Riedel on the current season- Page 4

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 4/5/17 at 9:21pm

I've yet to see Come from Away, but any conversation for Best Direction of a Musical has to include Rachel Chavkin. I also think Jerry Zaks could pose a threat with Dolly if it really is rapturously received.

[adagio]

Posted: 4/5/17 at 9:42pm

I would be astonished if DEH took Best Orchestrations over Great Comet; they aren't even on the same level in terms of complexity. Dave Malloy wrote beautiful orchestrations, not just an accompaniment; I'm constantly picking up on new subtleties that I missed in my previous thousand listens. It's the kind of score musicans would love to play (seriously, if I could get my hands on that cello part...)

 

Can't speak to Come From Away - couldn't make it past the opening number on the NPR preview stream (sorry)

Updated On: 4/5/17 at 09:42 PM

[pupscotch]

Posted: 4/5/17 at 11:44pm

I completely agree. I would believe/hope that Rachel Chavkin is the frontrunner in the Best Director category, because she's really achieved a marvel with Comet. Nothing else has ever been staged on Broadway in that fashion, and Chavkin does it masterfully. I haven't seen Dolly, so I can't comment on Zaks, but if there is one major award Comet absolutely deserves (even though I wish it would win Best Musical), it is Direction.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 12:37am

I also think Chavkin is the frontrunner here. I can't imagine Zaks even getting a nomination. 

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 7:45am

HogansHero said: "I also think Chavkin is the frontrunner here. I can't imagine Zaks even getting a nomination. 

LOL.  Zaks direction of Hello, Dolly! has gotten absolute raves.  He is almost guaranteed a nomination, but yes, Chavkin is definitely the frontrunner.

 

[bdn223]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 10:39am

I think everyone is forgetting that outside of Book, Score, and Musical, revivals *cough*Hello Dolly*cough*  will be eligible for ever other award. As nearly 99.9% of those including myself and even Riedel has said, it is a Perfect production in every imaginable way. Say what you will about the 3 way horse race between DEH, CFA, and NPATGCO1812, but I think this may be a similar year to the 2008 Tony's where of the 15 Musical categories 10 of which went to South Pacific and Gypsy. This is nothing against the new musicals, this is actually probably the strongest year for new musicals since the 2008-2009 season which gave us Billy Elliot, Next to Normal, and [Title of Show], or even 2006-2007 which gave us Spring Awakening, Grey Gardens, Mary Poppins, and Legally Blonde. I just think everyone including myself are pleasantly surprised that Hello Dolly isn't just the star vehicle for Ms Midler, but an amazing production on its own, and will be rewarded for that.  

One the horserace though, having only seen DEH and the Kazino production of NPATGCO1812 (I am seeing it at the Imperial in a couple weeks), I think NPATGCO1812 is more deserving of Best New Musical, as it successfully reinvents musical story telling. Its akin to the reasoning why The Lion King beat Ragtime, the later of which is arguably the better musical which is why it won Best Book and Score, but the former was the better production. I am surprised everyone is expressing disgust towards DEH's book, as I honestly thought is was its strongest element, making it the best Book musical in nearly a generation.

I think one thing everyone is discounting though was the way NPATGCO1812's producer's treated Ars Nova, which might come back to hurt them come Tony time, akin to Matilda vs Kinky Boots. The Royal Shakespeare Company managed to anger every major Broadway player in picking The Dodgers to bring the Matilda to Broadway, and then attempt to game the Tony's pushing Bertie Carvel into Best Leading actor. Then Kinky Boots opened mixed to rave reviews, but held its tale between its legs, played up the Feel Good Musical aspect, all the while kissing voters butts, leading to its eventual victory over Matilda. This is the main reason I think Come From Away has a strong chance, as well as the fact its win would be a *(*&*& You to Trump.

[MyLife]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 11:23am

NPATGCO1812

That hurts my eyes. 

[Lot666]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 11:24am

MyLife said: "NPATGCO1812

That hurts my eyes."

LOL! Indeed.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 11:29am

anything is possible but I don't think the comparison to '08 is all that good because the realistic new show competition was ITH and it did not really offer a great deal of competition in that many categories. I can't see Dolly winning acting awards other than perhaps Midler, and I continue to maintain that between Zak's stewardship of an old show and Chavkin's hand in inventing a new show, she wins. 

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 11:37am

As someone who doesn't know Dolly and has yet to see the current production, I'm curious to know what exactly Zaks and Carlyle are doing that's different from the original Champion staging. I know it isn't the original entirely, but have they deviated greatly or just updated it in places? 

