Musicals that go "POP!"

[sabrelady]

Posted: 6/13/03 at 2:20am

Ok, Mamma Mia was "OK" Movin' Out was ok'ish Look of Love was not ok & NOW we have the likes of the music of Rod Stewart & Ozzy Osbourne to look forward to as Brdway musicals, The "concept" is winning out over quality original music. & that is a perversion of the art as far as I can tell!

[JakeB]

Posted: 6/13/03 at 7:35am

Finally someone on my wavelength, I dislike pop shows because they're lazy and soon Broadway/West End will be full of them and them only. The Rod Stewart musical in London is having tickets up to $91, which you lot are OK with but over here this is a lot of money for us, considering the standard is nowhere NEAR Broadway standard.

Don't forget the Mama and Papa's musical.

Jake.

[Amneris]

Posted: 6/13/03 at 8:04am

aren't they thinking about bringing "WE WILL ROCK YOU" to bway?

[bestofbroadway]

Posted: 6/13/03 at 8:21am

I have to agree that the surge of "POP" musicals is ridiculous. Mama Mia was horrible and Look of Love was even worse. Movin' Out for me was an exception, but Movin' Out is an entirely different type of show (a ballet) and the use of pop music there doesn't bother me as much. What I hate is when people take pop songs and try to put them into a story and 9 times out of 10 they don't make any sense, ie Mama Mia and Footloose. Great musicals are first be a play and then a musical (Gypsy, anything by Sondheim). The songs are part of the story and advance the plot. In musicals like Mama Mia songs are forced into a story or should I say a story is forced around the songs and it simply doesn't work. I've said it before and I'll say it again. What has happened to the American Musical? Stop simply taking British shows and bringing them over here...most of the time (no I take that back, ALL OF THE TIME) they suck. Come on producers, take a chance on the Jason Robert Browns, Lippas, Tesori's, etc. There are great composers and playwrights in this world, you just have to take a risk. No need to adapt a musical from a movie or pop songs. BE CREATIVE!!

Artistry over Entertainment!

[Alvin and My Sheepdog Rex]

Posted: 6/13/03 at 11:02am

I have to believe that producers know very well that Big Name Pop Stars from the past are very appealing to affluent yuppie type patrons. And if the name on the Marquee is "Hot" enough many people will come to enjoy the music, while the actual show becomes almost secondary to the music experience. Sad but true, but as long as it works, we'll see more and more of these extravaganzas.

[actorgaedu]

Posted: 6/13/03 at 1:05pm

I would love to see an "American Musical" again, for me the last great one was "Ragtime." However, they don't sell anymore, and now it is about what sells. I believe that "Parade" was an amazing production, but it didn't sell and therefore didn't succeed. Shows like "Mamma Mia" do well because people can identify with the music and it makes them feel good. I love Jason Robert Brown is amazing and I wish that people would learn to appreciate his work, but I guess until he writes a pop song and it becomes a hit, he will continue to only be embraced by us theater junkies!

[JakeB]

Posted: 6/13/03 at 1:11pm

BestOfBroadway, I have never agreed with someone more in my life.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 6/13/03 at 2:21pm

in a REALLY healthy environment, we wouldn't have to choose between new shows and compilation shows and biography shows (which I like slightly better, such as ALWAYS PATSY CLINE, BUDDY HOLLY STORY, HANK WILLIAMS' LOST HIGHWAY, etcetera). Even the staging of pop/rock/compilation shows (TOMMY) can be very entertaining and full of conceptual interest. MAMMA MIA didn't quite achieve that. But Jake, did the TABOO musical do so? and I take it you didn't like WE WILL ROCK YOU, jury is out on that for me, Queen's music has always been inherently narrative and dramatic.

I totally agree I'd like to see more new musicals though. Then there are the hybrids: Elton adapting Disney cartoons or creating new versions of adaptations (AIDA, LESTAT) or Phil Collins (TARZAN), even ABBA (CHESS). What about the Police's drummer, wasn't he writing a new musical?

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 6/13/03 at 7:14pm

I'm just sick of feeling like I'm sitting through concerts! If I want to hear Billy Joel songs, I'll go see him at MSG. I go to Broadway to see Broadway Shows! Next thing you know they'll have Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera playing Gypsy Rose Lee.....hey, we already know they're strippers.

[Alvin and My Sheepdog Rex]

Posted: 6/13/03 at 8:32pm

If we're going to carry "POP" on Broadway to an extreme, how about shows consisting of musical numbers from "1" Hit Wonders, Examples:

Last Kiss - J. Frank Wilson - 1963
Dancing in the Moonlight - King Harvest - 1973
Putin' on the Ritz - Taco - 1983
Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus - 1993

The Potential is Unlimited!!

