Sweet Smell Of Success
Sweet Smell Of Success
BobbyBaby244
Swing Joined: 2/17/05
#0Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 12:16am
...this musical had a pretty short run, despite John Lithgow headlining, and a score by Hamlisch...I just got the CD and LOVE alot of the music, especially "At the Fountain" and "Don't Know Where You Leave Off"...did anyone see the show - know why it didn't work??
Plus, Kelli was in it...and she was unbelieveable in Piazza...what a voice!!
#1re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 12:18am
Is Lithgow's performance worthy of stealing the Tony from Hunter Foster for Urinetown -- winning the same year as his sister?? Huh? 
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
magruder
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#2re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 12:20amHunter wasn't nominated, so... I'd have given the Tony to Cullum, myself. But the Tony to Lithgow was sort of a Medal of Valor that year.
#3re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 12:21am
HE stole it from Patrick Wilson.
I too got it cause I love me some Kelli (http://kellionline.conforums.com)
I LOVE it...so jazzy!
#4re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 12:22amHunter totally should have been nominated. That was a huge mistake.
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
#5re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 12:25am
And you are hugely fanatic.
I like the music. I like the repeated "Column" motif.
#7re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 12:30am
I saw it, but while I enjoyed it enough at the time, it was fairly unmemorable to me. I never got the cast recording, but I've been hearing some of the songs lately, and they've been growing on me.
The only song that really stuck with me from the first viewing, however, was the one J.J. sings about Susan. (It was called "For Susan," wasn't it?)
brdlwyr
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/14/05
#8re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 12:31amI saw it in Chiago and I loved it. Brian D'Arcy James is a talented man!
#9re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 12:31am
It was...and still is.
Besides that d'Arcy James is in it, Sweet Smell reminds me a lot of Lippa's TWP.
brdlwyr
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/14/05
magruder
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#12re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 12:36amSweet Smell was another of those shows that got reviews all out of proportion with what was onstage. More respectable failure than an outright disaster. It was a show that seemed like a good idea, but probably wasn't. The film it's based on is quick-paced and unsentimental, without a single sympathetic character. While the film has a jazzy instrumental score, it doesn't exactly have characters that have reason to sing, particularly the star role of J.J. Hunsecker. "At the Fountain" was the most effective moment for the character of Sidney Falco, but he's just too shark-like a hero for a musical.
brdlwyr
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/14/05
#13re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 12:39amT - He wanted to make sure that the Mayor of Chicago knew he was Irish!
#14re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 12:42am
Look what I had in my drawers!
lwyr - I see. Interesting. But I still like the D'Arcy part
#15re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 12:56amIn your drawers huh?
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
#17re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 1:03amWhat's Sweet Smell about anyway?
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
jlm96um
Understudy Joined: 8/22/04
#18re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 1:06amI saw it... I don't know. It was okay. Not that great, but not that bad. The songs have grown on me through the years, though. I will also agree with those of you who say that John Lithgow's performance was not necessarily Tony-worthy.
Blair
Broadway Star Joined: 11/4/03
#19re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 1:07amI bought the CD for Kelli as well, and I while I didn't really expect it to be my thing, I was pleasantly surprised. She sounds absolutely beautiful, and I love me some Brian d'Arcy James. I enjoy "Don't Know Where You Leave Off" the most, I think. And Kelli's reprise of "I Cannot Hear the City"
#20re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 1:11amIt's about a man (d'arcy) who wants to be in JJ's column (Lithgow)...and that's about all I'll say.
#21re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 2:12am
I loved SSOS. It had a great score, an amazing cast, and an interesting book. It's too bad it didn't do well.
hehe it was also my first exposure to my future wife (aka Kelli O'Hara 
)
WOSQ
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/18/03
#22re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 9:49am
This musical failed because no one asked a basic question that needs to be asked when an idea is first proposed. "What do these people have to sing about?"
The characters in Sweet Smell of Success have nothing to sing about. They are about as non-musical as they come.
Gower Champion had a rule of musical theatre. "Who do you root for?" In Sweet Smell the answer is no one.
Rent the movie which is nasty, sharp, mean-spirited and damn good.
twogaab2
Broadway Star Joined: 5/19/03
#23re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 9:56am"Sweet Smell" was a great show that gave much more than it got. Some of us liked it at the time. Now some people are begining to appriciate the score. It is a shame that we live in an age where people are afraid to stand up for high quality material, in the face of largely negative reviews. We need to spend some time thinking before we start talking. The internet is WAY to powerful.
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#24re: Sweet Smell Of Success
Posted: 8/9/05 at 10:02am
Most of the folks in SSOS are despicable and the action of the show is grim. "For Susan" was an electrifying number, but as the audience understood the underlying message you could hear the flesh crawl. During intermisson, I heard many people talking about how much they hated John Lithgow playing a character like that. It's hard to take a lovable galoot and make him play an anti-hero. I didn't dislike the show, but I sure didn't love it.
I do wonder if that film could be musicalized. It is not a subject that lends itself to song.
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