How Broadway Lost Its Voice to 'American Idol' — Page 2

Sorry, didn't know there were copyright laws or anything.

"That's the whole point- the American Idol ethos that Brantley is decrying is all about vocal technique without heart or individuality."

And the one time they finally had someone who could sing with subtlety and nuance. Who understood how to "portray" a song with his voice as well as his whole body. Who could caress a song and truly convey the passion and emotion of it. Someone who didnt scream and carry on with histrionics, Justin Guarini, they practically crucified him.
Now he is singing Jazz, his way,his style, from the soul and with heart. I agree that Broadway has lost its voice to A.I
Screaming is no substitute for really singing a song as its meant to be.

Again, Brantley is placing the blame on American Idol, I'm sure this is his way of attempting to be "cool", but all it does is make it painfully obvious that he's well out of the loop. And, as I stated in my earlier post, this is the fault of the singers who are desperate to cross over to the recording market and the producers willing to hire them. This is the sound now. They're emulating Beyonce',Aquilera, who both can't spend two seconds holding a note without spinning wildly out of control, and Mariah Carey who should be very "flattered" by how liberally the Espinosas' and Beans' borrow her style. I also thought it was absurd and more typical of how foolish Brantley can be with his over the top praise for the most UN-unique, replaceable one of them all, Chenoweth. He's made up his mind that he adores her and dislikes Foster, which is fine, but he can't be taken so seriously, if he puts Cheno in that elite group along with Peter's et al. From my understanding, not only is Thompson as good as Cheno's Galinda, but better according to popular opinion.

Updated On: 3/26/05 at 07:21 PM

What I really don't get is how he associates Sutton Foster with an American Idol sound. She is as Broadway as they come, and in my opinion, an actress before a singer. Yes, she belts, but I really don't hear a lot of a pop sound in her voice. That's fine if he doesn't like her, but come on...it makes no sense to me.

This article got me all fired up earlier today...

I guess Brantley thinks the AI trend is overwhelming, but I disagree. Brooklyn, Little Women, and Wicked are the only currently running shows I can think of that heavily feature the American Idol-like power belting... and there are two shows currently running that more or less poke fun at it (DRS and Spamalot). Trends fade, change is constant, etc...

I'm disappointed that he was so harsh on the performers and for the most part, overlooked the role of composers. Blame the material in Little Women, too! A bland song like "Astonishing" leaves little room for "individual flair." If he'd explored the role of songwriting in this trend, it would've been a decent article. But focusing on more than one aspect of anything is not one of Brantley's strengths.

(Can someone explain to me how Audra McDonald and "pop" can appear in the same sentence? I didn't think you could find a more legit singer...)

Updated On: 3/26/05 at 10:19 PM

From my understanding, not only is Thompson as good as Cheno's Galinda, but better according to popular opinion.

So now you think it's ok to use popular opinion as evidence to support your claim.

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i think his idea is right, but he does not use the right evidence. also, i cannot believe he includes sutton foster in this category of singers/actors. i completely disagree with that. one comment i found completely fascinating was calling "astonishing" brassy, when, in fact, there are purposely only strings, reeds, keyboard and percussion in the little women orchestra. some comments are plain stupid.

It's so reassuring to see Brantley on his agenda and promotion bandwagon again. Once again, we hear the accolades to his princess Chenoweth and of course that damm contemporary sound that threatens to totally ruin broadway...like those "jukebox musicals" or "pop musicals" or "British megamusicals" he also hates.... are trashed. If Brantley had his way, broadway would be full of mostly musical comedies, featuring classically trained sopranos that he could regularly write love letters about and persuade everyone that they are unique talents. Who cares if some of them aren't all that unique and some are even annoying?..who cares if they dont sell tickets?..Brantley will be able to convince all of his brethren that his select few favorites are legendary talents....After all, everyone knows from his review that Chenoweth turned in a legendary performance in Wicked. To me, Chenoweth's one-note cutesy-pie-act is getting a little old.

One show..I repeat one show has opened this season to mirror the type of American-Idolesque belting that Brantley is referring to: Brooklyn. For all of its problems, Wicked doesn't feature an excess of belting and Little Women certainly doesn't. Even Wildhorn's Dracula only had a couple belting showstoppers this time. Musicals have had belting showstoppers as long as I can remember and the audience has always reacted the way they do.

It's true that the popular trend in contemporary music is a lot of screaming, but this started long before American Idol, and it differs from Broadway "belting". Certainly, his argument that individuality and personality can be lost when the emphasis is on volume, rather than interpretation is true, but it's far less the case than he's leading us to believe.

It's also true I believe, that he holds his low-volume favorites to a much lower standard than he does the high-volume ones. He cites Merman and Holliday as being freakish and thats why their belting works, but to me, but many of his favorites, are not all that unique as he leads us to believe. One of them he conveniently omits from this article is Rebecca Luker.Is she or one-note-cutesy-Chenoweth for that matter all that much better than Sutton Foster? Do they possess all that much more character and personality? I really don't think so.

This is yet another example of Brantley preaching to his congregation...feeding them easily digestible garbage and whining that broadway is going to the dogs because it dare reflect the music of the times. If Brantley had his way, I have no doubt that Broadway would be a really boring place with a doubtful future.

Updated On: 3/27/05 at 04:33 AM

Why does it have to be "Broadway"? Why can't it just be a "show" that succeeds for what it is?

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Let me just start by saying that I adore Sutton and I think that she is a great talent and is nothing like Eden or Shoshana whatsoever.

But, that said, I completely agree with Brantley. Musicals today are tending to base their shows (and especially their climaxes) on how high their singers can belt. Look at these Act One closers: Gypsy--Everything's Coming Up Roses. One could sing this song pretty easily, but to have the emotional weight it carries with it... That's not easy. And it's necessary. If you just read the lyrics, it seems very happy and carefree. Sweeney Todd? A Little Priest. A character/lyrical climax. Wicked (and I love Wicked, but I'm just saying)? Defying Gravity, which can (and should) be an emotional climax, but that's not what every audience member sees. They just hear how ridiculously high Idina/Shoshana/whoever is belting and that's what they're applauding. It's like Schwartz was thinking 'Well, this is a very big moment for Elphaba, so let's make her belt really high so that the audience understands that'. I haven't seen Shoshana, but I know Idina made it work emotionally as well, but I don't think that's what everyone around me was focusing on.

I'm rambling. Hmm. And I've lost my train of thought. I completely agree with whoever said that the writers are just not writing great, original musicals so much anymore. They're getting very lazy. They want to sell, sell, sell, and they know the easy formula for a hit nowadays: base it on something familiar, build big sets, get great belters, write one ear-piercingly high pop number that will draw audiences in even if the rest of the show is awful. And boom! A few million dollars later, you're on Broadway.

There is hope. With Spelling Bee and The Light in the Piazza, I really believe that there is hope. Albeit a very small one. But let's hope it grows.

I feel like I've read that post before. Or at least part of it. Did you say the same thing on ATC?

Brantley definitely had indirect compliments for DRS and directly compliments for Norbert, among other younger talents on Broadway today.