Robert Longbottom

[esparza 333]

Posted: 11/14/09 at 9:54am

This year has been an eventful one for Longbottom as his critically panned production of Bye Bye Birdie opened on broadway and his new Dreamgirls production is getting early raves. His choreography has brought him a tony nomination for Flower Drum Song. He as we all know also directed and choreographed Side Show. I think it is time to discuss his work thus far and your impressions of it. As we saw with this years productions he can be hit and miss. Share your thoughts about some of his productions.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 11/14/09 at 10:04am

Good thread choice--I have to admit I'm curious about the man too, especially after the one/two of Birdie/Dreamgirls.

He choreographed Birdie as well but only did some of the Dreamgirls choreography, right?

I do think he needs to do a movie with Michael Winterbottom and they should credit themselves as the Bottom Boys :) Just sayin'

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 11/14/09 at 10:48am

Nothing wrong with a long bottom...

[Q]

Posted: 11/14/09 at 11:56am

"Nothing wrong with a long bottom..."

Unless they're in skinny jeans.

[RainbowJude]

Posted: 11/14/09 at 12:35pm

My feeling on his work in general is as follows. In terms of conceptualization, I find that he says some very odd things when it comes to talking about how the musicals directs are put together and how he thinks that the changes he's making to the texts are for the better. In terms of how he handles performers, well, frankly I wish he spurred his performers on towards excellence or even got them to pitch the material at the right energy. These are both reasons why I think BYE BYE BIRDIE has ended up the way that it has - obviously not the only reasons, but I do think they play a part in why the show looks so lackluster.

I know the buzz is good for DREAMGIRLS. I hope it turns out better than BYE BYE BIRDIE, though I'd personally prefer to see the Michael Bennett staging reproduced than something that's half old/half new. From the photos we've seen, the costuming seems to be a mix of what we saw in the original production and the film and, of course, the inclusion of "Listen" plays into that mentality, even if it is used in a different context. But the new lyrics are so trite and almost sound like a parody of the well-written song scenes in the show. I don't know that Longbottom really has the vision to make something like that work and I wonder how much of the good word of mouth is actually due to what was retained from the Bennett staging of the show.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/14/09 at 3:54pm

To go from Sideshow which was great to Birdie.

It looks like he may have been a one hit wonder.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 11/14/09 at 8:30pm

Longbottom may have had too much DREAMGIRLS on his mind while working on BIRDIE. He obviously didn't give the latter the attention it required.

[musicalbluemirror]

Posted: 11/14/09 at 8:41pm

Mr. Roxy i was thinking the same thing as I read the birdie review

[After Eight]

Posted: 11/14/09 at 11:41pm

He did a good job with "Side Show." His "Flower Drum Song" and "Bye Bye Birdie" were both disasters.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 11/14/09 at 11:47pm

As someone who has never gotten the appeal of Side Show which has always just seemed way too campy and odd to me--what was so great about his staging?

[philly03]

Posted: 11/14/09 at 11:49pm

"To go from Sideshow which was great to Birdie.

It looks like he may have been a one hit wonder."

Don't forget he changed a dull & boring The Scarlet Pimpernel to a totally revamped show which when revisited by certain critics got some great reviews. He directed SP 2.0 through 4...I thoght he did a great job on those. Great work on SideShow; haven't seen Birdie though and missed Flower Drum Song!

[Pgenre]

Posted: 11/14/09 at 11:58pm

Longbottom's SIDE SHOW staging was a Bennett meets late Fosse rip-off. It was unimaginative, and the only parts worthwhile were stolen outright from Bennett in DREAMGIRLS and SCANDAL and Fosse's BIG DEAL (of all the shows to steal from...). That's why some responded to the staging because, despite the theft, he brought together the elements in a relatively seamless fashion. Nothing groundbreaking or totally, though.

I imagine his DREAMGIRLS is much the same regurgitated Bennett meets bland, turgid "re-examination" ala Longbottom stripping the original work of a lot of it's impact and excitement.

And I LIKE his SIDE SHOW staging, if we are to call it his... so this is all said with that in mind. I guess I like the SHOW not his staging, though the score is far from DREAMGIRLS as relatively interesting entertaining as it may be (some of the lyrics are not my favorites though). Actually, KEPT is a better show, but that's for another Kreiger thread.

SS is a great score regardless of the shortcomings of the original staging. And that original cast was absolute tops.

P

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/15/09 at 12:02am

I liked the original Scarlett & did not see any of the subsequent versions.

Updated On: 11/15/09 at 12:02 AM

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 11/15/09 at 11:03am

I enjoyed Flower Drum Song. I especially liked the choreography for Fan Tan Fannie.

[bwayrose2]

Posted: 11/15/09 at 11:17am

Dreamgirls is okay, but not amazing. It's a solid production but the smaller scenework needs a lot of rehearsing. Right now, it's all about the big moments and numbers but the individual moments have been ignored.

Friends who worked with him on FLOWER DRUM said he's kind of a jerk and terrorized the cast.

[RainbowJude]

Posted: 11/15/09 at 11:43am

Perhaps he's not really a director-choreographer after all. I wonder if he's not just a choreographer who needs to be focused and grounded in the work by a director. He doesn't seem to be in the same league as Robbins, Fosse, Bennett or Tune.

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 11/15/09 at 12:48pm

I have now seen both Birdie, and Dreamgirls, and I don't think that the staging in Dreamgirls was much better than Birdie.

To me, the production just looked cheap because of the lame five panels, and one table that slid in and out. The show itself is fantastic, but it really just seemed like something was lacking because most of the time they were standing on a bare stage.

There were a few moments of brilliance, including some quick costume changes when spotlights zoomed in on people's faces and their bodies were dark.

I did think that some of the casting could have been better, too. Everyone was good, but I feel like there was the potential for the production to much better if the cast was stronger.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 11/15/09 at 12:51pm

One hit wonder? Doesn't the show have to be a hit to get that title? Side Show was a flop (a great flop, but still a flop).

[Unknown User]

Posted: 11/15/09 at 12:55pm

"There were a few moments of brilliance, including some quick costume changes when spotlights zoomed in on people's faces and their bodies were dark."

This of course was one of the most famous staging elements in how Bennett staged I Am Changing.

I really have to investigate Side Show--I hated the Tony song at the time and just have ignored it but I'm oddly fascinated to find out just how his staging was a sort of merging of elements of Fosse and Bennett--and I have to say after reading the New York Time's largely glowing review I'm surprised it closed SOO quickly (not surprised it flopped but really I would expect from that review alone a run of a few more months). Are there any videos or images that show some of his staging?