"I miss the big overtures !" — Page 2
Posted: 7/26/22 at 5:16pm
There might also be fewer overtures these days because there are fewer new musicals with a 'golden age' sound? An instrumental medley of a contemporary score's pop/rock/electronica/etc songs may not work as well as an overture for a more traditional score. I mean, it might work, but I think it's a bit of an unproven entity. (Or I may have just forgotten about the existence of such overtures.)
Posted: 7/26/22 at 5:19pm
joevitus said: " But, oh, exiting the theater and spilling out on the street with the music from the show you just saw still playing, merging with the exit music coming from the other theaters on the street. The crowds mingling, and the energy level high. What a magnificent experience! Really one of my great joys of seeing Broadway productions. Or at least, it was."
I agree 100%. Everyone seemed to be in a great mood out on the streets, exiting the theater and humming along to the music playing them out. Those days are looooooooooooooooooong gone.
Posted: 7/26/22 at 5:39pm
David10086 said: "I agree 100%. Everyone seemed to be in a great mood out on the streets, exiting the theater and humming along to the music playing them out. Those days are looooooooooooooooooong gone."
Seriously, most musicals still have exit music, don't they? What am I missing?
Posted: 7/26/22 at 7:14pm
James885 said: "I think it may have less to do with attention spans and more about how nowadays creatives prefer to just get right into the show. I remember an interview with Bartlett Sher a while back where he talked about The Light In The Piazza and the decision to not utilize the full overture featured on the cast recording in the show. He said something to the effect of how it felt off to have the audience staring at an empty stage for five minutes."
The current London revival of My Fair Lady (which has a 35 piece orchestra) shortened the overture to barely a minute, omitting most of the "On the street where you live" section. And there was no exit music. I completely disagree with Sher. The musicians deserve a chance to shine on their own, with an empty stage. A musical isn´t just the actors, though they´re all he cares about.
Posted: 7/26/22 at 7:17pm
CATSNYrevival said: "David10086 said: "I agree 100%. Everyone seemed to be in a great mood out on the streets, exiting the theater and humming along to the music playing them out. Those days are looooooooooooooooooong gone."
Seriously, most musicals still have exit music, don't they? What am I missing?"
Most shows I´ve seen recently had either a very short playout, or ended after the bows. The only 2010s and 2020s show I´ve seen with a long Exit music was ALW´s Cinderella.
Posted: 7/26/22 at 8:09pm
My latest musical is a pastiche of Golden Age era sounds, so I want a big overture and entr’acte. Unfortunately it’s also a twists-and-turns Hitchcock/noir sendup, so adding an overture would mean I’d have to cut a song or a scene to keep it from being overly long. So instead there’s a stinger intro to each act, and if it runs fast in the formal premiere I’ll add more there.
Posted: 7/26/22 at 10:13pm
One of the things this revival of FUNNY GIRL did well was preserve the full overture, without adding staging or fuss. Some fun lighting, that's it. Emphasis on the songs we know and love. I adore hearing the full overture, it's one of my favorites in musical theatre history.
Posted: 7/27/22 at 8:58am
Luminaire2 said: "I’ve always loved a good overture. Gypsy is one of my favourites. When I was a kid I was in a local production of Show Boat and I recall loving that overture.
but it also depends on the style of show for me. Some shows just don’t suit an overture."
"Gypsy" has one of the greatest overtures of all time. Once it ends, there's no doubt you're in for the time of your life (no matter how bad some of the performances might be.)
Posted: 7/28/22 at 11:25am
BalconyClub said: "bwayphreak234 said: "...Say what you will about TOOTSIE, but having that full overture AND entr'acte to boot was such a treat..."
During the out-of-town TOOTSIE tryout in Chicago, the overture was added on the third night. It was ecstasy.
There’s no overture for THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, just a recording of walking high heels for a little over 40 steps. The sound of the clicks of the heels is on a rotation to different speakers in the house during the short sequence."
I was going to say that I missed the big overturn, except in the case where the score is so mediocre that there is nothing worth including in the overture. I was going to site Tootsie as an example. There was an overture and, I even think, an entre-act, but they were IMO awful because I could discern no music worthy of inclusion in an overture. (I am one of the people who was happy with Tootsie's book winning the Tony, but disliked the show a lot...because I thought the music stunk).
There is no greater way to get the excitement going than a great overture; of course, there are a lot of overtures that are not Gypsy or Mame or Funny Girl or Candide, but there are so many good ones that invite you in: think every musical Jerry Herman ever wrote, every R&H show, and so many more. I can think of a number of thoroughly enjoyable overtures to mediocre shows, because there were enough melodious songs in the score to start the enjoyment.
PS -- I recently saw a great production of SOM that began with an overture. I remember because a couple of times the audience broke into applause. I always felt the Carousel had such a great theme song that it served the purpose of an overture, but there clearly is a great overture hidden in that score.
PPS -- I also agree with Dollypop re the theatricality of the Man of La Mancha overturn in the original downtown ANTA theatre. It was so exciting. So many great overtures that year: in one season, Man of La Mancha, Sweet Charity and Mame.
Updated On: 7/28/22 at 11:25 AM
Posted: 7/28/22 at 1:08pm
Can we just take a moment to bask in the glory that is the overture to Merrily We Roll Along?! I think it's one of the most exciting, beautifully rendered pièces of orchestral music created for musical theatre. Bittersweet, in a way; imagine hearing that during the original production and then seeing the disjointed show that followed. (Hey, I think the score is tremendous but it's undeniable the issues the original production faced.)
Posted: 7/28/22 at 10:25pm
Jarethan said: "Agreed. I also think that Follies had what was essentially an overture at the beginning, when the ghosts walked the stage And the guests arrived. Different, but what would we expect from Sondheim and Prince."
Indeed it is a staged overture. And it is titled "Overture" in the score. In fact there are two instrumental pieces at the top of the show: the ghosts appear first during the "Prologue" and the guests arrive during the "Overture."
Updated On: 7/28/22 at 10:25 PM
Posted: 7/28/22 at 10:58pm
Jarethan said: "Agreed. I also think that Follies had what was essentially an overture at the beginning, when the ghosts walked the stage And the guests arrived. Different, but what would we expect from Sondheim and Prince."
Not familiar with the Follies musical but I’m sure it was beautiful!
Posted: 7/29/22 at 8:01am
It isn’t just beautiful but also haunting (I guess that might also describe the tone of the whole show). It’s also unusual because the songs that feature in it were mostly cut from the show. Normally this wouldn’t make any sense for an Overture/(Prologue) but in the case of Follies I think the novelty of the melodies adds to the atmosphere and makes the music even more special because it is its own unique entity. You can listen to a very good recording of it on the 2011 Follies revival recording available everywhere.
Posted: 7/29/22 at 9:58am
Brave Sir Robin2: One of the things this revival of FUNNY GIRL did well was preserve the full overture, without adding staging or fuss. Some fun lighting, that's it. Emphasis on the songs we know and love.
Completely agree. The overture was THE highlight for me at Funny Girl.
It’s also one of the reasons I love Encores! and my fingers are crossed we still get to hear them now that Rob Berman is gone.
Posted: 7/30/22 at 8:43pm
Brave Sir Robin2 said: "One of the things this revival of FUNNY GIRL did well was preserve the full overture, without adding staging or fuss. Some fun lighting, that's it. Emphasis on the songs we know and love. I adore hearing the full overture, it's one of my favorites in musical theatre history."
One of my favorites, too. It's one of those overtures that truly let you leave your 'troubles behind', and you're immersed in the production so early on. I love it. I miss big overtures!
