bryan2 said: "If you haven't seen Hugh live in a Broadway show you have no clue what he is like live. He is beyond description. I never liked him very much until seeing him in Boy From Oz...and I could not believe the wonderful feeling he gave the entire audience..very similar to the way Bette made you feel like you were in the room with greatness. I do believe the Music Man is one of the best musicals ever written and with the right Harold Hill it is amazing. I do have reservations about Sutton Foster..her voice to me is not Marion and I cant really believe she would accept this part...." I loved her in Milly ..perfect part for her I thought...and in Chaperone she was good...but I want to be proven wrong.."
Agreed I admit I am a huge Hugh Jackman convert after seeing him live. It wasn't on Broadway but a friend got comp tickets to Hugh Jackman's world tour and initially thought might as well they were free but that it was werid a) he had his own show b) it was an arena show. Sure enough was I blown away by his stage presence and I really didn't think he could sing that well live lol I assumed all his movies were autotuned. The arena was packed and I under estimated his fan based. For all the skeptics you just have to see live in order to "get it" I guess.
GiantsInTheSky2 said: "I just don’t get the hype around him in THIS - he has been on a world tour doing showtunes, standards, etc and IIRC, there was a whole thread on the tour and how sales weren’t as strong as they could be. In general I don’t think The Music Man is as good of a show as Hello Dolly, but I am looking forward to Sutton being back on Broadway."
The Music Man is a much better show than Hello Dolly. It’s not even up for debate. Better plot. More conflict. More romantic. More detailed characters. Better score. Hello Dolly barely has a story and there are no ballads as good as Til There Was You. The barbershop quartet music is better than anything on Hello Dolly. There’s a reason The Music Man beat out West Side Story for the Tony.
This show will definitely not need any press, but I hope Hugh Jackman goes on SNL doing the “Two Sides” sketch and gives us some Music Man moments
In our millions, in our billions, we are most powerful when we stand together. TW4C unwaveringly joins the worldwide masses, for we know our liberation is inseparably bound.
Signed,
Theater Workers for a Ceasefire
https://theaterworkersforaceasefire.com/statement
Speed said: "GiantsInTheSky2 said: "I just don’t get the hype around him in THIS - he has been on a world tour doing showtunes, standards, etc and IIRC, there was a whole thread on the tour and how sales weren’t as strong as they could be. In general I don’t think The Music Man is as good of a show as Hello Dolly, but I am looking forward to Sutton being back on Broadway."
The Music Man is a much better show than Hello Dolly. It’s not even up for debate. Better plot. More conflict. More romantic. More detailed characters. Better score. Hello Dolly barely has a story and there are no ballads as good as Til There Was You. The barbershop quartet music is better than anything on Hello Dolly. There’s a reason The Music Man beat out West Side Story for the Tony."
it was also 1958(ish) when it beat out WSS, just as Sound of Music had beaten Gypsy the season before. I don't think that wins your argument. I will take a good production of HD over one of MM any day, which just illustrates once again that we all have our own tastes.
Hello, Dolly and Music Man are not shows of the same genre and should not be compared head-on. Hello, Dolly is a farce. "A light dramatic composition marked by broadly satirical comedy and improbable plot."
Music Man is a romantic comedy. You're supposed to care about the characters. Music Man induces tears in some people (like me) at the climax. No tears from Dolly except maybe of laughter.
Some people think that farce is a silly and foolish waste of time. Some people think that romantic comedy is sentimental treacle. There is room for both and what is important is that both are near the head of their genres.
OlBlueEyes said: "Hello, Dolly and Music Man are not shows of the same genre and should not be compared head-on. Hello, Dolly is a farce. "Alight dramatic composition marked by broadly satirical comedy and improbable plot."
Music Man is a romantic comedy. You're supposed to care about the characters. Music Man induces tears in some people (like me) at the climax. No tears from Dolly except maybe of laughter.
Some people think that farce is a silly and foolish waste of time. Some people think that romantic comedy is sentimental treacle. There is room for both and what is important is that both are near the head of their genres."
I appreciate your post. Theatregoers are lucky to be seeing revivals, albeit in adjoining seasons, of very good examples of these two types of theatrical entertainment.
It is ironic that the theatre which housed the inaugural staging of West Side Story (Winter Garden) is now heavily speculated ( can't think of a more apt word) to house the 2020 revival of The Music Man.
bryan2 said: "If you haven't seen Hugh live in a Broadway show you have no clue what he is like live. He is beyond description. I never liked him very much until seeing him in Boy From Oz...and I could not believe the wonderful feeling he gave the entire audience..very similar to the way Bette made you feel like you were in the room with greatness. I do believe the Music Man is one of the best musicals ever written and with the right Harold Hill it is amazing. I do have reservations about Sutton Foster..her voice to me is not Marion and I cant really believe she would accept this part...." I loved her in Milly ..perfect part for her I thought...and in Chaperone she was good...but I want to be proven wrong.."
I agree with you - he is a different animal - live. I saw him as an afterthought in The Boy from Oz because my mom and I liked Peter Allen and we were blown away. We also saw his one-man show in 2011 - so we were not going to miss this.
On Sutton - yeah - I hope they don't change the original keys to the score that much to accommodate her - I think some of those songs need to be in a certain register to really be effective. But who knows - maybe she has a soprano voice that she rarely uses. Personally when they announced Hugh Jackman in this show - I thought the casting was perfect for him - but I was hoping for Audra McDonald when they said it was an older actress - that would have been phenomenal. But - Sutton has succeeded in everything else she has done so far - so I hope to be pleasantly surprised.
