Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

#1

Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 2:31pm

One thing that I have been noticing about Broadway musicals is that with most of them that I've watched, Act one is usually very action packed and exciting, but then in the second act it starts to get a little dull. There were one or two musicals that remained consistent throughout the whole show, but it seems like a lot of them lose that excitement in the second act of the show. A good example for me would be Dreamgirls. I haven't seen the Broadway show, so I'm judging it based off the movie, but the first act was great while the second is kind of a snoozer. I believe that's a big reason why it was snubbed for best picture at the Oscars.

#2

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 2:33pm

SECOND ACT TROUBLE
http://www.amazon.com/Second-Act-Trouble-Broadways-Musical/dp/1557836310

And fun and comprehensive look at the phenomenon.

#3

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 2:34pm

I have to agree that sometimes I find musicals a bit more interesting in the first act as opposed to the second. That said, I can't really think of anything that falls apart in the second act right now, but if I do I'll post here.

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"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611

Updated On: 7/29/08 at 02:34 PM

#4

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 2:34pm

I can - NEXT TO NORMAL!!

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I know you. I know you. I know you.

#5

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 2:37pm

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, for one.

NEXT TO NORMAL was crap all the way through.

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"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." Thomas Pynchon, GRAVITY'S RAINBOW "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Philip K. Dick My blog: http://www.roscoewrites.blogspot.com/

#6

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 2:38pm

Sunday in the Park with George is one I've always thought was AMAZING in Act 1, and draggy in Act 2. (though a second-tier Sondheim is still better than most...)

#7

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 3:02pm

Definitely Sunday in the Park. The first act is a lot of fun, but the second act is a real clunker until the song Move On, then it brightens a bit again.

#8

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 3:09pm

not a musical...but MOOSE MURDERS has a dreadful second act!

#9

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 3:11pm

I would include the second half of Into the Woods' Act 2. All those ballads right after each other kind of induce a stupor after Last Midnight.

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White, a blank page or canvas. His favorite - so many possibilities. F--- you, Ms. Johnson. Word.

#10

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 3:17pm

I prefer the second act of SITPWG actually. Then again I also like Act III of Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog the best when most don't.

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"This ocean runs more dark and deep than you may think you know...I'll be the fear of the fire at sea." -Marie Christine

#11

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 3:20pm

Dammit, I wanted to get in *before* the 2nd-act-SITPWG-haters crawled out. I know it's a difficult one, but the show most certainly does not fall apart. I love the second act much more than the first act. :P

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Notes from the Earlham Street Gutter

#12

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 4:00pm

Wicked comes to mind.
Also Tarzan

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"You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" - Betty Parris to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

#13

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 4:51pm

Into the Woods. I see where Lapine was going, but it just doesn't work.

First and foremost, in a concept that punishes characters for killing wolves and giants (ask a wolf's mother!) why is killing the giantess the "happy" ending?

#14

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 4:53pm

I immediately thought of RENT. Lots of energy and excitement in Act I, then Act II is full of fighting and death, right up until the finale.

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"The world is a better place because of hairspray." - Michael Ball

#15

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 5:04pm

That's kind of the point SNL. Part of the show is about their friends dying of AIDS. That's not exactly a happy exciting thing to happen.

It needs to be that way to really show how far these people have fallen.

#16

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 5:09pm

and yet there are quite a few shows where Act 2 really picks it up:

Grey Gardens
Cry Baby (not that it was ever really able to be saved. lol But Act 2 WAS better)
The Boy From Oz (because it had more of the later years with which people were familiar)
Gypsy (I don't know many people that prefer Act 1 to Act 2)

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"It's the little things; the details, that distinguish the Barbra Streisands from the Rosalyn Kinds."~Gilmore Girls~

#17

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 5:19pm

"It needs to be that way to really show how far these people have fallen."

Until one of them is brought back from the dead by Adam Pascal's melodious tones.

#18

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 5:20pm

And, PS-- I'm not a 2nd-act-SITPWG-hater. I just think it is lesser than Act 1. That seems to be most people's assessment... (Not hate, just some disappointment after a stellar first act.)

#19

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 5:20pm

Sunday in the park With George was the first one that popped into my head. After Art Isn't Easy, I'm ready to go home.

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"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian

#20

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 5:20pm

I would have agreed about Act II of Sunday in the Park. . ., until I saw the recent production. It bored me before. I was fascinated with the "connection" this time.

Xanadu's second Act is very slow compared to the first act. Hardly worth watching at all in fact.

Updated On: 7/29/08 at 05:20 PM

#21

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 5:21pm

Killing the Giantess is happy for the characters because their lives are no longer under threat from her. I don't think the show is trying to say that killing her was a "good" thing. That's kinda the point. I always feel bad for the Giantess when she is killed. She is angry and frightening but you can see WHY she's that way. I think she's sort of a sympathetic "villian".

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"This ocean runs more dark and deep than you may think you know...I'll be the fear of the fire at sea." -Marie Christine

#22

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 5:22pm

"Xanadu's second Act is very slow compared to the first act."

Ha!

I felt the same way about Altar Boys and L5Y.

#23

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 5:29pm

I agree:

GYPSY and RENT get better in their 2nd Acts.

The one that boggled my mind recently was SOUTH PACIFIC.

Despite the f**kin' fantastic production @ Lincoln Center, the story/book itself is dated and BIZARRE. And that bizarre-ness just gets worse in the 2nd Act. Throughout the last half of the show, I had to keep glancing over at my bf with the silent but quintessential expression of "wtf is going on here?"

Updated On: 7/29/08 at 05:29 PM

#24

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 5:31pm

Phantom has a very long boring 2nd act. It feels like one long tedious song, managing to use every musical theater cliche.

#25

re: Musicals That Fall Apart In Second Act

Posted: 7/29/08 at 5:58pm

Phantom of the Opera's second act is boring because it's just the first act with new lyrics.

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"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."