[Babe_Williams]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 11:42am

Mister Matt said: "I really wish I could see the shows this season.  I'm very curious about Dear Evan Hansen.  Listening to the score, I rate it below Comet and Come From Away (and I've yet to hear Groundhog Day, but I loved Minchin's work on Matilda), so I'm curious to know what about the show is generating so much excitement.  I'm sure I'd enjoy it, but for some reason, nothing I've read or heard about it has really grabbed my interest.

 

"

 

This is how I feel. I have listened to DEH several times and I couldn't hum one melody from any of a song right now if you asked. I also listened to CFA and it made a far greater impression on me.

 

[Kad]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 11:45am

I saw DEH at Second Stage and quite frankly time has diminished the show in my eyes substantially. It is anchored by Platt and Bay Jones- I think they're ultimately load-bearing performances that hold the piece up.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 11:48am

Kad said: "I saw DEH at Second Stage and quite frankly time has diminished the show in my eyes substantially. It is anchored by Platt and Bay Jones- I think they're ultimately load-bearing performances that hold the piece up."

I'm precisely in the same boat here.

Months have passed since I've seen DEH, Comet, and Come from Away, and in my eyes, Comet is the only one that astonished me and hasn't waned since. DEH and Come from Away are fine, extremely good shows, but to me, Comet was on another level, and represents what's exciting about the future of musical theatre.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 12:44pm

Babe_Williams said: "This is how I feel. I have listened to DEH several times and I couldn't hum one melody from any of a song right now if you asked. I also listened to CFA and it made a far greater impression on me.
 

This is an absolutely ridiculous statement since DEH has by far the most melodic score of the year as well as those of previous years.  Come from Away is the show that, IMO, really does not have a very memorable score at all.  DEH has achieved something that is very rare in it's score.  It has finally created a score that is reminiscent of authentic pop music while also being specific to the story and being able to advance plot and character.  There have been shows such as Next to Normal where it doesn't feel like an authentic pop score, but rather a musical theatre score trying to be a pop score, but DEH seems to have broken that code.

IMO the only real threat to DEH's score is The Great Comet, which has a rich, inventive, classical score that is strange, but complex.  It's quite an intelligently written show that really does require multiple listenings to fully appreciate.  DEH is more accessible and so I think it may have the upper hand, however.

I really think that DEH deserves best musical and I think if it lost, we would look back on it the way we now look back on the Billy Elliott over Next to Normal year, the Kinky Boots over Matilda year, and the La Cage Aux Folles over Sunday year.

 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 12:55pm

bdn223 said: "I think everyone is forgetting that outside of Book, Score, and Musical, revivals *cough*Hello Dolly*cough*  will be eligible for ever other award. As nearly 99.9% of those including myself and even Riedel has said, it is a Perfect production in every imaginable way. Say what you will about the 3 way horse race between DEH, CFA, and NPATGCO1812, but I think this may be a similar year to the 2008 Tony's where of the 15 Musical categories 10 of which went to South Pacific and Gypsy. This is nothing against the new musicals, this is actually probably the strongest year for new musicals since the 2008-2009 season which gave us Billy Elliot, Next to Normal, and [Title of Show], or even 2006-2007 which gave us Spring Awakening, Grey Gardens, Mary Poppins, and Legally Blonde. I just think everyone including myself are pleasantly surprised that Hello Dolly isn't just the star vehicle for Ms Midler, but an amazing production on its own, and will be rewarded for that.  

One the horserace though, having only seen DEH and the Kazino production of NPATGCO1812 (I am seeing it at the Imperial in a couple weeks), I think NPATGCO1812 is more deserving of Best New Musical, as it successfully reinvents musical story telling. Its akin to the reasoning why The Lion King beat Ragtime, the later of which is arguably the better musical which is why it won Best Book and Score, but the former was the better production. I am surprised everyone is expressing disgust towards DEH's book, as I honestly thought is was its strongest element, making it the best Book musical in nearly a generation.

I think one thing everyone is discounting though was the way NPATGCO1812's producer's treated Ars Nova, which might come back to hurt them come Tony time, akin to Matilda vs Kinky Boots. The Royal Shakespeare Company managed to anger every major Broadway player in picking The Dodgers to bring the Matilda to Broadway, and then attempt to game the Tony's pushing Bertie Carvel into Best Leading actor. Then Kinky Boots opened mixed to rave reviews, but held its tale between its legs, played up the Feel Good Musical aspect, all the while kissing voters butts, leading to its eventual victory over Matilda. This is the main reason I think Come From Away has a strong chance, as well as the fact its win would be a *(*&*& You to Trump."

You do know that the4re are fewer letters required to type GREAT COMET than to type NPATGCO1812's, right? 

