PROMISES, PROMISES Starring Hayes and Chenoweth to Play Broadway Theatre; Previews 3/28/2010, Opens 4/25/2010 — Page 5

Wrong theater - way too big

How they will update it without totally rewriting it will be a task .

I say it will be lucky to limp thru a year - probably much less.

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Updated On: 11/15/09 at 03:16 PM

They are NOT. Repeat: NOT updating PROMISES, PROMISES. The score doesn't lend itself to a modern day update. It will stay set in the '60s.

Well so is SWEET CHARITY and so is WEST SIDE STORY as well as HAIR as well as many other shows. They are period pieces. There is nothing wrong with that. Not everything has to be set in the present day.

Updated On: 11/15/09 at 03:21 PM

Yes, PERIOD SPECIFIC. That's the phrase I was looking for.

"Period specific"?

I thought we were talking about the revival of PROMISES, PROMISES not the revival of CARRIE!



And the score is actually not that fabulous, don't get me wrong it's good and fine, and I adore Bacharach/David's other work. The orchestrations are what make it work, really. The book is the worst of all the elements and without a VERY strong director AND a VERY strong choreographer it may come off as trite, dated and give off the dreaded vibe of been-there-done-that. AND I don't think Simon has it in him to make the appropriate changes to the book so it won't be the 100% sexist nonsense that it is.

I say stick the songs in the far superior Wilder movie script and just do a movie musical remake of THE APARTMENT.

P

I'm listening to the cast album right now with the two leads of the revival in mind and I kind of think Chenoweth will surprise us. I'm still not convinced about Hayes.

Late to the party here, but I'm definitely turned off by the casting. Why why why couldn't they get Norbert Leo Butz for the lead?

But who knows? Maybe Hayes and Cheno will surprise and show us something deeper than their respective dog and pony shows. Its in Rob Ashford's hands now.

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She's great in that direct to DVD movie where she plays a suicidal hooker.

The theater is a nicer version of the Hilton but it is still big. Add to that, it is not in the center of Times Square.

This choice may come back to haunt them.

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The very thought that they'd even try, or should try, to update this is beyond ridiculous. The very appeal of Bacharach/David is in that late 60s sound, and NOTHING about the score, plot or characters would work outside of its time frame.

Pgenre I'm gonna have to disagree with you on the merits of the piece. I think it's probably Simon's best musical libretto (though I feel his musical librettos are all a bit of a mixed bag so that may not be saying all that much) and I do think the score is largely top tier Bacharach/David. Some lesser known gems (Knowing When to Leave, Wanting Things, Whoever You Are I Love You) among the bigger hits--and I like to think of myself as a Bacharach/David geek--I have about 30+ records and CDs trying to get everything from Bacharach's late 50s to mid 70s period. (I initially thought the score was a bit disappointing, and they have done some even better work elsewhere, but...)

You are right though that the Tunick orchestrations are beyond reproach (with Bacharach and PhilRamone they found a way to perfectly recreate his studio sound in a theatre). It's too bad we'll lose (I've no doubt) the pit singers, but...

Speaking of, does anyone have ANY photos of the original production that show Wagner's set that Bennett loved so much? I've never gotten a sense of it before.

Apparently, BroadwaySpotted on Twitter is reporting that Promises, Promises no longer wants The Broadway Theatre.

I tried to include the link. Just search it. Broadway Spotted Twitter.

Updated On: 12/31/09 at 05:01 PM

Their only other options are The St. James, Neil Simon & Golden. The Golden(804), St. James(1,620) & Neil Simon(1,445) are still smaller than the Broadway(1,700+) so any move would be good. Maybe they're looking at the Neil Simon now. Still too big for this show, but it's better than The Broadway Theater.

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they've been looking at the Shubert depending on MEMPHIS' longevity