On another random note on the score - I saw Shirley Jones in a concert at a casino in Mississippi around 15 years ago - and she could still sing her songs from The Music Man, Carousel, and Oklahoma in the original keys - at 70! When I got to talk to her afterwards and remarked on it - she said she was glad someone finally noticed :)
I did not notice the first time I saw the clip...but the sound and rhythm of the tapdance seem like that of band music! That was why Hugh referred to a band in his post
Warren is probably testing some dance routines with Hugh - isn't there some kind of lab work they're supposed to be working on?
I bought one of the $159 -Mezz Row E seats on the aisle and now I can't go! UGH. Almost every show I've had tickets for recently I've had to reschedule.
Flowerlovestage5 said: "I bought one of the $159 -Mezz Row E seats on the aisle and now I can't go! UGH. Almost every show I've had tickets for recently I've had to reschedule."
It should be easy to make an argument to Telecharge about getting a refund, since (A) the theatre hasn't been announced, and (B) the seating chart isn't identical to the Winter Garden. When they announce the theatre, just call up and say you didn't know it would be in the Winter Garden. If they press you, say something like "I'm working til 8pm and could have made it to the Imperial in time, but the extra 10 minutes to get to the Winter Garden would make me late" blablabla.
I imagine they have to give anyone a refund if requested, because of the venue mystery.
Telecharge are usually very accommodating ... as long as you are able to buy a new ticket over the phone with them to replace the ticket you can’t use. They will put you on hold and call somebody affiliated with the office of the Music Man producers, and ask if it is ok to exchange your ticket(s). I have never been told no ... I think I have probably had to call to exchange for one reason or the other at least a dozen times. Then they will charge you for the new ticket(s) on a date when you can go, and once that has gone through they will refund your original ticket. I have had a true emergency before, and in that case whomever they spoke to agreed to refund me without an exchange/new purchase. But I think that is probably more of a 50/50 proposition.
Just saw Sutton perform almost 90 minutes nonstop at a concert, and she is just so talented! I think she does have some soprano upper register awaiting to be heard, and I cannot wait to see how she brings Marian to life!
If it isn't the Winter Garden does anyone know how they will handle changing the tickets. Do they just assign you a new seat in the same section/price range, do they call to tell you or email or do you need to login and do something.
Asking because I want to buy tickets for my great aunt and her husband but they are not internet users and don't have a cell phone so I just want the change over to be as easy as possible for them if it comes to that. Maybe I should give my contact details.
I can't help but wonder...would this show have rush...and if so what time would people start lining up...or would it be like Springsteen with lottery-but a ridiculously high priced lottery. Hmmm.
magictodo123 said: "I can't help but wonder...would this show have rush...and if so what time would people start lining up...or would it be like Springsteen with lottery-but a ridiculously high priced lottery. Hmmm."
Bit the bullet and bought tickets for January 2021. Row H in the side section, around $280 with fees. I believe I'm 5 seats in from the very end of the row - any estimated guesses if this seat will be partial view? I've never been in the Winter Garden (assuming that is the theatre) so have nothing to go off except 'view from my seat' pics.
I believe this from a workshop that took place recently and it seems like Max Clayton filled in for Hugh. Max is primarily a dancer, which makes me wonder if they are really beefing up Harold Hills choreography for this production. I hope Max continues with the show in the ensemble.
In our millions, in our billions, we are most powerful when we stand together. TW4C unwaveringly joins the worldwide masses, for we know our liberation is inseparably bound.
Signed,
Theater Workers for a Ceasefire
https://theaterworkersforaceasefire.com/statement
Call_me_jorge said: "side note... is that Scott Rudin standing next to Sutton? He’s looking really thin, and I mean good for him!"
Going by Sutton's posts a few weeks ago, it appears to have been a Dance Lab to work out some of the musical numbers (choreo, arrangements, etc). Not uncommon for the pre-production process.
And yes, that is Rudin. He does appear to have "slimmed" down recently, to the point where I was a little concerned about his health when I first noticed that.
Call_me_jorge said: "I believe this from a workshop that took place recently and it seems like Max Clayton filled in for Hugh. Max is primarily a dancer, which makes me wonder if they are really beefing up Harold Hills choreography for this production. I hope Max continues with the show in the ensemble.
I wouldn't be surprised if they beefed up the choreography for the role of Harold Hill. Warren Carlyle's strong point is choreography and he has worked with Hugh since Oklahoma! days... down to his recently concluded Music Tour. If you had a chance to see the recent Hugh show, there is a lot of emphasis on dance (including a long tap dance sequence and a dance-filled tribute to NewYork/B'way). Same is true with Sutton who plays Marian -- it would be a pity if her dance prowess is not equally tapped.
I keep seeing this recommended for me on YouTube and I finally watched it last night. I sincerely hope Rudin and co. consider Seth as a replacement for Hugh. He may not have the same star power, but he is exceptionally talented. Also, I was thinking how fun it would be if they got Alex Borstein(or Megan Mullally) to come in and play Mrs. Shinn alongside Seth.
In our millions, in our billions, we are most powerful when we stand together. TW4C unwaveringly joins the worldwide masses, for we know our liberation is inseparably bound.
Signed,
Theater Workers for a Ceasefire
https://theaterworkersforaceasefire.com/statement