[froote]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 1:07pm

Please, Dear Evan Hansen wishes it had a score like Next to Normal (might be why Good For You sounds like a carbon copy of You Don't Know). Ballad after ballad after ballad = zzz.

Updated On: 4/6/17 at 01:07 PM

[bdn223]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 1:10pm

JSquared2 said: "bdn223 said: "I think everyone is forgetting that outside of Book, Score, and Musical, revivals *cough*Hello Dolly*cough*  will be eligible for ever other award. As nearly 99.9% of those including myself and even Riedel has said, it is a Perfect production in every imaginable way. Say what you will about the 3 way horse race between DEH, CFA, and NPATGCO1812, but I think this may be a similar year to the 2008 Tony's where of the 15 Musical categories 10 of which went to South Pacific and Gypsy. This is nothing against the new musicals, this is actually probably the strongest year for new musicals since the 2008-2009 season which gave us Billy Elliot, Next to Normal, and [Title of Show], or even 2006-2007 which gave us Spring Awakening, Grey Gardens, Mary Poppins, and Legally Blonde. I just think everyone including myself are pleasantly surprised that Hello Dolly isn't just the star vehicle for Ms Midler, but an amazing production on its own, and will be rewarded for that.  

One the horserace though, having only seen DEH and the Kazino production of NPATGCO1812 (I am seeing it at the Imperial in a couple weeks), I think NPATGCO1812 is more deserving of Best New Musical, as it successfully reinvents musical story telling. Its akin to the reasoning why The Lion King beat Ragtime, the later of which is arguably the better musical which is why it won Best Book and Score, but the former was the better production. I am surprised everyone is expressing disgust towards DEH's book, as I honestly thought is was its strongest element, making it the best Book musical in nearly a generation.

I think one thing everyone is discounting though was the way NPATGCO1812's producer's treated Ars Nova, which might come back to hurt them come Tony time, akin to Matilda vs Kinky Boots. The Royal Shakespeare Company managed to anger every major Broadway player in picking The Dodgers to bring the Matilda to Broadway, and then attempt to game the Tony's pushing Bertie Carvel into Best Leading actor. Then Kinky Boots opened mixed to rave reviews, but held its tale between its legs, played up the Feel Good Musical aspect, all the while kissing voters butts, leading to its eventual victory over Matilda. This is the main reason I think Come From Away has a strong chance, as well as the fact its win would be a *(*&*& You to Trump."

You do know that the4re are fewer letters required to type GREAT COMET than to type NPATGCO1812's, right? 

 

"

If Dave Malloy wanted it to be titled Great Comet, he would of named it as such. Instead he named it the mouthful that is Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, so I feel somehow obligated to maintain that mouthful feel even when abbreviating the name....duh!

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 1:13pm

I'm sure Dave Malloy is very pleased that you're upholding the artistic integrity of his show on this message board that he certainly reads.

[Babe_Williams]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 1:17pm

icecreambenjamin said: "Babe_Williams said: "This is how I feel. I have listened to DEH several times and I couldn't hum one melody from any of a song right now if you asked. I also listened to CFA and it made a far greater impression on me.
 

This is an absolutely ridiculous statement since DEH has by far the most melodic score of the year as well as those of previous years.  Come from Away is the show that, IMO, really does not have a very memorable score at all.  DEH has achieved something that is very rare in it's score.  It has finally created a score that is reminiscent of authentic pop music while also being specific to the story and being able to advance plot and character.  There have been shows such as Next to Normal where it doesn't feel like an authentic pop score, but rather a musical theatre score trying to be a pop score, but DEH seems to have broken that code.

IMO the only real threat to DEH's score is The Great Comet, which has a rich, inventive, classical score that is strange, but complex.  It's quite an intelligently written show that really does require multiple listenings to fully appreciate.  DEH is more accessible and so I think it may have the upper hand, however.

I really think that DEH deserves best musical and I think if it lost, we would look back on it the way we now look back on the Billy Elliott over Next to Normal year, the Kinky Boots over Matilda year, and the La Cage Aux Folles over Sunday year.

 

 

"

Okay cool. My experience is literally that I do not find any of the melodies from DEH to be endearing or to have stuck with me. I have no idea why you are arguing with me about something that is a matter of opinion and my personal experience. 

 

This board is so crazy sometimes, but I love it. lol

[haterobics]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 1:18pm

bdn223 said: "he named it the mouthful that is Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, so I feel somehow obligated to maintain that mouthful feel even when abbreviating the name....duh!"

You'd have a stronger point if the website weren't greatcometbroadway.com. Once Malloy sold out to the web, all bets were off...

