Marc Shaiman's on the board! — Page 5

Yo Sheekala!

Bravo on your fantastic explanation of the good stuff to be mined in "CATCH ME IF YOU CAN" I couldn't have (and didn't) say it better myself! (Of course, I WAS trying to be concise!!)

I hope we do you proud

Oh, and for the tired business man, let's not forget that besides all that "father/son, society's obssesion with what's on the outside" stuff, "CATCH" will also offer lots of what Frank did it for...sex!

Updated On: 1/27/04 at 09:01 AM

And to think I tried to explain it without my morning coffee! Oh and there better be SEX or I ain't coming(hey look ma a pun!)and Chasing there does seem to be a lighter but no less insightful tone to the postings, and as someone who embraced the "dark side" a few times I can tell you I'm having just as much fun. 2004 is all about the love because "without love..."

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Craig, maybe our Jedi mind trick did work?! But it looks like BoB didn't get the memo. Kiddin' cause I love!

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A lovely young lass named Sara Byrne, if you do a Google search you'll find the show's website, it's all very....um,well John Davidson was the last host so that might explain it. But they put ya up in a nice hotel, and the pay is wonderful. Hey when I think about it I spent Christmas with Mickey Rooney onstage in Atlantic City and I host a beauty pageant, I'm a has-been before I was ever a has!

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Marc S., did you say there's gonna be sex? I want sex on the level of Michael Bennett's aborted project "Scandal." You know, legendary levels of sex. I'm greasing my pan for the opening as I type.

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"'You wanna be different? Be good, that will be different enough!'" "Well, that's my motto!" -

Mr. Shaiman,

What an enormous breath of fresh air it is to read these words from you! I am a composer/lyricist myself and I am always hearing from people (both writers and not) that shows need to be ever more groundbreaking, shocking and never-before-seen in order to succeed.

I think one of the problems we are having on Broadway today is that people are spending so much time looking for ways to make a show "new" and "grounbreaking" that they forget to make it GOOD!

Botton line: above all else, a show needs to be good first. People don't want to pay $100 + for a show only to leave the theatre scratching their heads. They want to be entertained.
The way to be "new" and "groundbreaking" is simply to write a
damn good show!

I salute you!!!

Four words, Marc:

DEBBIE ALLEN DANCE NUMBERS

That's all I have to say.

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Phantom,

If you're second-generation Hollywood Royalty, you could become Mr. Golden Globes just like theatre legend Melanie Griffith!

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I'm way behind on this thread but I wanted to comment on BoB's thoughts on "musicalizing" movies (I hope I'm not bastardizing the language too much with that term).

I don't think the aim of a writer is to REPEAT the success or failure of a film in a new format; rather, I think serious writers are inspired by an aspect of the film that they believe wasn't addressed adequately, did not work, or deserves to be explored. Thus "Wicked" (a BOOK adaptation, but the example still applies) focuses more on the relationship between Glinda and Elphaba; "The Spitfire Grill" uses music to address emotional peaks that the film could not attain. The best examples (and I don't want to imply the my previous two examples are the BEST ones) serve as a complement to the films on which they are based. Verbatim transcriptions with songs that don't ADD ANYTHING are folly.

IMHO, then, the best properties are the films that didn't live up to their potential... not the ones that everyone knows and loves.

Oh, and Spielberg's adaptation of "Catch Me If You Can" could have been better... so we'll just have to wait and see.

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Updated On: 1/27/04 at 12:01 PM

ya'll better back up off of Phantom... he is MY trophy boi

I'm very surprised at this year's nominations, actually, particularly the ones for Johnny Depp and Keisha Castle-Hughes. Good for them. Seriously, let's have some Debbie Allen dance numbers. I completely agree

Craig, broadwayguy2 and I can all be hot chorus boys!

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Bright and Cheery thoughts bedamned, if it's a fight for Phantom2's "trophy" you want, you've got it BG2! I'll send you back to the convent wit da quickness yo!

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