How did The Life (or anything else) lose out to Titanic?- Page 2

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 2:49pm

Pam Isaacs was irritating....but the dude who played her "daddy" was really terrible.

Oh, jeeez...I just remembered the Hookers Ball! EMBARASSING!

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 2:51pm

Has anyone seen a mounting of it recently?

I saw a regional run of it, in March, and it reminded me of how terrible the show (as a whole) actually is.

It's so disconnected and really all over the place. The score is good but the book is awful!

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 3:36pm

TITANIC is definitely on my list of the worst shows I've ever seen.

I hated every minute of it. It was insanely, INSANELY boring and uninventive. I really despised it.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 3:40pm

THE LIFE (for me) was straddling tow worlds, aiming for gritty reality with poetic lyrics (written in a vocabulary way beyond the grasp of the characters.) Cooper, White and Issacs were good. Harris sensational as the slime ball Jojo, and the music was Coleman still at or near the top of his game. The lyrics were perfunctory to embarrassing. But the brutal scene in Act Two where the pimp kicks the **** out of hooker was too much for some people.

TITANIC had its problems: For one thing the director spent so much time on the set and effects he hardly seems to have directed the cast. (No one was surprised when he was not nominated.) Unlike others here, I was impressed with the brilliant tableaux at the end of Act One, and Maury Yeston's score is wonderful.

I think the best score was for STEEL PIER, which was also problematic but blessed with a dynamic cast and some stunning choreography. Had it not been for CHICAGO (revival) that same season this show might have cleaned up. (It got 5 positive reviews; TITANIC got just 1 favourable notice.) STEEL PIER might have had a run but producer Roger Berlind was also co-producer of THE LIFE. Both shows were struggling at the box office and he chose to focus the marketing on THE LIFE with its 2 Tony-winning performances, and decided to close STEEL PIER.

As for J&H - No it was not worthy of a Tony nomination for best musical. The one Tony-worthy element was Robert Cuccioli's performance.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 3:40pm

THE LIFE (for me) was straddling tow worlds, aiming for gritty reality with poetic lyrics (written in a vocabulary way beyond the grasp of the characters.) Cooper, White and Issacs were good. Harris sensational as the slime ball Jojo, and the music was Coleman still at or near the top of his game. The lyrics were perfunctory to embarrassing. But the brutal scene in Act Two where the pimp kicks the **** out of hooker was too much for some people.

TITANIC had its problems: For one thing the director spent so much time on the set and effects he hardly seems to have directed the cast. (No one was surprised when he was not nominated.) Unlike others here, I was impressed with the brilliant tableaux at the end of Act One, and Maury Yeston's score is wonderful.

I think the best score was for STEEL PIER, which was also problematic but blessed with a dynamic cast and some stunning choreography. Had it not been for CHICAGO (revival) that same season this show might have cleaned up. (It got 5 positive reviews; TITANIC got just 1 favourable notice.) STEEL PIER might have had a run but producer Roger Berlind was also co-producer of THE LIFE. Both shows were struggling at the box office and he chose to focus the marketing on THE LIFE with its 2 Tony-winning performances, and decided to close STEEL PIER.

As for J&H - No it was not worthy of a Tony nomination for best musical. The one Tony-worthy element was Robert Cuccioli's performance.

[vfd88]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 4:08pm

How did Act 1 of Titanic end?

[jackson992]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 4:59pm

To me The Life had the best score hands down tho I also liked Titanic. I could play any song Queenie sang over and over again, she is so amazing. Titanic was more an ensemble show and as such it works very well that way.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 5:03pm

How did Act 1 of Titanic end?

^^^^^

They clear the whole set (the titanic triple deck) and there's a miniature model of titanic ship sailing across the stage (coming from stage left gong to right ) and it hit an iceberg! background was dark sky with flickering stars (but not very visible)

Curtain down.

I thought it was fantastic!

J*




Updated On: 6/5/08 at 05:03 PM

[Patash]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 5:06pm

Some of us seem to be talking about two different things, which brings to mind another question. Is the best musical supposedly based on the score and book? Or is it supposed to be based on the best production (including all the production values as well as the book and score)? I really am not sure of that. And if it's the latter, what kind of percentage is supposed to be based on production rather than the score and book itself?

I too went to Titanic expecting to think it would be a fantastic production of a horrible show. But instead I found it just the opposite. I thought the production itself was a mess -- but I'll agree the score and the concept was good.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 5:09pm

yeah I could see the book kinda sucks and some parts just drag. I love the skinking of the Titanic scene though! ( the triple decker set tilted to the right and all the table and chairs fall on the actors.. I can still remember how the table fell on Michael Cerveris!)

J*

[Becky]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 5:14pm

THE LIFE was a brilliant score set to an inane book.

100% agree.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 5:27pm

They clear the whole set (the titanic triple deck) and there's a miniature model of titanic ship sailing across the stage (coming from stage left gong to right ) and it hit an iceberg! background was dark sky with flickering stars (but not very visible)

That's sort of right. What made it so visually stunning for me was that the entire stage floor had transformed into a calm sea with the ship upstage at the horizon. Both the sea and the sky were forced perspectives giving the three-dimensional illusion of looking out at the ocean with the ship in the far distance. You don't actually sea the iceberg or the ship striking it. The ship sails across and once out of view, the music reaches a dramatic climax to signal that the tragedy has occurred. Building up to this, there is a scene portraying all three decks in the center, the smoking room below, and the captain's thingamajig up above (I totally blanked out what thats called).