[LesWickedly]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 1:20pm

I find myself singing different songs from all three scores and think they're all great, but DEH is definitely my favorite. I think Dear Evan Hansen is the front runner in both Book and score, but CFA poses a threat to Book and Comet to score. This will be such an interesting and exciting year with three very deserving shows.

[bdn223]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 1:42pm

haterobics said: "bdn223 said: "he named it the mouthful that is Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, so I feel somehow obligated to maintain that mouthful feel even when abbreviating the name....duh!"

You'd have a stronger point if the website weren't greatcometbroadway.com. Once Malloy sold out to the web, all bets were off...

 

"

Does nobody understand that the "...duh!" was meant to emphasize that I was being sarcastic?

[carnzee]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 1:51pm

A Funny Thing Happened to Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 on the Way to the Forum... based on the novel 'PUSH ' by Sapphire

[PaulWom]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 1:55pm

bdn223 said: "I think everyone is forgetting that outside of Book, Score, and Musical, revivals *cough*Hello Dolly*cough*  will be eligible for ever other award. As nearly 99.9% of those including myself and even Riedel has said, it is a Perfect production in every imaginable way. Say what you will about the 3 way horse race between DEH, CFA, and NPATGCO1812, but I think this may be a similar year to the 2008 Tony's where of the 15 Musical categories 10 of which went to South Pacific and Gypsy. This is nothing against the new musicals, this is actually probably the strongest year for new musicals since the 2008-2009 season which gave us Billy Elliot, Next to Normal, and [Title of Show], or even 2006-2007 which gave us Spring Awakening, Grey Gardens, Mary Poppins, and Legally Blonde. I just think everyone including myself are pleasantly surprised that Hello Dolly isn't just the star vehicle for Ms Midler, but an amazing production on its own, and will be rewarded for that.  

One the horserace though, having only seen DEH and the Kazino production of NPATGCO1812 (I am seeing it at the Imperial in a couple weeks), I think NPATGCO1812 is more deserving of Best New Musical, as it successfully reinvents musical story telling. Its akin to the reasoning why The Lion King beat Ragtime, the later of which is arguably the better musical which is why it won Best Book and Score, but the former was the better production. I am surprised everyone is expressing disgust towards DEH's book, as I honestly thought is was its strongest element, making it the best Book musical in nearly a generation.

I think one thing everyone is discounting though was the way NPATGCO1812's producer's treated Ars Nova, which might come back to hurt them come Tony time, akin to Matilda vs Kinky Boots. The Royal Shakespeare Company managed to anger every major Broadway player in picking The Dodgers to bring the Matilda to Broadway, and then attempt to game the Tony's pushing Bertie Carvel into Best Leading actor. Then Kinky Boots opened mixed to rave reviews, but held its tale between its legs, played up the Feel Good Musical aspect, all the while kissing voters butts, leading to its eventual victory over Matilda. This is the main reason I think Come From Away has a strong chance, as well as the fact its win would be a *(*&*& You to Trump.

 

"

Oh please... The Ars Nova thing was last year, and it ended. It's not like the producer is still fighting w them over billing. That would be a ridiculous reason for Tony voters to vote against them (and you know it's ridiculous if Riedel is citing it). 

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 4/6/17 at 3:49pm

I think DEAR EVAN HANSEN was fantastic, and one of the best new musicals I have seen in the last ten years. But while I thought it was fabulous (and superior in material to NEXT TO NORMAL), I don't think it has the innovation that GREAT COMET or recent winners FUN HOME and HAMILTON have. Passaic and Paul have a solid score, but it easily falls in to a formula that stood out to me when I saw the second preview. Ben, Rachel, and Jennifer took the show from being solid and made it special. That, plus the electric audience at the second preview, made the show memorable.

I didn't see COME FROM AWAY at La Jolla, but I've listened to most of the cast recording and I've really enjoyed it! I can see why it is doing so well, and it's cool to see more than one original musical doing well in a season.

Personally, I've never been more in awe of a musical than GREAT COMET. I had been listening to the cast recording for about two years, but nothing could have prepared me for what I experienced walking in to the Imperial. The score shone with the band throughout the house, and the cast was uniformly fantastic. My jaw was dropped the entire time, and I think the Tony committee might want to award its originality.

Award-wise, I think DEAR EVAN HANSEN will take Book and Actor, while GREAT COMET will take Musical, Director, Score, Set, and Orchestrations. I'm not sure about COME FROM AWAY, but I feel like it will still get at least one award, whether it be Orchestrations or Score. Lighting is a toss-up between DEAR EVAN HANSEN or GREAT COMET. It'll be interesting to see how HELLO DOLLY factors in to these design awards, but otherwise this is what I see happening.