Riedel's Take on the Best Revival Situation

HAVE an egg roll, Mr. Laurents. You've given Broadway its first genuine musical hit of the spring: "Gypsy."

Only a week ago, the $8 million revival, directed by 90-year-old Broadway legend Arthur Laurents, looked like a pretty shaky bet. But Friday, the day the critics were tossing their hats in the air (or, in Big Ben Brantley's case, eating them), Momma Rose pocketed about $425,000.

Over the weekend, she scooped up more than $1 million.

"It's starting to cook," says a source, who admits ticket sales were pretty slow in previews.

The show's chief competition, "South Pacific," opens Thursday night at Lincoln Center. Word around town is that the critics like it as well, which should set up a nice horse race for the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical.

A third revival - "Sunday in the Park With George" - seems to be fading, largely because Tony nominators and voters think The Roundabout skimped on the orchestra, which sounds as if it's made up of a kazoo and a couple of combs wrapped in wax paper.

"Grease," the fourth revival of the season, is the worst show in the history of theater and represents an unparalleled assault on Western civilization and its values.

(...)

ON another front, there's talk that Laurents shouldn't be eligible for the Tony.

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Love the lines about the SUNDAY orchestra (I agree) and GREASE of course.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04022008/entertainment/theater/gypsy_revives_tony_spat_104605.htm

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Updated On: 4/2/08 at 04:08 AM

It's nice to see someone point out how CHEAP Roundabout is with their Orchestras.

I think a good old snuberoo, at least in the Orchestrations category, is in order for SUNDAY.

The full 25+ piece Orchestras used for SOUTH PACIFIC and GYPSY, could eat SUNDAY's six piece Orchestra alive, and they make SUCH a difference to the enjoyment of the productions.

I also hope that Laurents is eligible for the Best Director nomination. He is clearly the core of what made *this* GYPSY work as stunningly as it is, and he should get recognition for that.

I also hope that the Nominating Committee is somehow given the "OK" not to nominate GREASE for Best Revival. They attempted this with the dreadful THREEPENNY revival a few years ago, but the Administration Committee said you have to fill out the category.

I think all three revivals are STUNNING, and I hope all three win some Tonys this season, no matter what the categories.

This is the year for revivals, and they're all doing beautifully at the box office (even the Sondheim piece!)

I'd love to see SOUTH PACIFIC, SUNDAY, and GYPSY have long, healthy runs on Broadway.

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Updated On: 4/2/08 at 06:14 AM

Or even a roll.

One note on the Sunday orchestrations. The original cast recording of Sunday in the Park augmented the orchestration from the theatre, so it sounds bigger than it was. In the theatre, the original was scored for 11 musicians. Now, I'm a fan of big orchestras, and original orchestrations, and I missed a few things here and there in the smaller orchestration for the current revival, but in this case, I adjusted to it pretty quickly, and it allowed a certain intimacy with the material. I think Riedel's claims are bogus.

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You don't have to nominated 4 every year. You have to nominate (correct me if I'm wrong) 75%, since the number of revivals is up in the air. If that is indeed the case, then GREASE can be left in the lurch, unlike 3PENNY, which was the 3rd show.

(And for the record, kudos to Riedel for FINALLY tearing into GREASE. Better late than never. Too bad it only took 9 months. Maybe he was gestating.)

I don't know about the 75% rule -- I may be mistaken on this (I don't have my TONY book handy), but weren't there only two nominations the year of Sunset Boulevard and Smokey Joe's Cafe? And I'm almost proof positive that in 1958 (I know, the rules have changed and changed and changed), only Flower Drum Song and Redhead were nominated in the Best Musical and Best Actress in a Musical category.

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""Grease," the fourth revival of the season, is the worst show in the history of theater and represents an unparalleled assault on Western civilization and its values."

It is Mr. Riedel's delicacy and understatements like that that earned him that Pulitzer yesterday.

>>The Roundabout skimped on the orchestra, which sounds as if >>it's made up of a kazoo and a couple of combs wrapped in wax >>paper.

If only it sounded that good.

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Taz, are you kidding? Might I remind you, man's greatest artistic achievement is eligible this year? The Tony's this year will be rated "X"


X-A-N-A-D-U!

doesn't hold a candle to YF, TLM, or Cry Baby joe.

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Seriously? Sondheim on Broadway with six musicians?

What is this, dinner theater?

The only fitting punishment is to nominate "Grease" instead. It's basically scored for about that number isn't it?

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Right, because if it wins awards, it MUST be good.

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I predict Patti for Actress, but South Pacific for revival.

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Interesting turn of the tides here.
For the longest time people were swearing up and down that Sunday was the sure winner. It was only on ATC that South Pacific was getting the buzz.
First person accounts say that Brantley was in tears for much of the Saturday afternoon performance. Granted, it could have been dust, or utter dismay at how bad the show was, but I think we know that's not true.