WEST END Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz — Page 2

You lost me on Caroline bloody awfull saw it on broadway and wanted to fall asleep

Holy sh*t man.

This comes from someone who thinks Footloose is great.

Your opinion suddenly has no validity.

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EXCUSE ME MR IM IN FOOTLOOSE SO LAY OFF HEHE AND I ALSO THOUGHT CAROLINE WAS AWFULL

as for the coment above you seem to be missing the point of how this thread started
We know we have wicked and ave q etc coming but they are american shows we are getting excited about i for one would like to get excited about a british show
The west end fails to deliver now on the housing great british new musicals

i really enjoyed the west end production of taboo (not the horror it became on broadway)WHY DO AMERICANS FEEL THE NEED TO CHANGE OUR SHOWS SO MUCH GRRRRRRRRRRR

>>>I think what he is alluding to is the lack of a visible community ala Broadway AND the higher turnover of shows on Broadway. Lets not forget off-Broadway too. Yes its nice to have the Menier but compared to the breadth of whats going on over in NYC I feel that London is not even in the same league as New York.<<<

Having been in London recently, I can say that statement is thoroughly untrue. There is little of artistic consequence going on in New York, certainly when compared to the quantity and quality of London production. The care and artistry lavished on every production I saw in London, even in regards to the music direction of musicals (something I know a little about)is far superior to anything to be found here in NYC. The production of THE VOYSEY INHERITANCE at the National, for example, outshines anything currently playing in New York.

>We have the talent and the history but the vibe is not comparable.Look at all the Broadway Cares Benefits... the cabarets... the one night concerts.... the Broadway buzz!<<

Please. That stuff is meaningless and has absolutely NOTHING to do with theater--it's just a desperate attempt at trying to generate excitement in a moribund system that is essentially a dinosaur lumbering to its death. The Broadway buzz consists of the selling of t-shirts and Cokes in the lobby. All the benefits and concerts ultimately add up to is an embarrassing display of narcissism on the part of the NY theater industry, hopelessly trying to recreate glories of the past. The days of a theatrical community went out with Dorothy Parker at the Algonquin. Now it's every man for himself. If I could, I'd pack up, leave New York and move to London in a heartbeat.


Allison MacKenzie
Peyton Place, New Hampshire

Updated On: 6/5/06 at 11:41 PM

I wasn't speaking commercially, I was speaking artistically. The contemporary crudities that pass themselves off as entertainment on Broadway's musical stages are nobody's idea of a golden age. Witness Brantley's eulogy in the NYTimes two weeks ago. It's most telling by the fact that there hasn't been a new score of merit in years--the craft of songwriting and composition has fallen into desuetude. In short, Broadway has succumbed to the Hollywood blockbuster/pop-culture mentality and is the poorer for it. The culture we get is the culture we deserve.



Vivian Darkbloom
Ramsdale, New England