The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues

[wicked91]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 11:01am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvm3xmf4FPY&feature=channel_video_title Updated On: 3/3/11 at 11:01 AM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 11:31am

Oh dear.

[FosseBoi]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 11:31am

Who the hell wrote that!? ugh.... Too much to say.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 11:47am

...This is the one usually cited as the best new song.

God help us all. Updated On: 3/3/11 at 11:47 AM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 11:51am

Are they going to sell those dolls in the gift shop?

So they are making this using the movie version as their source? Because in the books, the shoes weren't red.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 12:08pm

Fun lyrics, quite funny. But absolutely tuneless. Ah, well.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 12:11pm

"Tuneless" is it exactly.

How on earth did ALW of all people manage to write a tuneless song?

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 12:18pm

I couldn't even bring up enough emotion to hate it. It's just kind of "meh."

Though I will admit I do want to see the show. I'm not going to lie that I'm a sucker for spectacle. Not to say that spectacle can make me think a bad show is good, but I do still like to witness it firsthand.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 12:19pm

So they are making this using the movie version as their source? Because in the books, the shoes weren't red.

Yeah, the shoes are pretty much always red these days

[ggersten]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 12:26pm

I don't hate it. I don't love it. It's just kind of...there. But, the spectacle aspect looks great!

My primary objection is that the song is not a "blues" number, so it's mistitled.

[garyandvicki]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 12:28pm

Can't decide which is creepier... the skintight, feathery, off-the-shoulder leotard, the roadkill hair, or the Dorothy doll being twirled from a noose like a manic propeller.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 12:32pm

So, I'm guessing this takes place right before "The Jitterbug"?

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 12:33pm

My God. They did it! They actually did it! Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice wrote a ****ty song! I mean, wow! I never thought Tim Rice could write lyrics this awful! Who'd've thought the guy who wrote the lyrics for "Nobody's Side" could write THIS!

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 12:41pm

I'm guessing that the only reason they didn't make them red in The Wiz is because MGM held (still holds?) a copyright on the ruby slippers. Disney reportedly had to shell out a pretty good amount of cash to keep the shoes red in Return to Oz back in the 80s.

[Muhlethaler]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 12:48pm

Updated On: 7/20/18 at 12:48 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 12:57pm

You know what? I'd say the song sucks because of the really bad lyrics. I mean- honestly. The song doesn't deepen the Witch- it just repeats how she wants the shoes for some vague power. We get that already (doesn't the Witch say something to that effect every time she pops up, anyway?).

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 1:05pm

Tuneless or not, Hannah Waddingham is BRILLIANT. If I was in London, I'd see it just for her. The woman can do anything with a lyric.

It's nice to see a Witch with personality.

Do love the hair, though....

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 1:06pm

"I don't know why you expected the shoes to be anything other than red. Their are as iconic as the Witch's green skin."

Because that witch looks nothing like Margaret Hamilton in the original. Hamilton didn't have wild hair and an off the shoulder feathery dress.

Updated On: 3/3/11 at 01:06 PM

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 1:14pm

The shoes are red now. Deal with it. They've been red since the film and, believe me, if they were silver, the kids in the audience (AND their parents) would be confused.

As for her costume, I think it's quite great. They're trying to give her an updated flare while her facial structure is still similar to Margaret Hamilton's.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 1:15pm

Muhlethaler, you're entitled to LOVE the song, but your reaction to other opinions is a little simplistic.

It is possible to like Lloyd Webber (which I do) and dislike this song (which I do).

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 1:19pm

I don't think the silver shoes in any of the incarnations of "The Wiz" confused too many people.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 1:21pm

"So they are making this using the movie version as their source? Because in the books, the shoes weren't red."

Well, isn't this production based on the MGM movie? They're using the songs from it, just adding new ones. So I don't see why they wouldn't leave everything else as is.

(Can someone else confirm, I haven't really been following this show.)

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 1:27pm

"Well, isn't this production based on the MGM movie? They're using the songs from it, just adding new ones. So I don't see why they wouldn't leave everything else as is."

Then why is the witch look different with the hair and off-shoulder dress?

[Eris0303]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 1:28pm

I don't think using the silver shoes would be confusing at all. When I was little I had two different WoZ stories on cassette and they both featured the silver shoes. Even back then I understood why it was changed.

I think the shoes are kept red not only because they're iconic but because of the reason they were changed to red in the first place - they pop. They look great. I think silver shoes just wouldn't look as good on stage.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 1:32pm

They're using mostly the same script as the movie/stage adaptation thereof, with new songs and new design elements. I don't see why this is complicated.