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/13/03 at 8:37pm

theatreBaby,
Gypsy Rose Lee is supposed to have class. Britney has no class. Neither does Xtina, but she still has more than Britney. At least she didn't spend three years playing beard for a certain popatsr.

[redmustang]

Posted: 6/13/03 at 10:26pm

Does Broadway have one foot in the grave? Where are the American musical composers? Stephen and Mel can't go on forever. Most of today's 20-somethings don't even know of Jerry Herman. And where are the stars? Who are the Broadway stars of today? Ok, exclude Bernadette, the reigning diva. Exclude Chita, in a supporting role no less. Now, who? Maybe Audra. Maybe Brian. Any more STAR power? Angela's probably finished. Same for Bacall. "Who?" asks Marissa. Is Broadway even capable anymore of, ...what is the word? producing? a star. Showcasing a star? Granted, there are some stars out there. But they aren't doing Broadway. Could a Broadway musical get Midler's career out of the toilet? And Liza. A true star! Baby, make some phone calls. Keep on that treadmill. Let John and Fred know you're in town. And Barbra. Alas, Barbra. What's to be said about La Streisand...who can't even make it to a Tony show, let alone perform again on stage in a musical. (Imagine what THOSE tickets would cost!) AND how fast they'd be gobbled up. (Sigh!) Back in the 1960's, you had your pick of who to go see. Channing, Rivera, Streisand, Mostel, Verdon, Peters, Preston, Lansbury, Grimes, Burton, Andrews, Martin, Merman, Kiley, Minnelli, Barbara Harris, Julie Harris.....the list is endless. I guess what angers me is that somewhere along the way, the Broadway musical overtook the Broadway star. The question stopped being: "Do you want to see Carol Channing or Angela Lansbury? Liza Minnelli or Julie Andrews?" The question became: "Do you want to see Les Miz or Jekyll and Hyde? Phantom or Cats?"

Thanks for letting me rant. Sorry if I stepped on any toes. Just in an angry mood tonight.

[Cadriel]

Posted: 6/13/03 at 10:48pm

redmustang -

If you want to know the one man who I think is most responsible for what's going on now, I'd say it's Trevor Nunn. Nunn, at one point the darling of the entirety of the genre, created mega-productions in Cats and Les Misérables that raised the stakes to ridiculous levels for how much money a Broadway show must cost. But a string of horrific failures (Nunn's Broadway mountings of Chess, Aspects of Love, and Sunset Boulevard all lost mountains of money) signalled the post-Phantom inability of shows to survive on spectacle and material.

In 1996 (the year after the only nominees for Best Musical were Sunset Boulevard and Smokey Joe's Café), two things happened: Rent and Chicago. The former was a phenomenon that was never really followed up on in any way; the latter began a string of high-profile, high-gloss musical revivals typified by the likes of Cabaret and Nine. But none of this is actually getting any new material successful, except for Rent.

(Here's where I sense I'm not going to be making many friends.) Now producers, sensing working trends, have made Broadway into three things: a revival house, a flesh-and-blood jukebox of tunes that 40somethings get nostalgic over, and the home of pandering, derivative adaptations of cult movies. Sorry, but there's no future in any of that. It's trivializing the form of musical theatre. I almost hope that new creators just stay away from the Broadway of today; it's not a place where anything new, daring, or fresh works any more. It's just a matter of figuring out where the talent will go, and how to propagate it. Perhaps the future of musical theatre is in shows that start in one city, and then are picked up by regional theatres interested in new work throughout the country. It'd certainly be better than watching everything pander to what Broadway has become.

-Wayne

[redmustang]

Posted: 6/13/03 at 11:07pm

Wayne,

Totally agree. Mr Nunn WAS the culprit. How do we punish him? And, of course, I helped pump money into all the productions you mentioned. And even liked some of them! How do we punish me? And about the "cult movies" turning into Broadway hits. Look at the last three Tony winners: The Producers, Millie, and Hairspray. You're right! And now I read that Mel Brooks is working on Young Frankenstein for 2004. Then what?? Blazing Saddles? High Anxiety? Spaceballs? I see no end. Then he may start on Hitchcock movies. Psycho the Musical. Marnie the Musical. We've got to stop him. Come up with a good plan, and let me know.

Daniel

Posted: 6/14/03 at 12:08am

Exactly Wayne!

