"Piazza" appreciation thread

[MisterRussell]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 12:05pm

Allow me to begin by saying that I'm fully aware there are threads I could have simply added my comments to. It's not that I feel that what I have to say is so momentous that I needed to start a new one, but that the praise I have for "Piazza" after seeing the PBS broadcast was such that I didn't want to have it buried in a 12+ page thread.

I don't live in New York (yet). I don't get to see a lot of shows. My exposure to them is mainly from recordings and the comments of you, my fellow posters. I had heard selections from "Piazza," as well as "Floyd Collins," both of which left me feeling distinctly cold.

So greatly has my appreciation for Adam Geuttel grown since last night that I feel the need to publicly denounce myself. Geuttel is, of course, a genius.

The style of Geuttel's work is mature, richly melodic and cleverly written. I will continue to be brutaly honest and say that, while I admire it with the utmost respect, it is simply not my cup of tea. I doubt "Piazza," much though I loved the telecast, will get very heavy play in my CD player. That DOES NOT mean I won't respect and appreciate it.

It occurs to me that the show I can most relate "Piazza" to is Sondheim's "Passion." I am a huge fan of Sondheim's work, but "Passion" also left me cold, and doesnot enjoy a heavy rotation in my stereo.

Many of the "new breed" of Broadway composers fail to connect with me. I find Finn to shrill and LaChuisa too art-songy. I do respond to the new traditionalists like Flaherty and Ahrens, undoubtedly beacuse my introduction to musical theatre started with Gilbert and Sullivan and progressed sequentially through Kern, Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Bock and Harnick, Cy Coleman, Kander and Ebb, Strouse and Adams, Sondheim, Lloyd Webber and so on.

My point? Only that I have, on occasion, pooh-poohed new writers and their works, and I realize now that I was being unfair. It was my perceptions and opinions that colored my judgement; if I didn't connect with a work, I automatically assumed that it was crap and was unafraid to express that sentiment on the board. My positive experience last night with "Piazza" is a sure sign that I will make far more effort to seek out and experience new works by the new breed. I cannot promise that I will enjoy or conneft with any or all of them, and there is no reason why I should have to. But, my fellow posters and fans of new works, I will withhold my opinions until they are informed and well-considered.

As a theatre composer/lyricist/librettist myself, I found myself comparing my latest work to "Piazza" last night. My work is not a sensual, mature rumination on love and relationships, it is a musical comedy. I suddenly have room for both in my creative life: one I can create, one I can appreciate fully.

I guess even set-in-their-ways traditionalists can nearn new tricks.

Thanks so much for reading my posting.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 12:13pm

We couldn't be more different. I listened to LitP everyday for months. And I love Passion, too.

Btw, it's Guettel.

[MisterRussell]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 12:17pm

I knew some smartass would correct my spelling.
Updated On: 6/16/06 at 12:17 PM

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 12:24pm

I was trying to tell you and be nice about it before someone else got there first and really DID act like a jerk about it. :P

[Hawker]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 12:24pm

Mister Russell:

I was distinctly underwhelmed by "Light in the Piazza" and had I seen it live I would have left long before intermission.

That's not an indictment of the show: I just didn't like it, don't like the composer's music, just as I don't like Stravinsky's or Picasso's art.

It all comes down to a personal esthetic, I suppose. I need heavy doses of hummable melodies and have a real aversion for what I belive is a second-rate theatrical device to accomplish exposition: address the audience as if they're privvy yo your thoughts; i.e., "This is the kind of night hotel bars are for."

Imagine Arthur Laurents having Maria asking the audience if they thought Anita was a b1tch.

By the 10th time the lead character had done this in "Light" I was cringing.

Again, it's just me. I thought the staging and lighting was terrific but everything else was greatly overrated.
Updated On: 6/16/06 at 12:24 PM

[meggsison]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 12:26pm

Which I don't understand. Why do people act like jerks about spelling? I mean, sure, it can be annoying. But honestly--not everyone gets everything spelled right every time. ::sigh::
I too, adore Piazza. I taped it last night so I can watch it over and over and over again.

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 12:33pm

MisterRussell -- I initially had no interest in LITP. I ended up purchasing the cast recording because I thought it was something I "had to" get. At the suggestion of redhotinnyc2, I started listening to it and still couldn't get interested. However, during a long car trip, I REALLY listened to the show and became very interested in the story and started to enjoy some of the songs. SOOOOOO, I broke down and went to see LITP -- it was probably the most positive musical theatre experience I've ever had. LITP is such a beautiful show, beautifully written, incredibly cast, wonderfully orchestrated, amazing costumes/sets/lights, etc. I was blown away.

With the Live from Lincoln Center broadcast last night, I was once again drawn in. Personally, I felt the TV broadcast paled in comparison to seeing it live, but if the TV version is all you can get you are STILL lucky. That being said, I have to say (to mirror comments I've heard on this board) I was disappointed vocally with the performance of Katie Clarke. She seems to have a nice voice that just needs much more development and training to get where it needs to be for LITP. The quality is there, just the technique is lacking. If you enjoyed her performance as Clara, I can GUARANTEE you would have been floored by Kelli O'Hara. Katie's acting is amazing in the production, but so was Kelli's. Kelli has such vocal control and and amazing range. Given what she's doing vocally in Pajama Game, I'm even more amazed.

LITP is a wonderful piece of theatre. Give the CD more of a chance -- I think it will grow on you. I didn't think I would ever like it, and I'm in LOVE with it.

Updated On: 6/16/06 at 12:33 PM

[MisterRussell]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 12:36pm

I agree. Obviously the "personal discovery" (a reference to "A Little Night Music") I had made paled in importance to correcting my spelling. As it was, I agonized over which spelling was correct before committing to the one I chose. Could I have simply checked? Of course, but the spelling of GUEttel's name was not all that important to me. Nonetheless, some smartass just had to "put her oar in" (a reference to "The Mikado").

And in case I didn't make it clear to the SporkGoddess: I realize my original post had a lot of great big words in it, but the gist was that I LIKED the show.
Updated On: 6/16/06 at 12:36 PM

[Madame X]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 12:38pm

Updated On: 6/16/06 at 12:38 PM

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 12:40pm

In reference to the spelling. It can be difficult to take someone entirely seriously when the composer's name is spelled wrong, it just creates an impression of ignorance and people are going to be more apt to discredit your opinion.

[MisterRussell]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 12:42pm

Perhaps so, but I had hoped the original post would have spoken for itself. If my posting left any doubt about my understanding and apprecaition of the English language or my feelings about "Piazza," then perhaps SporkGoddess can appoint herself spelling monitor for the board and nit-pick to her heart's content, for she is assuredly NOT actually reading the posts.
Updated On: 6/16/06 at 12:42 PM

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 12:42pm

Sigh. That's what I get for trying to be helpful.

I didn't say much because I was trying to hold my tongue... er... fingers. It's great that you came to appreciate the show, but I can't relate to you at all because I loved it even before I ever saw it. I also completely disagree with you on the listenability (which probably isn't a word, but hey) of the OBC. Sure, it's not something you can pop in for background music (like Passion, as you said,) but it's absolutely gorgeous and a real treat to listen to.

But, hey, to each their own.