Should there be a Showboat revival anytime soon?- Page 2

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/6/12 at 10:14am

Yes, as long as they don't "reduce" the orchestrations.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 1/6/12 at 10:33am

As Eric noted, they'll all be actor/musicians.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/6/12 at 11:15am

This would be the first show where the actor/musician concept would actually fit in with the characters and the show.

[Jon]

Posted: 1/6/12 at 11:55am

Here's an idea - instead of actors playing instruments, how about MUSICIANS IN COSTUME ON STAGE - in the apprpriate scenes. An actual Cotton Blossom marching band in the opening. Musicians in tuxedos at the Trocadero. A jazz band in the final scene.

[RainbowJude]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 11:06am

Can't we please just have a revival of the Hal Prince production? That would suit me just fine.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 12:09pm

That cast was perfection. I'll never forget the voices and personalities. Such strong actor/singers in each role.

Add in Prince's direction and Susan Stroman's choreography, and you get magic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdkWyH7qGdE

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 12:22pm

I agree that the Hal Prince staging was just amazing, but must have been very expensive (and thus very daunting for a producer to consider remounting). I only saw it on tour, but it certainly didn't feel scaled down at all and seemed to be doing really good business (if I remember correctly it sat down at the State Theatre in Cleveland for a good four to six weeks). It also toured with some fairly big names, Dean Jones and Cloris Leachman were playing Cap'n Andy and Parthy when I saw it, and I'm pretty sure both Michael Bell and Lonnette McKee were also touring with the show as well.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 12:25pm

The Broadway cast was huge! I saw Stritch as Parthy and John McMartin as Capt. Andy. They had a full black chorus and a full white chorus. I would guess over 40 people in the show, total. Plus a full-size orchestra, too.

It was heaven.

EDIT: Correction --- holy crap, there were 66 in that Broadway cast, and I'm not counting standbys/understudies who didn't appear on stage.

Updated On: 1/7/12 at 12:25 PM

[AC126748]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 12:41pm

The Broadway revival remains one of the greatest experiences of my theatre-going life. I'm glad I saw it at the age I did. Lonette McKee's "Bill" alone was worth the price of admission.

I can imagine how the cost of reviving the Prince production would be prohibitive. I know it ran for close to three years; did it recoup?

And I'm not sure if Goth was being facetious or not, but the idea of Naya Rivera as Julie in a few years actually sounds quite good to me.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 12:45pm

Well, I imagine since Livent was one of the producers, recouping probably wasn't exactly an option.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 1:10pm

Yeah, I was going to say, who knows what the story is as far as recouping? We know the "books were cooked" now, so it may or may not have recouped legitimately. I know it was sold out completely when I saw it. I managed to score a 7th row center orchestra ticket the day of the performance. I had an old "summer stock" friend playing one of the lead roles. We went out for drinks afterward. Such a memorable day all around!

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 1:19pm

They really should have recorded the whole show for PBS.

Just listen to the voices in the all-male black chorus at the 1:45 mark. This isn't even the full black chorus from this production (no females here), let alone the combined "mixed" chorus, totaling over 40! Such incredible talent on that stage.


Old Man River 1994 Cast

Updated On: 1/7/12 at 01:19 PM

[charlesjguiteau]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 1:42pm

Another rave here for Prince's production. It was the absolute must-see of the '94 season-- cast, staging, music-making-- and memories of Eugene Lee's sets will live on and on as the definitive vision of that show for all time. Any producer today would be foolish to try to compete with that high-water mark in our theater-going memories.

Unless that producer's name was Hal Prince... Wouldn't a 30-minute condensation of SHOWBOAT be the ultimate finale for the upcoming PRINCE OF BROADWAY? Frankly no-one else should attempt it.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 2:08pm

I just remember all the distinct voices. Lonette's incredibly smokey and "world weary" alto, Rebecca Luker's silky smooth and faultless soprano (one of the best I've ever heard on stage), Gretha Boston's fiery gospel belt, and Michel Ball's booming and stirring baritone. Mark Jacoby's soaring tenor. Plus the brilliant character voices of Strich and McMartin.

Can we just bring that back?!

Or a more realistic question ... will a Broadway revival of Show Boat (or any other musical revival) ever see such size, scope, and range again?
Rebecca Luker - Can't Help Lovin' That Man (Act II)

[charlesjguiteau]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 3:54pm

Only slightly off topic, does anyone have a source for a CD of the '94 production? Seems to be out of print at the usual sources... All I've got is my old cassette of the show (remember the 90's?), and it's a bitch trying to jog my usual morning route with a cassette player tied to my arm...

