Help! Need info on musical Ballroom

[jennifer1128]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 1:57am

Hi guys,

I was assigned the song Fifty Percent from the musical Ballroom in my musical theatre class and have to perform it in a week.  I also have to write a paper about the song and I am having a hard time finding out the following information.  Hoping someone on here might know.  1.  Where is this song being sung? 2. When does this song take place and 3.  Who is the character of Bea singing this song to?  Thanks in advance to any help you can offer.

[tazber]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 4:17am

link

[jennifer1128]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 3:45pm

Thanks for the link but I had already read that and there is nothing specific enough unfortunately.  Appreciate the help though.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 3:57pm

Having seen the original I can tell you that Bea is singing the song to herself and does if after she finds out he is married and he will not leave his wife. Hope this helps

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 4:04pm

You need to get a hold of the book A Chorus and the Musical of Michael Bennett by Ken Mandelbaum. It's a WONDERFUL book and has an in depth chapter all about the creation of Ballroom.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Chorus-Line-Musicals-Michael-Bennett/dp/0312030614/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456866118&sr=1-1&keywords=ken+mandelbaum

 

 

[jennifer1128]

Posted: 3/1/16 at 10:10pm

OMG thank you sooooo much.  Do you happen to know where the show takes place?  I know the majority is at the Stardust Ballroom but do you know what city/state that is located in?

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/2/16 at 8:46am

jennifer1128 said: "OMG thank you sooooo much.  Do you happen to know where the show takes place?  I know the majority is at the Stardust Ballroom but do you know what city/state that is located in?

 

"

I can't remember if an exact setting is specified. As a New Yorker myself at the time, I thought of it taking place in Manhattan, but I suppose it could take place in any large Northeastern city.

 

But here's the link for the original, TV musical play:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_the_Stardust_Ballroom

 

It says Bea is a "New York widow", so that would appear to be the locale. Casting Dorothy Loudon and Vincent Gardenia as the leads gave it a "NYC" feel, though that doesn't always mean Manhattan. Definitely urban.

 

I'm not contradicting the post above that says Bea sings the song "to herself"; but you should take that note in the musical theater sense. The number is a musical soliloquy sung to the theater audience, so we understand it to represent the character's thoughts. But don't turn it inward: Bea is singing/stating her credo and she is absolutely defiant by the end. Remember that her friends and family are all horrified that she has gone from upstanding wife and widow to the mistress of a married man. One has even called her son in from California to "deal" with Bea. So, in one, non-literal sense, she is speaking to all of them as well.

 

Or to put it another way, the number is Bea's "Rose's Turn", without the over-the-top madness. Her decision is emotional, yes, but in a way it's also rational: half of him is better than nothing at all.

 

It absolutely stopped the show when I saw it, as it was intended to do. Unfortunately, the 2 hours before it were brilliantly staged but terribly cool relative to what most people expect from a musical. (I never thought watching people dance in a circle was terribly exciting: the center of the energy is in the center of the circle, not directed at the spectator. Watch how DANCING WITH THE STARS cheats out to solve this problem.)

 

The answers to your questions about time and place are in the synopsis at Tazber's link. Read the last couple of paragraphs.

Updated On: 3/2/16 at 08:46 AM

[buddy5]

Posted: 3/2/16 at 4:28pm

Lucky you!...one of the greatest  11 o'clock numbers ever...if the show had been successful it would have been a great standard...Try and emulate the wonderful Dorothy Louden...not imitate but replicate her extraordinary emotional rendition..she never received sufficient a claim.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/2/16 at 4:44pm

It was an old fashioned musical without any of Benetts frantic and energizing choreography. It was basically all waltz related. I believe it was set in Brooklyn but do not quote me on it.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/2/16 at 6:54pm

Brooklynn makes sense to me, Mr. R. I think I associated it with the Roseland Ballroom, which was still open in midtown Manhattan. But that association was entirely in my own head.

 

To the OP: there are a couple of versions of Loudon's version on YouTube. Nobody is saying to imitate her mannerisms or gestures, but her spirit shows great insight into the number.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/2/16 at 7:20pm

The show was nominated for Best Musical but not score. Fifty Percent is the best song of the score.

 

The show shares a dubious distinction with Mack & Mabel. Both were , I believe, nominated for Best Musical but not score. Kinda of does not make sense.