TALES OF THE CITY musical to stream

ACT is going to release their archival multi-cam proshot video from the 2011 production of Tales of the City, in honor of Pride month.

For those who don't know: this was a high-profile out of town tryout with sights set on Broadway, but it never got there (aside from the a one-night-only benefit concert version performed in a Broadway theatre, which they have tried to spin as a "Broadway performance". So we're dealing with an exquisite cast and creative team of Broadway vets!

FWIW, I saw the show twice at ACT, and I really loved it, despite some massive structural issues with the book. The characters (from Armistead Maupin) are compelling, and the music was fantastic. It never received a cast album, so I would recommend people at least watch the video for that reason.

In the years following the ACT production, I occasionally found myself talking with various cast members, and I always asked about the show. And they always said "they're still working on it!" And here we are 10 years later. I wonder if there will be any renewed interest as a result of this limited release.

https://www.theatermania.com/san-francisco-theater/news/act-to-stream-2011-production-of-tales-of-the-city_92330.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=01jun2021&fbclid=IwAR1DIRHW5HAaj3NZP_5lD_r9iJELT4TlNUwdrF9jVVWS8Jf-FkXROW3Sq1E

Watched the first act. The songs are sentimental and often bland. There's no sex, camp or danger. When a "comedy" song arrives it falls flat. The A-Gays are styled like Roger Debris's entourage but their song doesn't earn a single laugh.

Mary Ann Singleton was a gateway for Maupin to write about more interesting characters. Making her a musical theatre heroine with ballads and such drags down the pace of an overlong show.

I like the cast so I'll try the second act later.

The second act score had more variety. Dee Dee's pregnancy song, Mama Mucca's whorehouse song and Mouse's letter were standouts.

The Norman plot is over-the-top and his fate is awkwardly staged. It undercuts Mary Ann's 11 o'clock ballad, "Paper Faces," to put it in response to such a clumsy bit. But that's an issue with the source material.

For all they pruned I think they still crammed in too much. It keeps any one character's story from resonating. But we'll always have the mini-series and the novels themselves to go back to.