REBECCA in Bryant Park - ooof...

[DeNada]

Posted: 8/10/12 at 6:11am

Watching the footage from Bryant Park - yikes, the English lyrics aren't good, and although they're different from the old demos they're still just as clunky and leaden (although the music doesn't help).

I really hope Ryan Silverman is only using American vowel sounds because it's a promo performance rather than that being how he'll sound in the show. And it's unfortunate that Karen Mason didn't rock up to play Danvers, as whoever it was at that performance wasn't quite vocally up to it.

I suppose I shouldn't be too harsh - it's three months until previews after all, they can work on some of this stuff. But still, not too hopeful...

[Horton]

Posted: 8/10/12 at 9:13am

Ich kann Deutsch und English sprechen, also ich kenne dass die Liedtexts auf Deutsch sind auch sehr komisch.

I'm excited to see Karen Mason belt her face off as Mrs. Danvers. Despite the rocky road the show took to Broadway, I wish it all the best!

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 8/10/12 at 11:27am

For those who aren't equipped with Google Translate:

"I can speak German and English, so I know that the lyrics are just as funny in German."

By funny do you mean "bad"?

Also, what did everyone expect? Christopher Hampton is a brilliant playwright. A lyricist? Not so much. Look at Sunset Boulevard and Dracula, for crying out loud. What did you expect, third time's a charm? As for the input of Michael Kunze, such as it may have been, I will only repeat (more succinctly) what fans of his have said ever since the days of Elisabeth: in German, he's a poet. In English, he's an ESL student who really, really tries.

(Granted, the above is probably certain parties' excuse for what happened with DOTV, but it's not like all of his work was completely jettisoned for the show. Having seen his English script, such doozies as "Garlic, garlic / The secret of staying young / Garlic, garlic / That's why we're so well-hung" are definitely in there.)

Updated On: 8/10/12 at 11:27 AM

[evic]

Posted: 8/10/12 at 12:08pm

Rebecca will be this season's Ghost and may squeak out a 2-3 month run because it is playing a small theater. It is too European for Broadway tastes and the score is truly awful. One of it's appeals was the fantastic staircase which revolved, was 3 stories tall and corkscrewed into the deck - something they are not able to create in the Broadhurst. And Jill Paice is meh- perfect for the role of "I"

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 8/10/12 at 12:21pm

^ Plus, what crossover appeal does this particular musical have? One could argue (if they absolutely had to, which I suspect they won't) that it's based on a Hitchcock film, but even then the material's really esoteric to an American audience.

Same thing whenever I hear Elisabeth (another Kunze work) fans complain about why it hasn't gone to the States: too esoteric. Half the people who went in would be expecting something about an English queen; Sissi just doesn't have that big an audience here, and even if she did, strong comparisons could (and would) be made to Evita, particularly the current revival version.

DOTV had the best crossover appeal possible (and, as I hear rumors of a revival closer to the German original brewing, will definitely be in vogue with the whole Twilight/True Blood craze), and the team connected to that managed to screw the pooch completely the first time around.

If there's anybody I feel bad for in this equation, it's Kunze, in all reality.

Updated On: 8/10/12 at 12:21 PM

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 8/10/12 at 12:42pm

Sounds a lot like "Kristina." Beautiful score in its native Swedish, but the English lyrics were so pedestrian and leaden that they, beyond the general storyline, doomed it over here.

[TheaterBoy7777]

Posted: 8/10/12 at 6:01pm

The final note sung by the Mrs.Danver's understudy,in the title song,is pretty epic.

Updated On: 8/11/12 at 06:01 PM

[Horton]

Posted: 8/10/12 at 6:17pm

Komisch means not really funny, more along the lines of comical, nonsense, etc.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 8/10/12 at 7:16pm

^ In other words, I was basically right; they weren't any better in German, is what you were saying.