The Magic Show.....

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 8/4/06 at 11:55pm

I just got the DVD in the mail yesterday! And I put it on and about 10 min into the DVD....I felt like shooting myself it was so horible! BUT I sat through the rest and it got better. It was to 80s for me and I LOVE The Wedding Singer! lol. Frenchy from Grease (for some reason right know her name escapes me) was annoying in the show. Hearing her voice non-stop and hearing her sing was killing my ears! I couldn't really tell the music was by Stephen Schwartz. Did anyone see this on broadway? Did they re-write it for TV?

Thanks!

[LI Larry]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 12:27am

I saw this on Broadway. I don't remember who it was but I know Didi Conn was not in the original cast. And I read on amazon that it is not all that faithful to the original show.this is what they said on Amazon:

"The biggest dissappointment is the omission of "Goldfarb Variations", "Solid Silver Platform Shoes" and (in the "what were they THINKING?" category), "West End Avenue".

Things were cut. But it's the best you'll get. For some reason, they cut a lot of things out of taped shows in the 70s (except Sondheim's). Pippin had a lot of stuff cut also.

Updated On: 8/5/06 at 12:27 AM

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 12:40am

I got that one also....but I haven't watched it yet.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 1:03am

Some of the cast and their replacements actually went on to success:

Robert LuPone, Anita Morris, David Ogden Stiers, Loni Ackerman, Eddie Mekka, Rita Rudner, Lynne Thigpen

[noahrp3]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 4:25am

What did they cut out of Pippin?

[alterego]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 9:15am

Strangest thing about this TV version is why did they replace the good songs with others not nearly as good? As a fan of the original I was terribly disappointed with this.

[LI Larry]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 9:36am

I didn't see the original on Broadway but from what I've read, they cut the song, "I Guess I'm gonna Miss the Man" (which to be honest is not a great song) and they cut some of the choreography on Glory as well as scenes with the duck.
Updated On: 8/6/06 at 09:36 AM

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 12:21pm

I have a silly quetion....whenever what's his name (the bad magician....I haven't watched it enough to know all the names by heart yet) tries to kill them in that huge number, and then they live and he runs away it was just "Oh my gosh! He tried to kill us!....Oh! We're gonna miss the show! C'mon!" and then Doug helps him to open for Barbra Striesand..........u know......if it were me I would sue him for everything he's got for trying to KILL me! lol

[SamIAm]

Posted: 8/6/06 at 6:43pm

It is unfortunate that the TV version was so butchered. I liked the original stage version a lot and although it seems goofy and innocent now, it was the first time in a long time that magic had been taken out of moth balls and made exciting and fun again.

Henning was certainly not an actor (though he did Merlin after that) but the magic onstage was fun.

The songs they cut for the taped version were some of the best in the show unfortunately. I have the vinyl OCR, and should pull it out and listen to it sometime.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 8/6/06 at 7:37pm

The DVD of the Follies concert is another example.

When I saw how they hacked Carol Burnett singing "I'm Still Here" to pieces, I gave up & have not watched it since

For what it's worth, I have Henning's autograph on the Playbill

Updated On: 8/6/06 at 07:37 PM

[WOSQ]

Posted: 8/7/06 at 10:24am

The Magic Show in its original production, was a fluke. No one had any great expectations for a show with no star opening at the end of May and at the Cort which is so far out of the mainstream as to be a road house.

Critics dismissed the show, but raved about the illusions.

However there was a clever televison commercial and word-of-mouth was good ("Good for the kids and you won't be bored") and it went to capacity and ran 5 years.

One of the reasons it worked well on stage is that the illusions happened right in front of you. On film, tv or dvd the immediacy is taken away.

Anyone who worked on The Magic Show, on stage or off, had to sign an agreement not to reveal how the illusions were done and not to perform them on their own.

Grover Dale staged the show and it was well done.

[Producer2]

Posted: 8/7/06 at 10:28am

Speaking of Doug Henning, how come there's no "Merlin" cast recording? Granted Doug didn't sing a note but Chita did!
I like the opening number "It's About Magic" which is heard on the commercial. Check out the merlin commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJd8yWROFpM&search=merlin%20commercial

Updated On: 8/7/06 at 10:28 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/7/06 at 10:50am

Cutting "West End Avenue," the best song in this show, is reason enough to boycott the TV version.

[latheatrelover]

Posted: 8/7/06 at 12:05pm

The video version of The Magic Show with Henning and Didi Con (she is annoying, isn't she?) was shot in Toronto, I believe. Most of the cast are Canadian actors. Actually, Henning was from Canada, too. Only Conn and Anita Morris were from the U.S, I think. I thought Sandee Currie, who played Donna, was good.

The Pippin video was also shot in Canada.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 8/7/06 at 12:59pm

is there another PIPPIN video besides the Chita/William Katt one? my understanding was that one was shot at the Kennedy Center.

[latheatrelover]

Posted: 8/7/06 at 1:21pm

No, just the one. Check the end credits, it should say where it was done. I'm sure it was Canada. It was shot while they were on tour.

[mustard]

Posted: 8/7/06 at 5:05pm

I *think* they were both shot in Hamilton, Ontario. Or Burlington.
Updated On: 8/7/06 at 05:05 PM

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 8/7/06 at 5:55pm

well, IMDB does indeed list Canada. But I could have sworn I heard it was shot during the Kennedy Center stand of the tour. I will Google it further.

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 8/7/06 at 6:47pm

I've asked this on other threads but haven't gotten a response. Did anyone see Anita Morris in the original production of this show? How was she? I can imagine she was devine performing Dale's staging.

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 8/7/06 at 7:33pm

I went back and watched it again....it's not as bad as I said it was before...but it was.....eh. I still stand by Didi Conn being VERY anoying and not that good.

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 8/8/06 at 1:50am

Producer2 - ooooo! You posted a link to yout-......u know. You're gonna get in trouble! lol

I have seen it though.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 8/8/06 at 2:01am

I haven't ever seen the DVD, but I adore the music from that show. West End Avenue, Lion Tamer, and Solid Silver Platform Shoes are all classics in my book.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 8/8/06 at 12:49pm

Actually, the PIPPIN production that was taped was not from a tour, it was done specifically for that shoot. I think it played a week or two in that theatre (Toronto?) before the taping, with that cast.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 8/8/06 at 2:39pm

so the tour cast was not necessarily the videocast cast? what what?