. The title song is melodic and catchy and hooks you right away - though I've never seen it well staged. The horror of the first scene is disturbing, but galvanizing, and "That Frank," though not a terrific song, conveys a lot of information. I think most people can relate to the bittersweet sentiment of "Like It Was," and then "Franklin Shepard Inc." is usually a showstopper. Then, Act One continues with "Old Friends," "Growing Up," "Not a Day Goes By," and "Now You Know," all of which are strong songs, I feel.

Again, as I've admitted, I can't be objective about this show. But I think a lot of people are too hard on its flaws, in view of the things that are very, very right.

[cturtle]

Posted: 1/2/05 at 9:49pm

link, i've never been able to bring myself to watch HIGH SOCIETY because i love PHILADELPHIA STORY so much!

FLOWER DRUM SONG isn't exactly a great score, but the music is far better than the book. i don't know about the new production with the new book, though.

[DestinyBeckoned]

Posted: 1/2/05 at 9:58pm

I have to second Cinderella. We're doing it at school, and the whole cast cringes when we run it.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/2/05 at 10:01pm

AIDA - killer score... major problem was the book, though. Same for Taboo.

[bjivie2]

Posted: 1/2/05 at 10:03pm

Munkustrap... The Last Five Years has maybe 5 minutes of dialogue in the entire show. It's mostly a song cycle with a few monologues put in. And the totally develop the plot and the characters very well. The scene during "Climbing Uphill" when Jaime is on the phone with Cathy is really great.

And belterboi, the only good music in Footloose is from the movies. All the songs written for the show are pretty awful.

[VeuveClicquot]

Posted: 1/2/05 at 11:00pm

Magruder, thanks for the discussion. I do understand your reasons for loving MERRILY, and I agree with most of them. It is a powerfully emotional work, and one that I continue to reexamine, like a touchstone, the older I get.

[magruder]

Posted: 1/2/05 at 11:18pm

It's really the final thought that is especially important to me. There's always talk about such and such show being flawed, having a problematic book, a sketchy Act Two...what have you. But how perfect does a musical really have to be in order to be valid as an evening's entertainment?