New Musical, WILD, World Premiere at ART - Previews & Reviews- Page 2

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 1/23/24 at 3:26am

Is this dead?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 1/23/24 at 6:38am

Broadway Flash said: "Is this dead?"

I certainly hope so.

[inception]

Posted: 1/23/24 at 7:43am

Good gravy! I missed this thread when it originated.  I hope the new Idina show in San Diego coming up is better than whatever this was.

But again this makes you wonder how such talented people like Menzel & Munoz can be involved in something so ass backwards and how when they are inside something  creatives can be so oblivious to what a train wreck is being put on?

It is something we see over & over, with many creatives.

They seem to have blinders on & don't see that everything around them is a disaster.  If something actually makes it further & incredibly gets funded, like some recent attempts on Broadway, when these disasters fail & lose a LOT of money they are surprised.  If only they would bring in an outside Dramaturg to give them an honest perspective.   But I suppose even if they were toĺ they may be too far gone to accept the counsel.

Or with some things, do they realize they have made a mess, but things have gotten so far that all they can do is keep pressing forward, hoping no one will smell the diarrhea crusted onto their trousers?

[veronicamae]

Posted: 1/23/24 at 3:57pm

They were working on an album (concept album?) after the fact, and some of the cast performed a song from it not terribly long ago at some type of climate change event in NYC. There was no indication that Idina or Javier were involved in the concept album based on the posts on social media - just the main young folks.

And sometimes folks just do a little workshoppy shoppy out of towner for the creative experience of it and who they got to collaborate with, etc. even if the material isn't Tony-worthy.

And REDWOOD is far better.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/23/24 at 4:15pm

inception said: "f only they would bring in an outside Dramaturg to give them an honest perspective. But I suppose even if they were toĺ they may be too far gone to accept the counsel."

 

That's not what a dramaturg does - at least from my understanding.  Perhaps it's morphed, but I always understood it to be more of a researcher, about ideas - to educate the actors (and I'm sure others) but definitely not to critique.  It's about INFO, yes?

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/23/24 at 4:29pm

dramamama611 said: "That's not what a dramaturg does - at least from my understanding. Perhaps it's morphed, but I always understood it to be more of a researcher, about ideas - to educate the actors (and I'm sure others) but definitely not to critique. It's about INFO, yes?"

No. That is how a dramaturg functions in an amateur/educational theatre setting or for a pre-existing work.

A dramaturg on a new work is something akin to an author-whisperer, a ghostwriter, an editor, or a sounding board for the authors to help rewrite and improve a show. The scope of the job can vary and it's not really anyone's business to know what specifically the dramaturg contributed on a show. Sometimes the producer is also functioning in that role (or an employee of the producer aka a Literary Manager), or it's an outside figure brought in as a third-party to liaise between the authors and producer. 

One unique situation was RENT, which was refined and shaped by its dramaturg (Lynn Thomson) alongside Michael Greif after Larson's death, and then there were a few years of litigation surrounding her credit and compensation:
https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/10/theater/family-of-rent-creator-settles-suit-over-authorship.html

Updated On: 1/23/24 at 04:29 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/23/24 at 5:28pm

Gotcha....thank you for taking the time to explain that - very much appreciated!