[AC126748]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 4:02pm

The cast recording has been out of print for years. Used copies are available on Amazon, starting at less than $1. That's how I acquired my copy.
Link

[metropolis10111]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 4:12pm

Lyric Opera... March 17.. I can't wait!!! the notes from the Lyric newsletter said that we will get songs not normally preformed so I REALLY hope that "Misery's Coming Around" will be in it. WIth a FULL FULL orchestra and the trained opera voices that the piece was written for... I'm so excited

[My Oh My]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 6:53pm

I came very close to booking a trip to Chicago to see the Lyric production after reading about it on their website. Sounds like it's going to be amazing and I envy all of you who are attending! Make sure to tell us about it. It's not every day a major production of this show is staged.

I'm also of the opinion that the Hal Prince revival is among the best. His adaptation is certainly the most satisfying to me. I only saw it once back when it played the Ahmanson in Los Angeles and almost got a chance to see it again when it swung by Costa Mesa a couple years later but, alas, that was a no-go. I'd be thrilled to experience that production again. Perfection.

The Hal Prince revival had a 3 U.S. "replica" tours making the rounds simultaneously during the late 90's in addition to the Broadway production. It wasn't until the Livent scandal that the show folded on Broadway and the tours were simplified--at least they went on. I think Broadway's had to cancel performances, though I could be remembering wrong.

I'd love to see a production with all the material intact, even it it would last 4 hours, lol.

Updated On: 1/7/12 at 06:53 PM

[AC126748]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 7:12pm

I'll be curious to see how much material the Lyric production uses. Opera audiences are no strangers to long sits, so I'd hope they'd try to be as true to the original piece as possible.

[charlesjguiteau]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 7:54pm

Thanks for the link, AC. Got the CD for a song (by Kern).

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 9:58pm

"And I'm not sure if Goth was being facetious or not, but the idea of Naya Rivera as Julie in a few years actually sounds quite good to me."

Not being facetious on that one. I think Naya Rivera is one of the most talented women on tv and I hope she has a long, long career. I'd love to see her in Kiss of the Spiderwoman or Bye Bye Birdie. (Not to cast her as the next Chita, of course I'd love to see her in some original material, and Naya deserves to be a top name star.) Naya, Mercedes and Mike Chan are the only talent worth watching on Glee.

[RainbowJude]

Posted: 1/8/12 at 1:19am

metropolis10111 wrote:
With a FULL FULL orchestra and the trained opera voices that the piece was written for... I'm so excited

How oddly incongruous. Recently when you posted something related to trained opera voices and the pieces that were written for them, you said that '(you) thought (you were) going to have to cage up (your) dog'. You were talking about the 'gods awful strange "opera" "One More Kiss" thing' in FOLLIES. This was in the FOLLIES on NPR thread (https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1039157&boardname=&boardid=1).

Sure, I get the idea that there are people who don't enjoy Rosalind Elias's delivery of the song vocally and I must admit, even if it turns out to be an unpopular opinion around here, that there are other performances of the song that I prefer listening to from a vocal point of view. However, the singer is essentially a separate thing from the song (except in the moment when they come together); thus, I am struggling to reconcile your earlier opinion with this statement about SHOW BOAT. Care to elucidate?

Specifically, I'd like to know what your objections to the song itself are as a pastiche of operetta, when it appears that you enjoy at least one show written that makes ample use of the style in question.

Updated On: 1/8/12 at 01:19 AM

[AC126748]

Posted: 1/8/12 at 9:20am

I agree with you, Goth, that Rivera is the chief reason to watch GLEE and that she has a bright future. I'd pay to see her in any of the roles you suggest.

[metropolis10111]

Posted: 1/8/12 at 10:11am

RainbowJude: I’m charmed that felt so strongly to my post several months back on a different thread. I never in that thread stated my distaste for nor that I abhor opera. So to surmise that I have no ear for that was an incorrect assumption on your part. I merely stated that that song performance was a vocal abomination to both my speakers and my animals both of which are still in therapy. Nothing in Follies, to me, will ever meet up to the majesty and magnificent splendor of Showboat. It is a show that I happen to love with a passion. I’m excited here because the show is not normally performed with the trained opera singers that the sore was written for. They were not writing a pastiche of opera they were writing songs for the operatic voice. There is a difference there. Also remember a pastiche is just that and not the real thing, and just like Coke I prefer the real thing. This is not a thread about Follies so please don’t turn it into one. If you want to discuss Showboat and the opera voices in it feel free but the last thing we need here is another thread about Follies. Remember there IS more to the theater world then Follies or Sondheim.

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 1/8/12 at 10:31am

Guess I'm in the minority, but was only somewhat impressed with the Prince SHOW BOAT. Some lovely singing, yes, and the score is certainly one of the best ever written for the musical stage, and Gretha Boston was wonderful, but not much distinctiveness to the acting, and having Stritch serenade the baby with "Why Do I Love You?' was a bit much. And hearing Michael Bell as Joe sing "Old Man River" over and over again became a bore. I think the show is unwieldy at best, too many disparate segments and pieces to choose from that don't really jell. Prince's production made a good attempt (way better than the "concert" version at Avery Fisher with Nathan Gunn, what a mess), but I don't believe that it is the "definitive" production that many people make it out to be.