Broadway Star Joined: 5/28/13
MezzA101 said: "Behind the Scenes of a Short-Lived Broadway Musical
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/06/03/behind-the-scenes-of-a-short-lived-broadway-musical"
What a great article. I loved Lempicka despite its flaws; reading of some of the struggles they had developing things makes it clear there were lots of things they were uncertain of. If they felt husband wasn’t working and the “heart of the show” was the love triangle maybe they should’ve waited to jump to broadway. I still think someone needs to tell them the show is about a woman who tried to capture women not a love triangle and then the show will open up
Don’t quote me on this, but apparently the artists haven’t been paid yet for the cast album recording sessions. We could be looking at another Paradise Square dilemma here.
Amazon has pushed back the physical release date to July 19, and who knows if that will stick.
bwayobsessed said: "I still think someone needs to tell them the show is about a woman who tried to capture women not a love triangle and then the show will open up"
The problem is, I think the show should have been about a woman portraying women in her art, BUT ALSO being torn between 3 different lovers: her husband, the Baron (which we stupidly hear about but never see), and Rafaela.
Or, all these people pine for Tamara when she pines for her art (the SUNDAY of it all).
Broadway Star Joined: 5/28/13
ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "bwayobsessed said: "I still think someone needs to tell them the show is about a woman who tried to capture women not a love triangle and then the show will open up"
The problem is, I think the show should have been about a woman portraying women in her art, BUT ALSO being torn between 3 different lovers: her husband, the Baron (which we stupidly hear about but never see), and Rafaela.
Or, all these people pine for Tamara when she pines for her art (the SUNDAY of it all)."
I hear you but I think if the love triangle is the focus the time we spend on Suzy and the baroness (scenes I like) feel out of place and taking away from the focus, If it’s about the women she paints it makes them make sense. And husbands role can be sorta uninteresting and that’s okay
I hear ya. There are many ways to focus a story. Unfortunately, this team didn't choose one 😔
ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "1) I'd still like to see her SUNDAY IN THE PARK (which was supposed to happen at Williamstown in 2017 before it got scrapped due to the Gyllenhaal revival).
Maybe her Sunday in the Park will be great. The New Yorker article certainly makes the case it's the artist musical she was actually interested in. Chavkin only pursuing Lempicka when doing the Sondheim show was taken off the table, isn't exactly a ringing endorsement for the material on her part.
Also, after just finishing a show unfavorably compared to Sunday in the Park with George, it's a little strange she's jumping into a Gatsby musical when a different Great Gatsby musical is already playing on Broadway.
The article may have been simplifying her trajectory to joining onto Lempicka. There's probably more nuance.
As for Gatsby, these things are in development for years and sometimes there's no control over timing (such as Michael Greif directing 3 shows this spring). She signed on to this sometime in 2022 (after Frecknall departed) and I think some people were expecting the current Broadway Gatsby to die at Paper Mill or have a Lempicka-length Broadway run.
Broadway Star Joined: 4/30/16
TaffyDavenport said: ""
I'm so happy Elisabeth and Sara have called the show on this take. Deliberately ignoring the existence of 2 queer female-identifying critics is in fact the misogyny they're trying to blame the show's failure on.
The cast recording is delayed. Again. Now 6/18
https://x.com/lempickamusical/status/1798822675068178490?s=46&t=t_xGTo8WzVEApPhCrbrgPw
Noooo...What I cannot wait to hear from the studio recording
* The "Overture" very nice electronic club sounds
* "Unseen" when Lempicka makes her entrance as an older woman with a lower voice slay girl slay sounds so cool
* The end of "Our Time" when Lempicka going wild
* "Plan and Design" when Lempicka talent powers are metaphorically singing out of her bodyyy and also priming us for "Woman Is" melodically
* "Don't Bet Your Heart" so high energy fun and charismatic
* "I Will Paint Her" the only natural consequence of "Don't Bet Your Heart".....ultra modern and passionate 'I want song'
* "Perfection" industrial grungy pop with this kind of haunting satire on political 'progress'
* The Most Beautiful Bracelet" cooooool smokey vocals
* "Woman Is" is defying gravity on ecstasy
* "Speed" those intense final few hours in the club with the heartbreaking end
* "In the Blasted California Sun" yay old Lempicka back again, all nostalgic with those warm low tones back again yummy
* "Finale" YASSS OLD LEMPICKA YOUR LIPS, YOUR SHARP TEETH...Slay girl one last time while surrounded by YOUR GIRLS. AND THEN YOU START POINTING TO THE AUDIENCE INSTEAD OF THE GIRLS, SO THEATRICAL AND CHILLING
This score is STUNNINGGGG
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/14/20
There are still people whining about the closing of this show, saying things like "we need to rethink the system". Oh shut up. This show did not have an audience. And if it did, it was a very small one, and that is not enough to keep the show open. All those people who were always going- did they tell their friends to go? Did those friends pay full price? Did they keep spreading the word? I'm thinking-- no. So- stop whining I beg of you
Broadway Star Joined: 5/28/13
hearthemsing22 said: "There are still people whining about the closing of this show, saying things like "we need to rethink the system". Oh shut up. This show did not have an audience. And if it did, it was a very small one, and that is not enough to keep the show open. All those people who were always going- did they tell their friends to go? Did those friends pay full price? Did they keep spreading the word? I'm thinking-- no. So- stop whining I beg of you"
No one is whining about it in this thread so you chose the wrong place to post
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/14/20
Yet this is a thread about Lempicka, yes? So...I don't see a problem. If you do...get over it
Understudy Joined: 1/8/24
hearthemsing22 said: "There are still people whining about the closing of this show, saying things like "we need to rethink the system". Oh shut up. This show did not have an audience. And if it did, it was a very small one, and that is not enough to keep the show open. All those people who were always going- did they tell their friends to go? Did those friends pay full price? Did they keep spreading the word? I'm thinking-- no. So- stop whining I beg of you"
it doesnt help that the whining was elevated by the director and other creative team members during the closing curtain speech
blaming everyone else but themselves for a spectacular bomb
it is much easier to fault the general public for any variety of -ist or -phobia accusations than to look within
the show failed for two simple reasons
not enough people cared about the subject matter to check it out
not enough people thought the show was any good
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/3/05
hearthemsing22 said: "Yet this is a thread about Lempicka, yes? So...I don't see a problem. If you do...get over it"
Some people like the show…get over it. They are allowed to whine about it closing if they want. You also don’t get to dictate what people talk about on the internet.
telling people to shut up? Get over it!
Broadway Star Joined: 5/28/13
hearthemsing22 said: "Yet this is a thread about Lempicka, yes? So...I don't see a problem. If you do...get over it"
But you are directly addressing the people who are whining, who were not doing that here so it seems misplaced.
I do think it’s silly that Lempicka closed so quickly and W4E and HK got a bunch of Tony noms but alas.
Featured Actor Joined: 9/25/22
I finally got around to watching this show (iykwim), but had to stop three times during act one.
Man, disjointed is really the word. The music is not easy or catchy or consistent, the costumes are....weird, the set is ok but a bit random, you never even see her real work.....and it all feels like an uninteresting coming out story.
....if you can't make this fascinating woman's life dynamic on the stage, stop and let someone else do it. Or rethink your approach.
SitpwG actually worked, in spite of the public not really caring about the artist or his work or love affairs. This show really doesn't do anything with the potential subject matter. It's a shame.
Videos