The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues- Page 2

[E.Davis]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 1:55pm

^Because people do not understand that there can be new interpretations of old material.

[Almira]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 2:31pm

What disappoints me is how undramatic and slightly campy the song is.

I think it is understood by this point in the evening the that Witch wants the shoes. For the most part, the song simply says (over and over) something that was presumably established when the Witch first appears.

Also, there is an unnecessary tinge of camp humor. I've noticed that in stage versions of the film there is a tendency to wring out cheap humor by turning the Witch into a slightly comic figure.

One of the most potent things about the film is how Hamilton plays the role with malicious earnestness. Adding humor just weakens our belief that Dorothy is any real danger.

Updated On: 3/3/11 at 02:31 PM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 2:34pm

That's a very good point, Almira.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 2:34pm

Well, the other thing working for The Wiz in 1974 was that the MGM Oz hadn't quite taken hold of America like it has these days.

I like the song, and the production in general.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 2:45pm

I don't know that that's true, Husk. In what way?

When I was a kid in '74, the annual showing of the movie was one of the highlights of the kid calendar, along with your birthday and Christmas.

I know a lot of twenty-somethings who have never seen it, or saw it once and don't think of it any differently than any other kid film.

[FlyingMonkey1223]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 2:51pm

This is only part of the song I believe. It goes on for a bit more and gives Hannah some more notes to impress with. Too bad "The Jitterbug" isn't in this production.

[Almira]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 2:57pm

There was a point in the mid to late eighties, if I remember correctly, when the powers that be realized that the 1939 film could was a mass marketing goldmine along the same lines as the then new Disney films.

I grew up waiting every year for my one shot to see the film. At that time OZ related merchandise relatively scare and wasn't usually connected to the film (except for my action figure playset that I loved).

Then BOOM! in the mid-eighties there were OZ key chains, stickers, calenders, mugs, action figures, happy meal tie-ins, etc. All connect to the 1939 film. You could even buy ruby slipper tampons! (I jest.)

OZ, as related to the film, now saturated the market place. If you collected OZ stuff you'd go bankrupt trying to keep up because every year there would be a new ton of Judy Garlands/Ruby Slipper crap made in China.


I *think* this shift in mass merchandising is the "hadn't quite taken hold of America like it has these days" Husk is referring to.

Updated On: 3/4/11 at 02:57 PM

[E.Davis]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 2:57pm

The Jitterbug is not in it? That really sucks!

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 2:57pm

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

Testify!

[Kad]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 3:01pm

If the Jitterbug isn't in it, then what's the dance the song refers to?

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 3:23pm

I guess that plot point is always doomed to be confusing, like when the witch says in the film that she's "sent a little insect on ahead to take the fight out of them."

And I always used to go "Huh?"

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 3:40pm

"King of the Forest" is also cut.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 3:49pm

Yeah, but, you know, now we finally have a song for Professor Marvel!

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 4:00pm

Eh... wait till you hear the opening number.

[JerBearLuv]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 4:37pm

I love the song to be honest. I dont know why. Does anyone know when they are releasing a cast album

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 6:57pm

I didn't find the song to be all that awful, however I do agree that it lacks a point. As for the costume, the witch appears to have more than one look during the show, including a second wig thats "hat shaped".

On the subject of the wigs, it bugs me how visible the lace edge is on the witch and the lion, it looks almost opaque

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 8:45pm

You all have no idea how "excited" I am that Professor Marvel gets to sing in this, when "If I Were King Of The Forest" lays cut on the floor.

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber said that the film is missing songs for its two witches, which is a reason why they were adding songs. However, Glinda sings nothing other than the Munchkinland sequence. She doesn't sing "Optimistic Voices" in this version.

I'm also sorry to say that after I watched this video, when trying to remember it, the song "Kiss Of The Spider Woman" popped into my head.

EDIT: So sorry about the triple post.

Updated On: 3/3/11 at 08:45 PM

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 8:45pm

Updated On: 3/3/11 at 08:45 PM

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 8:45pm

Updated On: 3/3/11 at 08:45 PM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 8:51pm

Hannah Waddingham is incredible. The song is pretty dull though. I love the tower set and the witch's costume.

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 8:54pm

I couldn't give a toss about the reasoning for this song or how good it is. When you have a voice like THAT singing it, it doesn't matter (to me).

[diebob21]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 10:56pm

The clip is only a minute and 30 seconds. I honestly can't judge a song by a minute, but the song does seem to be tuneless.I read they dance and do more singing at the end of the number.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 11:03pm

I can honestly judge a song by a minute and a half- that's typically about half the length of a standard musical theatre song. And it went nowhere in that time- the lyrics were repetitive "I want the girl, I want the shoes, I want the power, I want the shoes, I want the power, I want the girl" and there's not much in the way of a discernible "tune". A song should be about the journey, not just the final destination.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 11:16pm

diebob - I actually think that video is of the whole song. It is 2 minutes and 25 seconds of "I want the shoes, girl... etc..." It starts at the beginning of the song and ends with her yelling about the shoes. That's the entire song!

[diebob21]

Posted: 3/3/11 at 11:17pm

As the song can be important, there's a lot elements to a musical number. So I mean the song could be bad, but the number overall can be great.