During the number (No Moon), the ceiling in front the stage opens and the crow's nest lowers from above in front of the stage. The music changes and a curtain is lowered while a scene continues with the captain in front of the curtain. We hear the announcement about the iceberg and the crow's nest disappears. The men leave the stage and the curtain lifts revealing the tableau. I imagine you had to be sitting in the orchestra level to get the full effect. Either that or you hated it and thought it looked silly from anywhere in the theatre. There seems to be no middle ground on the subject, actually.

[BWNUT]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 5:33pm

Was Sam Harris in The Life? I saw that when I was so much younger and a B'way newbie. It must not have been that memorable because I can't remember much about it except Sam Harris, and very vaguely. Oh, and a bright red stilleto shoe on the Playbill cover.
Updated On: 6/5/08 at 05:33 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 5:35pm

"I think the best score was for STEEL PIER, which was also problematic but blessed with a dynamic cast and some stunning choreography."

What show did you attend? Karen Ziemba is the most boring actress on Broadway. The show didn't have any energy until Debra Monk sang "Everybody's Girl". Monk and Chenoweth stole the show right out from under Ziemba. And of course, everyone knew that a "Cassie - Music & the Mirror" moment was coming in Act 2. But even Ziemba couldn't produce enough spark to make that interesting.

Updated On: 6/5/08 at 05:35 PM

[nealb1]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 5:47pm

I loved "The Life." Thought it was a fantastic show with a marvelous score. I clearly enjoyed "Titanic," as well. The 2 Tonys that "The Life" did win, were very well deserved.

As we all know, award shows can be like a popularity contest, with everyone having opinions about who should or shouldn't have one.

Didn't like "Spamalot" that much, yet it won Best Musical over "Dirty Rotten," which I thought was brilliant. Don't really care for the "bathroom humor" in "Spamalot." Never was really a big fan of "Light In The Piazza." Thought it was an ok.....show....nothing special. Victoria Clark was brilliant.

Don't even get me started on "The Lion King." I just don't like the show at all. Not all at. But, keeping actors, musicians, writers, crew, orchestra and theatre personnel working, and getting people to go to the theatre, is a very good thing.
Updated On: 6/5/08 at 05:47 PM

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 5:54pm

I saw Titanic the night before the Tony Awards and having already seen the other nominated shows at that point, felt that it would indeed win Best Musical (just my opinion). I originally had no interest seeing it until Rosie O'Donnell featured the opening number on her show one day. I can still hear the audience's reaction at the conclusion of that number. To this day it remains one of my favorite shows and I saw the Broadway production 9x (including its final performance).

The only things I remember about Steel Pier is Kristin's cellophane dress, Debra Monk's "Everybody's Girl", and how Karen Ziemba just kind of blended into the scenery.

Updated On: 6/5/08 at 05:54 PM

[jaystarr]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 5:58pm

The opening number is great! The score is great! The play somehow drag in between.
The scenery and effects are spectacular and well choreographed only to be over-shadowed by THE LION KING the following year.


and yes.. thanks Mat...I barely can't remember it...now after your descriptions... i can remember clearly now! thanks for mentioning the crow's nest~ my favorite part of the scenery... is it just me or the whole scene was covered by some sort the black panel curtain that open and close to reveal the three decks...

sorry its been awhile! 11 yrs...lol!

J*
Updated On: 6/5/08 at 05:58 PM

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 10:48pm

I loved this show. Victoria Clark, Michael Cerveris, David Garrison as a villian! Henry Stram. It was a great cast. One of my favorite shows.

"I can still remember how the table fell on Michael Cerveris!"

It was a piano, jaystarr.


Updated On: 6/5/08 at 10:48 PM

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 11:02pm

I'm used to people saying that Spamalot didn't deserve the best musical Tony, but I'm not used to people saying that DRS did.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 11:02pm

Don't really care for the "bathroom humor" in "Spamalot."

It's funny you say that as that was one of the reasons I didn't like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

[misschung]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 11:05pm

I went into TITANIC thinking it was going to stink and that the set was going to break down.

Don't you mean "sink"?

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 11:16am

I love all three scores (The Life, Steel Pier and Titanic) and I regret missing all three shows. Well, maybe not Steel Pier. That show's book was an absolute mess. Of course I was only 8 when The Life was out so no way in hell would my parents have taken me to that show.

[Ftworthguy]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 1:31pm

I remember there being some talk that Rosie's influence helped push TITANTIC over the top. Keep in mind the power she had at the time. She featured Broadway on her show, she was still the Queen of Nice and I remember hearing buzz that her support really helped keep the show open in the first place.

[Paul W. Thompson]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 2:53pm

I was just going to say that. Rosie O'Donnell seemed to mention "Titanic" on her TV show every single day. It was akin to Brooks Atkinson's incessant "Bring back 'Threepenny Opera'" newspaper crusade in 1954.

And also don't underestimate Richard Christiansen's rave review of "Titanic" in the Chicago Tribune. It was day after opening, on the front page, above the headline. Not in the arts section, on the front page!

Every arts critic west of the Hudson knew that he loved it. And his words were used by the show in all their New York advertising, by the way.

I'm just saying that on a national level, "Titanic" really stood out from the pack, and it had nothing to do with publicity surrounding the long-announced and delayed movie version.

Plus, the opening sequence ROCKS.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 3:25pm

I saw every musical that season and, to be truthful, was not overwhelmed by any of the new ones. Of the lot, I was rooting for The Life, not because it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, but better than the others -- and far more tuneful, if that's any criteria. Passing thought: Chicago opened before any of the others and it spoiled everything that came thereafter -- it was such an exhilarating show and its phenomenal success was gratifying to those of us who saw the original and found it superior to Chorus Line (just an opinion, let's not get into that war).