Have you ever had the "What are they doing? Why?" moment during a show?

I was thinking about the JCS tour I saw a few weeks ago and mulling over how annoyed I was to hear Corey Glover bastardize some of the melodies with Mariah Carey/Christina Aguilera inspired trills and runs. It started me thinking about moments in shows when you are sitting there going "What are they doing? Why are they changing the melody? Why are they adding that note?"

I understand that each performer is an individual and that some play with the melodies as a means of making their version different than their predecessor, but sometimes it just doesn't work.

Anyone else have any examples?

Not necessarily a performer, but a production. I have the original version of A Chorus Line memorized. Not just the song lyrics, all the dialogue. When I saw the revival, I was so confused when they dropped and altered a few lines. The birth years, fine, I can understand, but they dropped a few lines from Bobby's monologue. Every time I saw it, I thought the actor had forgotten his lines before it occurred to me that they made a point of taking out the inoffensive, non-dated lines. That's the only cut I can think of off the top of my head, but there were more. It was just weird. "We're going to revive the show exactly as it was, down to the bad 70s dance wear...but we're going to randomly cut lines without reason, and hope no one notices!"

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Updated On: 5/2/08 at 09:22 AM

I still think the clock motif in Wicked, as well as the giant Time Dragon, is utterly unnecessary.

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Everything entirely in CORAM BOY.

Kelly2..I agree --when I first saw the gas mask waltz there was that moment of
"What?" but it was actually quite a brilliant stroke. I know a lot of people on here hate that moment....but its truly inspired!

The yoga choreography in SA. Why, why, why??

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To explain the Dragon Clock, in the book, it has this huge mythic shadow that hangs over the life of the Wicked Witch. It's quite an interesting concept and the way Gregory Maguire weave religion and mysticism is amazing.

HOWEVER.

I believe (someone feel free to correct me) that the set designer for the show wasn't actually involved in the production, but he was interested. So his wife (I think) told him to read the book and build a design off of that. And they loved it and kept it.

So basically, the Time Dragon Proscenium is a brilliant set design idea for the books, not so much a musical where the ENTIRE idea is cut.

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There's always a twinge of pain in my heart for any poor actor who has to deliver bad jokes onstage. Especially when I remind myself they have to do it 8 times a week.

That said, a few recent examples:

The dance number at the end of The New Century.

The moment where Daniel Breaker sings "On the Street Where You Live" in Passing Strange.

The majority of November.

Papermill's costumes for MY FAIR LADY some years ago--like Richard Simmons and Malificent got hold of a Bedazzler.

Amour has my favorite "What are they doing?" moment. *possible spoilers* The show is such a small, sweet, and gentle show until the courtroom scene when Dusoleil is found innocent and the prosecutor is taken away.

All of a sudden everyone started dancing the can-can with manic energy. It's revealed that all the women are wearing can-can skirts, and Melissa Errico begins high-kicking (quite splendidly) across the stage. Then the judge stood up to show that he too is wearing a can-can skirt under his robe. It was such a bizarre scene and felt totally out of sync with the rest of the production.

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The yoga choreography in SA. Why, why, why??

I agree.

The choreography of "The Word of Your Body." Holding hands, walk forward 1, 2, 3, hold, walk back 1, 2, 3, hold, repeat, repeat.

Truly middle school production-like staging.

In DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES, there was a song entitled "Carpe Noctem." It involved a bunch of dancing demons and vampires and assorted Creatures of the Night, and it just went on and on and on and on.

At one point, at the height of the awfulness, a bunch of long scraggly looking hairy boa things were brought out, and assorted characters started to flog other characters with them, and all I could think was: Oh My GOD, it is Vidal Sassoon's nightmare! I thought I'd never stop laughing.

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The yoga choreography in SA. Why, why, why??

I don't know if you know. But every single move sybolizes something going on within the charecture.

Such as when Melchior during Mirror-Blue Night grabs his hands behind his back, it to symbolize his hands being tied and him not being able to escape.

I know im just a "swing" and I dont know anything. But I just thought it was cool when I found out.

It was very inovative and abstract. which is not for everyone but it a diffrent look at movement.

Most everything in Spamalot left me asking...why?

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Updated On: 5/2/08 at 03:11 PM