Pirate Queen previews: What would you change?- Page 2
Pirate Queen previews: What would you change?
#25The Fix
Posted: 3/8/07 at 1:20am
Q: How many French soldiers does it take to defend Paris?
A: No one knows, it's never been tried.
(Just had to get that out of my system.)
WellIfYouInsist, I like your ideas and am flattered that you would elaborate on some of my thoughts in your posts elsewhere. This sort of stuff should be posted repeatedly everywhere possible until it becomes part of the "buzz". A lot of the ideas that were tossed around on this board during the Chicago run have been incorporated for Broadway. I'm not saying anyone important reads BWW, but I sure didn't hear the word "sh*t" or very much about Grania's balls last night. (Does anyone remember how much I got flamed here for complaining about the frivolous use of profanity in the Chicago Pirate Queen lyrics?)
Act 1 is so much stronger than Act 2 that I wonder if they should just switch them and make the second half of the show a flashback.
It's too late to do anything about "Boys Will Be Boys". At least they made it raunchier and added that wonderful hoe down section. I shudder to think of what the New York critics will say about this song's similarity to "Master", what with Les Mis packing 'em in three blocks away.
It seems apparent that there was an agreement that the music would be changed as little as possible when fixing up the show for Broadway. "Woman" was added, "Woman That I Was", "Son of the Irish Seas" and "The Queen Will See You Now" were cut, some dance breaks were thrown in, but otherwise it's essentially the exact same music with new words. This worked fine for Act 1, where the new lyrics and story elements make the songs seem much more interesting. , The raw materials just aren't there for the end of the show. It's one sappy ballad after another. There aren't any clever lyrics that will make any of this stuff energetic or interesting. Yes, let's bring back "Son of the Irish Seas". Perhaps this could replace "Lament" as the song for the Irish resistance. Unfortunately "Sea of Life" is obviously supposed to be the eleven o'clock number, but it's much better suited to be a lullaby.
I miss Grania's heartfelt reunion with her son from Chicago. This was a powerful moment, and a nice scene for Evleen.
The whole bit about Elizabeth having her sudden change of heart when Tiernan shows up and realizing that "It's a Woman in Love Who Has All" just doesn't work. I don't exactly know what to do about it, but I would much rather hear a rearranged reprise of "Woman", even if it doesn't make dramatic sense. At least it's a good song. Maybe lyrics about the difference between the way women and men lead?
I gather you've read the book, since you bring up the dice. I can't imagine Grania wanting to gamble with Donal at that particular moment, but I do wish the concept of Grania as a gambler could be manifested somewhere. One thing I loved in the book was that when Dubdhara died, Grania was crying as much for the end of the Irish Cheiftans and that way of life as for her father. When Donal tells Dubdhara he should be Chieftan, the response shoudl be that the time for Donal's sort of Chieftan is past.
You suggested some interesting new lyrics, but at this point I hope they'll just add dialogue and stop trying to shove so much exposition into the songs. In Les Mis the characters sang about their feelings, not battle strategies and plot intricacies.
Queen Elizabeth: Where is your power on land and sea now:?
Grania: Where is your power in the West of Ireland? All I see are your dead soldiers!
Yes, lets call rape rape, and implicate Lord Bingham in it. This way his sudden dismissal by the Queen will make more sense.
I picture Grania as an earlier incarnation of the Engineer in Miss Saigon, finding a way to make the best deal for her clan in an impossible situation.
Grania should be mad as hell when she goes to see Queen Elizabeth. At that time the expanding British Empire was stretched thin and really couldn't afford to deal with the Irish resistance. Grania should have to fight like crazy to get Tiernan released. There's an ending for you.
"I have got to have some professional music!" - Big Edie
Updated On: 3/8/07 at 01:20 AM
#26The Fix
Posted: 3/8/07 at 1:49am
Switching between flashback and narrative would work. Perhaps starting with a ravaged Ireland and Grania just having been freed, and then the set and environment coming to life and going back to the beginning. Something like that.
If I'm bored and get ahold of a copy of the score or libretto of some sort, I might rewrite it for my own amusement. I've thought about doing that with Martin Guerre, too. Then we can put on Non-Profit Concert productions with Josh Groban!
-Benjamin
--http://www.benjaminadgate.com/
--http://www.benjaminadgate.com/
#27The Fix
Posted: 3/8/07 at 8:01am
It's funny you mention Martin Guerre. After seeing the newly reworked Pirate Queen my first thought was "Quick, let's get Maltby and Daniele to fix Martin Guerre before they leave town!" That's a show that I honestly think could have been an amazing bit of theater if a few songs had been replaced and a better libretto created. Martin Guerre is a great story to musicalize, it doesn't have Pirate Queen's problem of no compelling ending. (Yet).
As far as the current ending goes, for now does anyone think it would be helpful to have Grace, Tiernan and lil' Donal all embrace as the clan sings "May God Bless the Bride and Groom" and then have the lights black out for a second or two? The lights could come back up, the wedding dance could then resume and the audience would understand that the show has ended and now we're having bows.
Another possibility would be to create a projection that says "The show's over folks, here come the bows".
"I have got to have some professional music!" - Big Edie
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