I'M GLAD MATILDA LOST LAST NIGHT!- Page 2

[Jimbob2]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 12:49pm

(B)limey! I've heard of losing with dignity (we Brits are known for it, ha!). But there's such a think as winning with dignity too. You guys.

[loliveve]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 12:50pm

Well, I'm not glad. But to each his own

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 12:53pm

I think that maybe Tim Minchin's solo work is better than his lyrics for other people--and more easily realized.

He uses too many words (to misquote Amadeus)--and not in a good way, the way Noel Coward or Stephen Sondheim or Cole Porter do when they're writing patter songs. (Or, even, the way some of the better hip-hop writers do.)

His clever ideas come too quickly and he doesn't seem to know enough about the specific vowel sounds and consonants that singers can use to make their songs understandable. Reading through Sondheim's books and interviews, he speaks a lot about writing lyrics that singers and actors can wrap their mouths around--and sometimes altering them for sing-ability.

If the actors can't make the lyrics mean something, then the song becomes about cleverness for the sake of cleverness--or, worse, the audience is left thinking, "I think that's clever but I can't understand what they're saying." At any rate, they're not connecting with the characters.

Perhaps the little girls are more understandable in London, but I don't think those lyrics, as written, help them.

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:09pm

That's entirely fair... though I don't necessarily agree with the overuse of words in this one, simply because Matilda the story/show is so focused on literacy and wordplay as a plot point. The real question is whether the "Best Score" Tony should be based purely on the score itself, or on the score as a component of the show. Is there an official American Theatre Wing answer to that? I managed to snag a copy of the written Matilda score and I've been poring over it and playing some of it, so maybe my appreciation comes from spending some time with it. I heard KB only once (while I was seeing the show), but I've been analyzing Matilda for months now and keep finding new things. I don't think it's flawless by *any* means, but there's a lot of it that really does blow me away. It's been a while since a score did that for me.

The sound design and muddled lyrics factor in Matilda is a real shame, and that's a good point about a composer needing to be aware of that and take it into account. (I did think that it sounded pretty clear at the Tonys!) But if we're looking purely at the score itself from a writing standpoint, to me there's no question that Matilda is superior to Kinky Boots. And I say that as a child of the 80s who adored (and still adores) Ms. Lauper - I'm perfectly happy for her that she received an award. I just wish it was in a different year.

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:11pm

Tim Minchin makes every singer a Patti Lupone!

[Kavana]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:11pm

The gay mafia is behind KB wins lol
If Elton John was attached to Matilda this would not have happened!

[newintown]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:13pm

It should also be acknowledged that many people (including me and my party) have had no trouble at all understanding the lyrics at Matilda. Perhaps it's active listening, perhaps it's acoustics.

But to state that the lyrics are universally incomprehensible is just foolish.

On the other hand, I also understood the lyrics at Kinky Boots, Hands On A Hardbody, and Bring It On, but it didn't really matter because they had so little to say beyond trite generalities.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:16pm

I understood every single word in the Cinderella segment, even when Victoria Clark got attacked by her dress.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:21pm

I didn't have any problem understanding the lyrics in MATILDA. I just didn't like what I heard, for the most part.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:26pm

Is this thread for real...?

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:29pm

More real than you and your sock puppet persona.

[DAME]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:32pm

I am glad Matilda lost as well. I can't say I was head over heels for Kinky... but at least I wasn't as bored.

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:33pm

Hey wait- the BRITISH are supposed to be gracious in victory or defeat? Weren't they the ones who burned down the White House as they retreated from Washington?

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:33pm

Totally agree with you, DAME.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:35pm

"More real than you and your sock puppet persona"

And that is?...

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:36pm

Your response makes no sense.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:38pm

It wasn't suppose to idiot.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:38pm

Your response to my response of my response also makes no sense. SEE YA!

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:39pm

This is me every time broadway guy makes a post.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:42pm

I know, Clyde. Ugh.

Also, who googles little children for their avatar? Pedophile much?

[kdogg36]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:43pm

Yes, I know Roald Dahl is dark. Does that mean that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a bad movie because it's entertaining?

Well, I thought Matilda was both very dark and very entertaining. I really enjoyed Kinky Boots, too, but I thought the territory it covered was just a bit too well-trodden. I'm not surprised or disappointed that Kinky Boots won, but I would have voted for Matilda (or perhaps Hands On A Hardbody - I know it wasn't nominated, but this is fantasy anyhow).

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:43pm

PalJoey, I agree with you about your Tim Minchin comments, but you seem to be confusing Musical Theatre and Musical Comedy in your initial statement.

"Whenever they try to do musicals, the only thing they can do is make them DARK."

Have you seen Betty Blue Eyes?

[broadway guy]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:45pm

Clyde get back under the bridge.

"Also, who googles little children for their avatar? Pedophile much?"

HAHAAHHAAHAH idiots.

[keithp]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:47pm

A sore loser. A sour loser. Take your pick.Now JoeKv99 proves there is such a thing as a sore winner. American shows and actors win quite regularly at theatre awards in the UK and I don't think I have heard such vitriolic, mean-spirited American-phobic sentiments when they do.
For the record haven't seen Kinky Boots. Liked Matilda without being bowled over by it but I really couldn't give a **** which country the creators come from. Maybe JoeKv99 needs to get out more or travel a bit. That might broaden their horizons and foster a generosity of spirit, which is somewhat lacking.
By the way loved Book Of Mormon and would be perfectly happy if it won the Olivier Award.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 6/10/13 at 1:48pm

You're calling ME a troll? That's rich.



Also you never seem to respond to anyone's accusations towards you. Yes, having your avatar as a random child does make you look like a pedophile. We're not the ones being idiots here but instead rational adults.