Lennon on The Today Show- Page 2

Posted: 7/19/05 at 11:12am

OK, I timed it. The full cast and full on stage band from "Lennon," performing in "The Today Show Summer Concert Series," performed a four song medley from the show in exactly 3:56;19 -- from Katie Curic's intro to the end of "Give Peace A Chance" -- and they sounded "wonderful".

:)

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 11:14am

I think I'm going to cry shill.

Speaking of dyed hair, is Julia Murney not blonde now?

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 11:17am

Slacker are you working PR for the show or what? LOL
No, I expected a scene. A representation of the show like other shows have done in the past. LA CAGE ... did part of the title song including part of the Can-Can. LITTLE WOMEN had Sutton do "Astonishing," etc. Cast members in costume, perhaps a bit of dialogue to lead in, etc. Not a concert.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 11:23am

In defense of the logistical layout of the appearance, though - at least from how things are sounding about the show - I think it goes something like each actor (or most of them, anyway) playing Lennon at some point in his life at some time during the show. So, if they were going to do one scene, you'd probably have had only one or two cast members - maybe they wanted to show everyone off, and use more than one song, which for something like this, I can kind of see being logical.

[NBC]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 11:30am

Sadly, Julia was one of the few who did not get a solo on Today. (But since she really only has one big one in the show...and that's a mistake, IMHO.)

I don't think doing a medley was a good idea, I think they just should have picked a song that uses the whole cast well, like Give Peace a Chance, and let them sing the whole thing.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 11:33am

argh. That's disappointinggg. Why are they underusing herrr?!?!

Updated On: 7/19/05 at 11:33 AM

Posted: 7/19/05 at 11:40am

No PR WonderBoy -- although maybe they should consider me for the job, lol -- I'm just a lifelong Beatles and John Lennon fan who has been waiting years for a production like this to arrive, and IMO they've done a fantastic job.

Maybe you had to live through those times to fully appreciate it or maybe you'll go and realize that the message is as relevant today as it was way back then. Either way it's an excellent presentation of John Lennon's life and music by an incredible cast.

Peace.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 11:43am

Nobody said anything about the show's message. Nobody's denying that it has one, or that it's a nice one, or whatever.

Shiiiiiiiiiiiill.

[LaCageAuxFollesFan2]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 12:00pm

SLACKER - GET A F***** GRIP! Good Lord! God knows I have loved and adored shows in my day (La Cage anyone) but try - at least TRY to take an unbaised look at the show and what was presented on TV this morning. Whether or not you think it was a good or bad marketing strategy, it was demeaning to the genre of Musical Theatre.

Emcee said it the best "It's possible to like something, even if it's not great for the state of the integrity of the art. Having good singers doesn't make the show a good thing for the state of musical theatre" - I mean COME ON that is not that hard of an idea to wrap your head around.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 12:07pm

heh. Thanks. And heaven knows I love my occasional piece of destructive theatre. =)

Posted: 7/19/05 at 12:09pm

LuvtheEmcee, I hope you don't mind my saying so, but you're becoming offensive, IMO. You have your opinions, I have mine. I'm not mis-characterizing yours, please don't mis-characterize mine. This has already been discussed in other threads. I'm not going to argue with you on a message board. My opinion is as valid as yours.


LaCageAuxFollesFan2, I have a grip. It seems to me that you're losing yours. Have you considered that people who find it necessary to bash "Lennon" in every thread are biased too? I find it telling that you never seem to point that out to them.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 12:15pm

Oyyyyy. Like you said, I have my opinions. And clearly, I am expressing my opinions about things other than just the show. And no, really! I don't mind at all being told that I'm offensive. Stab me through the heart, why don't you? Maybe it won't hurt. Thanks for the consideration, though. I hope you don't mind when I express MY opinions about you. (You have yours, as you have so expressed, after all.) All I'm sayin'...

If you looked around, there are quite a few people on this board who saw Lennon, and speak very highly of it. That's certainly not everybody bashing. The show hardly has it so bad, at least so far.

Updated On: 7/19/05 at 12:15 PM

[Tiny-Toon]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 12:37pm

That performance made me NOT wanna see the show at all..

[ClareBear]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 2:54pm

Well it's not actually like that in the show. At all. It was arranged as a medley for the Today so, so they performed it as such.

The read show has so much energy that today's performance was not a good taste of what the show's really like. As you could see on the clip, the performers were antsy with enery and wanted to move around, unfortunately the way they were set up, standing at mics, made them seem very low energy and subdued.

I love lennon!!! Saw it four times in San Francisco, take it from on of the original Lennonites, the show is fantastic and if you only saw the performance on TV today, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

[teth]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 6:26pm

For those that did not see the performance...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633/?ta=y
(Just browse through the video clips of today.)

And like someone said above, the real show is not arranged like a concert, as they did for the Today show.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 6:27pm

oooh. Thanks!

[Thenardier]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 6:35pm

Thanks teth.

I want to see this, but don't know if I want to see it before other shows.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 6:36pm

They showed Julia for like three seconds. I'm sad.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 6:39pm

"And Dancingthrulife04, anyone who doesn't see John Lennon's music as part of his story -- I just don't know what to say -- what do you expect in a biographical musical about John Lennon?"

Slacker- You misunderstand me. I didn't say that I don't see John Lennon's music as part of his story. It's perfectly obvious that his music is part of his story, otherwise he wouldn't have wrote it and the musical wouldn't be called "Lennon." What I meant was, that in the way it was represented on television this morning, I didn't see it as being a part of a BROADWAY SHOW. I saw it as part of a perfectly marvelous concert. Like WonderBoy said, I expected some representation of the show in the form of a scene. You know, costumes, maybe a little dialogue. Something that might actually give you a sense of what the show is really like.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 6:39pm

Double post. Read above post.

Updated On: 7/19/05 at 06:39 PM

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 6:41pm

Marcy has the best smile. Gorgeous.

[Thenardier]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 6:42pm

Well, I don't know about you all, but I thought that looked really good.

I do agree, it looked too much like a concert - but w/e. That's how Broadway on Broadway and Stars in the Alley does it...sort of.

Anyway, poor Julia.

Who is the big black guy, with the solo?

EDIT: Chuck Cooper, nevermind. He was funny. Used the camera well.

AND Marcy Harriell!?

I love her Mimi.

Updated On: 7/19/05 at 06:42 PM

[Shawk]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 6:53pm

^ I think you mean Chuck Cooper. He had the "Instant Karma" solo. As far as I remember, Michael Potts didn't have a solo on this (although he sings an amazing version of "God" in the show).

[Thenardier]

Posted: 7/19/05 at 6:55pm

Oh, Caroline, or Change is right!

[Feathah]

Posted: 7/20/05 at 8:07am

I had to pause my Tivo to make sure that was really Terrence Mann! What a difference dyed hair makes! I guess he looked a great deal older than everyone else in the show and that's why he made the change? He looks a decade younger.