Unpopular Opinions You Hold — Page 22

I don't see how anyone could have liked Legally Blond. I saw it preview in SF and of course on TV but it was the worst show I've ever seen! By far the ugliest costumes, sets, choreography,etc. I've seen hundreds of shows starting with Bells are Ringing with Judy Holliday (yes I know I am ancient!) and have seen my share of flops but don't understand how even the teeny boppers here liked it. Bugs me! Sorry - I know to each his own,etc.!

That Orfeh has already begun perimenopause.

I didn't think Billy Elliot was that great.... at all.

I think to be a true musical theatre artist, you have to study Rodgers and Hammerstein, Bob Fosse and Stephen Sondheim. Not just the hits. Everything about their work.

ALW really isn't all that bad....

Drag Queens annoy me.

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Yeah, I was just bored all the way until "Expressing Yourself". And I loved the "Angry Dance". The rest bored me to tears. I almost dozed off a few times. And I love "Sunday in the Park with George", which is apparently boring to some people. But "Billy".... ugh disappointing.

Oh...

I think the new crowd of Broadway composers and lyricists, with some exceptions (LaChuisa and others) are farrrrr tooooo boring or untrained to beat out Disney and "Save Broadway". All the talented ones seem to be like lasagna without tomato sauce: flavorless and barely tolerable... boring romantic comedies with nothing that's musically exciting.

Or, they have great music, but don't really know the art well enough to create masterpieces. And thus they create lyrics that don't pertain to anything that happen in the show or poor dramatic structure. It's a lot of bark, but hopefully I will get to NY and prove I have the bite to back it up

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I wouldn't consider William Finn new, personally.

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I didn't say these were going to be popular.....

Ahrens and Flaherty:
For the most part; hate, hate, hate. From Suessical to My Favorite Year... just very pretentious and watery and nauseating. I like Ragtime- it's still doesn't redeem them. D

Michael John LaChiusa:
For the most part: love, love, love (as stated). His Wild Party, Bernarda Alba, See What I Wanna See and Marie Christine are favorites of mine. The show of his I dislike the most is "First Lady Suite", but even then, it was one of his first, so he's pardoned. A-

Jason Robert Brown:
His "Last 5 Years" is perfect. It's what all the other composers are trying to copy and failing miserably at. Parade's ok. And then everything else he writes seems to be aiming to make me scowl (Songs for a New World, 13??). It's just so pretentious and pop driven and devoid of structure. But I can't help loving me some L5Y- remarkable, really. C.

Adam Guettel: I really want to like him. I just can't call him great. He's solid though. I just always want more from his shows. Let's see. Floyd Collins is really good; he knows how to structure a show. It's in his blood. The score is fitting and some songs are remarkable. It's still just not enough for me. I can't really listen to it all the way through. Nothing incredible. Myths and Hymns is hit or miss. I love half of the score, and the other half makes me want to OD on Advil. LitP is the same as Floyd. I think he's talented and I want to like it, but it's just not there. B-

Jeanine Tesori- Hit or miss. Like Millie, hate Shrek, love Caroline. She's too unreliable in terms of what she chooses to work on. And I definitely don't expect her to break ground and become innovative all of the sudden. C+

William Finn- He's not new! Love him though. Love Falsettos. I just don't think he's new.

Shaiman and Wittman- Ugh.

Hollman and Kotis- Urinetown? I approve- it's good. I love the premise. The score's... ok. Eh. Not familiar enough to judge though. I'll look into it.

Lambert and Morrison- Yeah, this is the boredom I spoke of. Drowsy. It's so forgettable. It's good. But it doesn't sustain me and it didn't sustain an audience. Don't know enough to judge.

Kitt and Yorkey- I like N2N, but I'm not bought over yet. I'll wait.

Wildhorn is the bane of my studies. I hate listening to his work. It feels like he refuses to write anything that has worth, but totally could if he wanted to.

I'm being really snarky- unusually so. Sorry :)

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Updated On: 1/22/10 at 10:07 PM

So after reading what I wrote, I realize that it sounds as though i'm attacking the composers themselves, and it shouldn't be so. They all work hard in a field that has stress levels that breed mental illness. Even if I don't like their work, I admire them and wish them luck. Even Frank Wildhorn

And to Steph's 2nd bullet, I concur and know I act stupid like that- I'm pretty sure all ambitious people do that. We just want acceptance and a chance to make good. Still, my intentions are geniune and I try to consider that before judging people

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i'm continually losing faith in our industry's ability to save theatre from becoming obscure in mainstream culture.

i want everyone to appreciate theatre (especially musical theatre) as much as we all do.

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Yes, I did realize that. I meant the decade in which it was written. I just didn't articulate it well.

i'm continually losing faith in our industry's ability to save theatre from becoming obscure in mainstream culture.

It's a popular opinion amongst academics that goes back decades and decades. Theatre isn't going anywhere.

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But will it grow if the industry doesn't start creating more constructive, superior pieces of theatre?

It will. It always has. It's artistic evolution that's been going on for centuries. If it hadn't, we'd be sitting around watching the same production of Oedipus Rex outside again and again.

I think Broadway needs to shift the way people think about theatre.

In some ways it will, but it's not just the responsibility of Broadway, but all theatre everywhere. Broadway is a highly visible commercial corner of the theatrical world, but not all movement in theatre springs from Broadway. And we are getting changes, but they just may not be to your liking.

I think tourists should get the idea to come to Broadway and see something interesting and intelligent and unique- not Disney movies with lavish special effects

Audiences will dictate commercial trends, some of them will be popular amongst hardcore theatre enthusiasts and academics, while others are not. But that is the nature of Broadway. The audiences with decide what they what to see and why should we tell them we simply won't produce something they want? Other shows are being produced and other shows are being successful (Light in the Piazza, Spelling Bee, Avenue Q, Next to Normal). And some of the big commercial special-effects laden stuff is not working as much any more (Little Mermaid, Tarzan, Woman in White, Nine to Five, Shrek). Caroline or Change is not a show for everyone and that is perfectly fine. In the tradition of musical theatre, it probably was never expected to be a huge hit. The audience demographic has changed drastically in the last thirty years. We have to stop using the past as a barometer for what should be expected on Broadway. Unless we shut down most international tourism in the US, we're never going to be back there again.

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I found Ted Neely's Jesus Christ Superstar to be the worst show I have ever seen. I felt like every single actor was specifically directed to act poorly. Not to mention, it's ludicrous that "Jesus" had scraggly, grey hair. 65 years old is not comparable to 30 years old.

That said, most of the audience gave it a standing ovation, so what do I know?

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I think that Idina Menzel was absolutely fantastic in Chess.