#1
Posted: 5/12/16 at 3:14pm
What are some shows that over time, lost the "spark" they once had. I can think of Cats and Mamma Mia
Shows that over time lost their "spark"
#2
Posted: 5/12/16 at 3:24pm
I saw the second national tour of Wicked last August. The show had lost its luster and spark. It seemed faded and tired from both the design elements and cast. The Broadeay production, though, has held up incredibly well.
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#3
Posted: 5/12/16 at 3:27pm
I was struck by the Playstation-looking projections the last time I saw Wicked, but otherwise I agree that Wicked has held up pretty well on Broadway.
Phantom felt very, very tired the last time I saw it.
#4
Posted: 5/12/16 at 3:27pm
Though I agree with bwayphreak that the Broadway production of Wicked has held up particularly well compared to other long-running shows, I think that their ensemble has become more and more robotic each time I return to the Gershwin. Seems plenty of them are long-standing, loyal alums who have been there forever, which is great, but I think it takes a little bit of a toll on the show's energy.
Also, this is rather specific, but I think a good chunk of Wicked's "spark" was removed when they took out the large, looming, circling wicked witch's hat from the top of the show. Since then, I just haven't felt the utter marvel it had on me 12+ years ago (please note I say all these things as a diehard Wicked fan!).
#5
Posted: 5/12/16 at 3:32pm
What do you think it takes to reinvigorate a long running show? Cast, move theatres? What they do in London is they often replace the cast members all at once.
#6
Posted: 5/12/16 at 3:35pm
When I saw Jersey Boys in September 2014, I didn't really feel the excitement and energy that people had told me was so great all those years. (the Broadway production)
#7
Posted: 5/12/16 at 3:50pm
Phantom to me is the ultimate example of something that lost its spark. Chicago as well.
I'm in the minority here, but I think Book of Mormon lost some of the spark too - I feel like many of the actors are doing impressions of the originals, particularly the Josh Gad character.
#8
Posted: 5/12/16 at 4:11pm
Les Mis for sure- especially in the dumbed down revival and with some of the hack job edits
#9
Posted: 5/12/16 at 4:26pm
All that have been mentioned, plus Matilda especially with the lazy accent training.
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#10
Posted: 5/12/16 at 4:52pm
devonian.t said: "Les Mis for sure- especially in the dumbed down revival and with some of the hack job edits"
Amen. I saw it in 2013 and it didn't even seem like the cast was paying attention to what they were saying. Pure rote, and hoping nostalgia would fill the seats.
Also, can anyone tell me what they use the original costumes in "A Chorus Line"? I saw it about seven years ago and thought, why are they all wearing vintage 1970s workout clothes? It really dates the show.
#11
Posted: 5/12/16 at 4:54pm
Definitely Les mis was so underwhelming when I saw it last year
#12
Posted: 5/12/16 at 4:59pm
Very recently.. Kinky.
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#13
Posted: 5/12/16 at 4:59pm
Jersey Boys
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#14
Posted: 5/12/16 at 5:32pm
sarahb22 said: "Also, can anyone tell me what they use the original costumes in "A Chorus Line"? I saw it about seven years ago and thought, why are they all wearing vintage 1970s workout clothes? It really dates the show. "
From these two images (original and revival) they don't seem too different. In fact they seem pretty similar apart from the women showing more leg in the revival.
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#15
Posted: 5/12/16 at 6:00pm
Matilda because of the awful accents
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#16
Posted: 5/12/16 at 6:24pm
The current revival of Les Miserables had no spark from day one.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
#17
Posted: 5/12/16 at 6:36pm
recent Phantom tour was completely awful and sparkless, and recent Jersey boys tour was horribly miscast and nearly sparkless, save for those incredible songs...
the recent wicked touring cast was sparkless the first show i saw, then redeemed itself somewhat a month later (still one of the weakest tour casts ive seen in 10 years)
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#18
Posted: 5/12/16 at 6:36pm
"Chicago" is a MESS. Get a director in there.
They/them.
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#19
Posted: 5/12/16 at 6:37pm
Call_me_jorge said: "All that have been mentioned, plus Matilda especially with the lazy accent training.
"
The accents are unfortunate, but what's even more unfortunate is that the "lazy" accents were a conscious choice made by the directing team for the replacement casts.
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#20
Posted: 5/12/16 at 6:42pm
Related to the loss of "spark" some long running shows don't hold up well due to tech advancements. I saw Phantom for the second time a few years back (after seeing it as a kid) and there was very little magic. I wondered if there was a way to take advantage of new technology and update some of the stunts but then I figured it's probably not worth it to producers.
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#21
Posted: 5/12/16 at 6:42pm
Phantom and especially Chicago.
I wish I could have seen Phantom in its early days. When I saw it on Broadway, more than 2 decades after it opened, I could tell how amazing it must have once been but it's really not now.
#22
Posted: 5/12/16 at 6:47pm
I saw Chicago about ten years ago when Bebe Neuwirth returned to play Roxie and while she was very good, the rest of the show was not. I can only imagine how much it's deteriorated now if it was that dull then.
#23
Posted: 5/12/16 at 6:50pm
Marlothom said: "Related to the loss of "spark" some long running shows don't hold up well due to tech advancements. I saw Phantom for the second time a few years back (after seeing it as a kid) and there was very little magic. I wondered if there was a way to take advantage of new technology and update some of the stunts but then I figured it's probably not worth it to producers.
"That's the big question isn't it. How far should directors go to reinvigorate a show. Casting changes happen all the time. I think that some of the effects in Phantom could be updated but without changing the effect itself. By that I mean they should add a few more bells and whistles. Maybe increase the speed of the chandler. Bring Hal Prince back in to do a bit of tweaking. I ask myself how far should they go to keep something fresh. Chicago is going to update their costumes. Getting back to my point, I think that Phantom needs something to give it new energy.
#24
Posted: 5/12/16 at 6:57pm
BroadMagTech said: "What do you think it takes to reinvigorate a long running show? Cast, move theatres? What they do in London is they often replace the cast members all at once.
"
This is so smart and Broadway should follow suit, the only problem I see is the cost. I don't know if this is the case in London, but cost to rehearse that many people for two would be tremendous. You have the new salary of the old ensemble on top of the new ensemble. It would be a nightmare. Maybe the can do half the cast leaves at a time.
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#25
Posted: 5/12/16 at 7:01pm
I don't think shows lose their "spark"...I think that sometimes the casts lose the spark they had when they first inhabited the roles. I know this isn't always the case...but there is that famous story of Cameron Mackintosh going into a Broadway performance of LES MISERABLES and letting the entire cast go, close the show, recast it...all because he witnessed how stale it had gotten. He also realized there had been cast members that had originally been bought on in children's roles, that were still performing them like 10 years later...or something like that.
Updated On: 5/12/16 at 07:01 PM
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