broadwayboy223 said: "Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "I'm with you, JennH. Prince of Egypt is hands-down my favorite non-Disney animated film. I personally think (along with Hunchback) that it is Stephen Schwartz's finest work.
Forgive my ignorance, but why are folks skeptical of his son directing?
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Because of Hunchback LOL. He kind of ruined it with his direction. I didn't see the show in person but I saw videos. I think the major complaint was all of the narration that was added. Someone who saw it live can probably better explain though
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This is just answering to Ado Annie., which btw PofE is also my favorite non Disney animated musical, with Anastasia following EXTREMELY close behind. But anyway... This would be why. I saw it myself at Papermill and it was...misguided, borderlining on bad, I'm so sad to say. Scott is...not a good director. But my expectations were also sky high for that also. Sky high expectations in general are never a good thing, but add on that Scott is director... Hunchback is a very difficult piece indeed, but the movie was dark enough to get it's point across for both adults and children, and frankly it didn't need much adapting to be on stage to begin with. They changed things for sake of change and trying to get away from their film, in fact the show is even marketed as such and I don't understand why. It's like Disney is ashamed of it for some stupid reason, but it's a MASTERPIECE that gets hardly the attention it should. It already was a wonderfully working clock. Don't change the cogs if it already works. The story theater/narration by the entire cast was just strange as hell. That kind of format hardly ever works in musical. The script was mediocre at best and those poor actors were trying their best to get past it. I actually met one of the actors back then, and I could tell when I was talking to him, something was off. And this was why. Basically the epic largeness that the movie had was scaled down to what felt like high budget children's theater with an identity crisis. The dark themes and the whole point of the movie was gone, you didn't hear Clopin's riddle until the end...JUST NO. And since it was cast narration, Clopin was reverted back to an actual character, rather than the one person, everyman, narrator from the film. That was the BIGGEST mistake to me. Among everything else and other things.
This is also why I'm "excited and scared" for PofE. Scott doesn't have a good directorial history. I'm super afraid that the same epic, sweeping largeness that PofE has that Hunchback also has as a film, will once again be scaled/dumbed down by Scott. Hunchback is Schwartz's best lyrics I think, but his best work OVERALL as composer and lyricist...is PofE by far and wide. like Hunchback, PofE doesn't need much adapting to work on stage. IT ALREADY WORKS!!! The movie is so damn perfect, that I don't to see it messed with too much. I now a few things must change in terms of stage flow, but I DO NOT want it to be changed for the sake of change, Ala Hunchback, and see what I believe is Stephen's magnum opus, be ruined by his own son (again)...I hope and pray they don't tool with it too much...It's already wonderful. But I'm trying to rein in my expectations for the reason, I almost know what I'm in for. Hence, why I want see it anyway because thanks to Hunchback not transferring, I don't assume one iota that PofE will.
Thank God I'm from that area, otherwise there's no way in hell I'd make it.
