I loathe the term and hatred toward "JUKE BOX Musicals"- Page 3

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 12:09pm

like i said before

"in my opinion, lennon is a musical that is fun because of the great songs and performers, but also artistically significant because of it's messages."

and i don't think that lennon was made into a musical just because of the songs...there was much more substance to the messages. i think it did so poorly because of the pre-existing controversy over lennon's life in association to yoko ono and the beatles. people have many differnt views on how it all happened, and they can't accept another view if it's not their own.

sorry for delving into a whole other discussion. but that's what i think.

[Phantom2]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 12:11pm

Let's take We Will Rock You for example. That show gives you an entire rock concert experience. You can't see QUEEN perform today, so this is the next best thing.

[robbiej]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 12:15pm

Isn't QUEEN touring again?

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 12:17pm

Phantom2, if your intention is to just enjoy the music then see a cover band. That's actually the next best thing to seeing Queen perform their songs; then pesky things like a plot won't get in your way.

[Phantom2]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 12:17pm

I was referring to Freddie.

[robbiej]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 12:19pm

If you want a rock concert experience, why not go see a rock concert. And no one...certainly no one I know in the theatre community...could possibly replace Freddie Mercury.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 12:20pm

Personally, I feel the original scores, jukebox shows, and reviews all have their place as they are normally targeting different audiences. To believe one form of the genre should be denied is to believe ALL forms of the genre be denied. Every type of musical, no matter which elements are original, has had successes and flops and the truth is, original scores still dominate Broadway. All Shook Up was a good idea, but the book was never plausible or strong enough to carry the fun tunes and the producer was not good enough to recognize this and the many details it would take to correct the problem. Mamma Mia works not only for the familiarity of the songs, but because Benny and Bjorn were strong songwriters, whose songs were quite specific to emotions, character, and storytelling. The jukebox shows are popular now, but they have been around for a long time. This is not really that new. The success of Mamma Mia just opened the door for more producers to try their luck. And while Movin' Out is a ballet, it only reinforced the idea that a strong book or concept coupled with a beloved tunestack can strike gold, but there's more to it than just slapping together a story that fits.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 12:22pm

the only reason to see we will rock you was because of Tony Vincent.
<-------

now that he has left, the show can die for all I care.

and I love how a lot of you are using the phrase "original musical"... that's truly a riot.

[MackieManiac]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 12:29pm

IN MY LIFE is an original score ... my point is.. how many shows with original scores flop each year... yet we dont damn every future attempt to produce one. However now that there is a succession of unsuccessful "juke Box musicals" we seem to be hearing a lot of children babbleing "I hope this puts an end to the JUKE BOX musical!"

As for taking ALL SHOOK UP over SEUSSICAL.. yes.. at least ALL SHOOK UP looked like everyone was trying to achieve the same goal.. with SEUSSICAL you had everyone on a different page.. it was a train wreck!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 12:39pm

This isn't an argument I feel like having, because I feel like people too often blur the troubles of "original" versus "unoriginal" and "good" versus "bad." There's original material that's crap, and there's unoriginal material that isn't really so bad. And then there's also just the principal behind the fact of taking something that already exists -- but in reality, everything stems at one point or another from something else.

Anyway, I don't understand why you "loathe" the term -- it wasn't created to be derogatory, but a "jukebox" is just what it is, really.

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 12:43pm

Mackie, as I said before it is not an apt analogy. There cannot be a category that is "original scores" that is far too broad, "catalogue musicals" are a limited category that people can easily idenitify and like or dislike. Exactly as they do with "musicals made from movies" and "Disney shows."

I think things can be fun and artistically calid at the same time, I think that several shows on Bway now fit that bill: Producers, DRS, Spelling Bee, and some others.
The idea of people dancing in the ailse during a show though, really bothers me, again if you want to see a concert, why not go to a concert?

[Phantom2]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 12:55pm

"If you want a rock concert experience, why not go see a rock concert. And no one...certainly no one I know in the theatre community...could possibly replace Freddie Mercury."

But you can hear his tunes performed by an amazing cast. That's what I call fun!

[hot_brdwy_diva]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 1:29pm

Jukebox musicals just seem tacky to me. It always seems like something is missing. I do agree they are fun and everyone has their own opinion

My opinion probably stems from the fact that I was in showchoir and we would cram 4 songs together with similar themes or who were written/sung by the same artist and then try to fit them together. Yes it is fun but the story with it never really works.

Updated On: 9/21/05 at 01:29 PM

[showbiz]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 1:55pm

Seems that people want to lump a bunch of shows into the "jukebox" category so they can trash it easier.

There is one thing I hate on Broadway though and that is the fact that Disney is infecting Broadway with kiddie musicals. Those belong in Disneyland.

[Bdwyguy30]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 2:25pm

I remember seeing a staged reading of a new "jukebox musical" that Richard Maltby was directing called 'The Sixties Project'. I think it was like two years ago. Don't know if it is still being worked on or not but I must say everyone in attendance was moved. You could tell that the piece needed work but you could also see that if they put the work in it would be something wonderful and risk taking. It went from I believe don't qoute me 1960 through 1970 and followed a group of young people, I know that sounds cliche and done before but how it was conceived was pretty impressive and how the songs were used were great. They didn't use any one composer instead it was from various artists throughout that period and the songs moved with the story and times and they also had Kennedy and King's death incorporated into the story. Anyway, if something like that gets produced I would love to see it. But that may be too good to be true. Is anyone else familiar with that piece, I remember they had a terrific cast.

[MackieManiac]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 2:34pm

It is just a term that grates on me.. it is like when a theatre has a night for the Gay and Lesbian Community and someone refers to it a GAY NIGHT.. just makes my skin crawl... like the mention of Ann Miner
Updated On: 9/21/05 at 02:34 PM

[kate2]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 8:53pm

i dont care what anyone says, I LOVE ALL SHOOK UP! its my favorite show, thank you very muchoooo! :)

[teth]

Posted: 9/21/05 at 9:32pm

I just don't think there should be this sort of pre-judgement on the quality of all the "jukebox" musicals just because they used an existing (and famous) catalog.

At the same time, I do somewhat agree with a point above on how the audience would not accept new things. One of my first musical experiences was Mamma Mia. As a new fan of the form of musicals, I was quite reluctant to see a show of original works at the time (strange, I know).