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 6/14/03 at 12:52am

I don't think it's a bad thing that the musicals have overtaken the stars...writers and Producers worked for many decades to accomplish just that, and I really feel that the Show should be bigger than the star. But, that being said, familiarity is a good thing. I like to know that when I go see Gypsy, I'm seeing one of Broadway's best, and thereby living history. 40 years from now, I can say, "I was at the opening night of Gypsy in 2003. I saw Bernadette Peters blow the roof off the place. I saw Mayor Bloomberg declaire May 1st National Curtain Up on Gypsy Day." It's like when I hear people today, my Grandmother and mother's friends say that they saw Barbara Streisand in Funny Girl...on Broadway (and it didn't cost no $500-$1500 to see her back then). Or that they saw Mary Martin in Peter Pan, and Ethel Merman in Gypsy!

Where was I going with this? Oh well.

Posted: 6/14/03 at 1:22am

I agree with you theaterbaby, but if shows are overtaking stars, why did Aida cast Taylor Dayne, Toni Braxton, and Idina Menzel in the role of Amneris these past years? Taylor Dayne sucked. Any Aida Die-Hard fan will tell you that. But I guess producers thought she'd rake in more profit and audience members. As for Idina, she's a well-known RENT alumnus but luckily she's one of the best Amneris' out there. And Toni. Didn't she turn Belle into a slut and they lowered Belle's normal range 2 octaves? Aida has some big belters, so good luck Toni! Aida producers are so idiotic. If you're show is going to close and it's days are numbered, you get Pop Stars in your shows! Not an 80's diva! Destiny's Child fans would swarm in just to see Michelle.

And RENT. I dont really believe Jon Larson would allow Joey Fatone or Frenchie to be cast in the show for money purposes. It was his work of art after all. Why degrade it with stars not born for certain roles just for a quick buck?

And the Into the Woods revival! Before the producers called it quits, names like Gloria Estefan and Susan Lucci were being mentioned to play the Witch after Vanessa left! In certain cases, the average Joe will choose a show for the star. Updated On: 6/14/03 at 01:22 AM

[Alvin and My Sheepdog Rex]

Posted: 6/14/03 at 3:33am

Since everyone seems to be taking this subject so seriously, then I doubt there would be much popular support for my newest idea for a "POP" musical. One based upon the theme of "Dead Girl Songs" from the 50's and 60's.

Where is your enthusiasm, just think you'd get to hear:

"Teen Angel"
"Tell Laura I Love Her"
"Last Kiss"
"Leader of the Pack"

Motorcycle and car crashes live on stage, this show would have it all!

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/14/03 at 4:02am

Ok, Last5ys,
they DID lowerer Belle's range for Braxton. But they did add a new song that her successors have been great on.
As far a Fatone and Larson in Rent go, Frenchie isn't a pop star, she is a theatre girl who did one 'pop' thing. She has always wanted to do theatre. As far as Fatone, all I can say is, maybe Larson would have liked him. Maybe not. We don't know.

No matter what shows come to broadway, popel will still detest some of the, I don't care where the show comes from. If I enjoy it, I do. If I don't, I don't.

As far as pop music versus traditional theatre go, there has to be a balance. Some of each. theatre is such a diverse genre, and the offerings should reflect that. New and old. Pop and Traditional.

[redmustang]

Posted: 6/14/03 at 8:39pm

TheaterBaby,

You said "I don't think it's a bad thing that
the musicals have taken over the stars." And "I really feel the Show should be bigger than the Star." Then you lost your train of thought and mentioned Peters, Streisand, Martin, Merman. My point exactly! I remember my aunt telling me "I saw Brando do Streetcar." Those five words gave me chills every time she said it.

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 6/15/03 at 4:21pm

I did say that, but I also said, "But, that being said, familiarity is a good thing." meaning name familiarity. I'll admit that I go see shows first for the show and secondly for the star (in most cases...not all). I will not deny that the person in it is not an added bonus, but it is not the soul purpose for my attendance.

For example, I wanted to see "Urinetown" since the Tony's last year, but I never got around to seeing it. Then my friend said she wanted to go because Tom Cavanuagh was in it, and we both enjoy him. So I finally got to see a show I already wanted to see, and I got to see a person I wanted to see. I would have seen it eventually, even if Tom had not been there.

There have been many, many shows where I have gone for the performance and not for the star.

Posted: 6/15/03 at 5:05pm

Hell, I'll admit it! I want to see Urinetown now only because a) Ive heard John Carafara works his magic again with choreography as he did in Into the Woods and b) Carolee Carmello, my god of vocals, is in it!

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 6/15/03 at 5:09pm

Carolee is amazing in it! I had never seen anything she did, and now I am such a fan of hers. So see, sometimes seeing a show for the production and not the star can make someone a star in your eyes.