MATILDA WAS ROBBED- Page 9

[jnb9872]

Posted: 6/15/13 at 11:07am

Once you've looked at the graph, take a look at the % Capacity numbers, too. Hasn't had an empty seat seven weeks running now. Keeping in mind, too, that the staging eliminates the possibility of standing room and MATILDA is doing just fine for what it can.

The producers know what their nut is. They know what their plan is. At 100% capacity and presale running months ahead, they can hold all the chips and are pricing their tickets exactly where they want to... and it just so happens that they are doing it at an average of $24/seat less than KINKY BOOTS.

Everybody pay yeah!

Sorry, couldn't resist...

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 6/15/13 at 4:56pm

I've been thinking about Bertie and Billy, and you know, yeah, Bertie Carvel should have gotten Best Actor.

Billy was great and moving, and deserved the Tony. But, really, Bertie did so much more than Billy with his performance. I mean, his voice that he gave to the Trunchbull and the mannerisms that he did with the face and the body, like the hands, were really genius and Bertie really got into it, esepecially the end. Bertie really stood out this season. Heck, I heard from an interview from an ensemble member that he STAYS INTO CHARACTER off-stage. And his character is crazy. That’s dedication.

I bet that the votes might have been so close between him and Billy!

[binau]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 12:59am

"Was it the sound design or the way the lyrics were put to music, I am not sure."

I think this is the question that needs to be answered before the lyrics are dismissed....the problem is there are so many variables here that could affect being able to understand the lyrics:

1. The songs are being sung by very young girls

2. The songs are being sung with strong accents

3. The sound design might be poor

4. The lyrics are too poetic and not simple or clear.


I really don't think the issue is poetry here. The lyrics for Naughty are actually quite straightforward and not poetic:

http://www.maxilyrics.com/matilda-the-musical-original-cast-naughty-lyrics-befe.html

That Sondheim discussion seems to be more about being able to understand the meaning of lyrics rather than being able to hear them correctly.

Updated On: 6/16/13 at 12:59 AM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 1:11am

Heck, I heard from an interview from an ensemble member that he STAYS INTO CHARACTER off-stage.

Well, that's something not every actor can do.

[gchris11]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 1:42am

Saw it in London and in NYC. Could not understand it in either city. And no, it was not the accents. It was sloppy singing (at least it was in London). I think it was poor sound design in NYC. I was with someone when I saw it in NYC and he could not understand it either.

[beagle]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 1:46am

I saw it in London, but not in NYC. I had no trouble understanding the lyrics in London. From the Broadway clips I've seen (TV performances), I can still understand them but I think the enunciation is slightly clearer with the London performers, probably because the accents are native for the UK performers and not for the US ones.

[chewy5000]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 2:07am

While I wouldn't necessarily use the word poetic, Tim Minchin does write very wordy and rhythmic songs, such that it can be very difficult to catch every word on first listen.

[Movidude742]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 2:24am

"While I wouldn't necessarily use the word poetic, Tim Minchin does write very wordy and rhythmic songs, such that it can be very difficult to catch every word on first listen."

In a few cases it seems that the emphasis is often on the wrong syllable too. Combined with the accents and the sound design it makes clarity very difficult.

When he is not trying to be overly clever or sophisticated, like When I Grow Up, it is really quite beautiful. I have said if before, that may be my favorite new song of the season.

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 5:00am

I doubt Minchin is trying to be overly clever. And I don't find the lyrics overly clever. I agree that there are lots of words, which sometimes makes intelligibility a challenge. But it's a show about words, about the power of being literate. So it's a choice that works for me.

I enjoyed Kinky Boots. I loved, and was much more moved by, Matilda.

[John Adams]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 6:16am

But it's a show about words, about the power of being literate. So it's a choice that works for me.

Exactly. He also includes examples of spoonerisms (like "I'm a barrelina") and run-on sentences; choices which completely work as examples of child-speak.

The issue nay-sayers are having pertains to only one song (Revolting Children), possibly two if patter songs like, Telly don't happen to be your cup of tea. But again, many people don't share that issue, so it's hard to recognize the complaint as a universal one.

Should the Sondheim quote also be applied to Getting Married Today from Company, or Johanna/Antony's duet about a reticule in Kiss Me from Sweeney...? How many of the nay-sayers can truthfully say they understood those lines on the first pass? Updated On: 6/16/13 at 06:16 AM

[After Eight]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 7:10am

The Matilda audibility problem extends to lines that are spoken as well as sung.

[John Adams]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 7:57am

I wonder if Kinky Boots will encounter a reversed critique when it crosses the pond. When the actors in the roles add the authenticity of speech, will the score and the dialog seem more exposed as being "American"? Updated On: 6/16/13 at 07:57 AM

[Theater'sBestFriend]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 7:57am

"Your claim was that the grosses were trending to drop in ticket price and total gross. Neither were true. Let's establish that before we start to discuss why they aren't increasing."

Thank you for letting me clarify. I meant the show slid in relative terms, compared to the other shows that opened this season. Pat Healy wrote about this in the NY Times (link below). My point was that I think this has happened despite the many merits of the show because of its widely noted audibility problem. Someone analyzed it above as follows:

"The main criticism with Minchin is his command of prosody (or lack thereof) and his sometimes odd setting of rhythmic values to stressed and unstressed syllables, the blink-and-you'll-miss-it assault of ideas in his songs, and somewhat odd use of enjambment that can break up ideas over different melodic segments."

This thread is about whether Matilda on Broadway was "robbed" of the Tony for Best Musical. The analysis above explains why it wasn't, and why it kept losing Best Musical contests several times with diverse voter pools -- not because of some conspiratorial fantasy about a handful of dissed producers masterminding their revenge. That wouldn't explain the loss with Outer Critics Circle and Drama League, which don't reflect producers. The conspiracy theory ignores the real problems with the show, which is why it didn't climb to the top 5 level of blockbusters like its competitors with the general public after opening.


Pat Healy NY Times on Matilda Box Office Slide

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 7:59am

Yeah, I have to agree that the sound design was terrible. For example:

*SPOILER*

When Trunchbull has her entrance after it was revealed that she's Miss Honey aunt and murderer of her father AND as a child was flying after she threw her around, there were some voices, and I couldn't understand them AT ALL.

*END*

But for the dialects and diction, I understood them 99% of the time. Updated On: 6/16/13 at 07:59 AM

[John Adams]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 8:14am

>> Someone analyzed it above as follows:

"The main criticism with Minchin is his command of prosody (or lack thereof) and his sometimes odd setting of rhythmic values to stressed and unstressed syllables, the blink-and-you'll-miss-it assault of ideas in his songs, and somewhat odd use of enjambment that can break up ideas over different melodic segments."

Someone isn't familiar with how young children speak and write due to their immature command of language skills. The qualities listed above are not consistently present in every song; very few, in fact. Minchin experiments with words and rhythms in a similar manner that children do when learning a language.

"Enjabment" is too sophisticated a term to apply, here. "Run-on sentences" is more applicable, because it mirrors the process of how children learn language skills. (...and is in keeping with what the show is about.) Not sure what's meant by "the blink-and-you'll-miss-it assault of ideas"? Does that refer to Revolting Children, again? Updated On: 6/16/13 at 08:14 AM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 8:49am

Heck, I heard from an interview from an ensemble member that he STAYS INTO CHARACTER off-stage.

How about in between shows on matinee days?

[John Adams]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 8:51am

How about in between shows on matinee days?

I heard he takes a meal with Daniel Day-Lewis. It's fascinating to hear the conversations between Trunchbull and Lincoln...

[Theater'sBestFriend]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 9:08am

The reason that the lyrics, deliciously clever as they are, are so vexingly difficult for so many people to hear in Matilda on Broadway has been the subject of fascinating debate. Explanations include both writing skill and sound design. Whatever the reason, the fact of their inaudibility to many is widely noted. During the Tony campaign, the show's supporters took regularly to printing the lyrics, recommending the London recording, suggesting seeing the show twice, and chastising New York audiences as lazy -- all in tacit acknowledgment of the problem and, ultimately, an unsuccessful attempt to explain it away.

Is Marilda a wonderful show? Absolutely! Was it "robbed" of the Best Musical awards on Broadway? No - it lost them, over and over. That is surely heartbreaking for many who love the show for various reasons. But being ungracious about losing a series of competitions and saying the show was robbed only invites analysis of its flaws, and does Matilda on Broadway no favor.

[Theater'sBestFriend]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 9:12am

Oh, and yes -- New York theatergoers were not only lazy, they were shallow, as some of Matilda's proponents kindly explained.

[John Adams]

Posted: 6/16/13 at 9:15am

Whatever the reason, the fact of their inaudibility to many is widely noted.

Like fortunes from fortune cookies, I'd add the words, "on this Board" to every sentence. ...and acknowledging the poor sound design in response to the myriad of "I couldn't understand a single word" issues isn't really an example of "tacit". Updated On: 6/16/13 at 09:15 AM