Was Next To Normal A Fluke? — Page 2

Ravenclaw said: "I also want to add that it really bothers me when a successful artist has a failure (or something less successful than their previous work) and then everyone rushes to redefine their opinion of the artist's previous work. The fact that13 Reasons Whyis a bad show doesn't mean that Yorkey's book and lyrics ofNext to Normalare great accidentally. You see this happen all the time in theatre--when Spidermanwas on Broadway, suddenly everyone who had been extolling Julie Taymour's genius started saying thatLion Kingwas only successful because of the producers who reigned in her crazy sensibilities. When Ben Platt posts a bad self-tape audition on twitter, people who loved his performance inDear Evan Hansensay he wasn't actually that great, or he's a one-trick pony. When Jack O'Brien directs a couple of bad revivals while in his late 70s, people start saying that his work on Hairspray was only good because of Jerry Mitchell or his work on Stoppard plays was only good because the texts survived bad direction. I remember a thread here about a year ago about the Glenda Jackson King Lear in which people claimed that Sam Gold didn't actually direct Fun Home, that most of the work was done by a "ghost director" who saved the show. I don't know why people find it so hard to believe that good artists can do bad work. I get the principle that "you're only as good as your last show," but the rewriting of memory is a pervasive problem. The beauty ofA Streetcar Named Desireis not invalidated by the latter half of Tennessee Williams's career--he was a genius writer who wrote many great plays and many atrocious plays. I had a teacher who used to point out that in baseball, a batting average of .300 is considered amazing."



I agree with every word of your post, including the specific examples you gave. Artists shouldn't judged by failing on the 2nd major project. But the 3rd? The 4th? The 5th? The 6th? At a certain point, you start to see a pattern.

Ravenclaw said: "I also want to add that it really bothers me when a successful artist has a failure (or something less successful than their previous work) and then everyone rushes to redefine their opinion of the artist's previous work."

I think it is complicated. No, someone shouldn't be written off for a bad show. (See: Me continuing to see Duncan Sheik shows) But I think looking at an artist's entire body of work reveals things that do affect your opinion of their earlier work. The great show doesn't stop being great but maybe you recognize that it was a successful pastiche and the composer isn't really capable of writing more original music or copying a different style. Maybe you figure out that someone is a bit of a culture vulture and that kind of appropriation doesn't work as a concept for every show. I do think there's a temptation to give all the credit to another person on the creative team or a performer for the good show when it's more that all the pieces were in place for the good show to be successful. It was a successful collaboration for that material at that time. And sometimes that won't happen again even if you reassemble the same creative team.

SporkGoddess said: "Honestly, I feel that way about David Yazbek and The Band's Visit. I haven't liked any of his other scores."

It's funny you say this, because I was thinking about how I should listen to Yazbek's other scores. I only really have listened to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels once, and the others only a song here and there. Been wondering/hoping I don't get disappointed!

I enjoy some of Yazbek's other work, but in a very different way than I enjoy Band's Visit. I think Band's Visit is by far his most sophisticated score, with a lot of deep beauty to it. Most of his other scores are for light comedies, and the style reflects that. I do think Band's Visit was kind of a fluke for him, but I don't mean that to imply that his other work is bad, just that it's very different. You almost wouldn't guess that Band's Visit was written by the same person as his other shows, though I think you can hear some similarities, particularly in the kinds of rhythms that he tends to favor.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is probably my favorite outside of Band's Visit, while Tootsie is definitely my least favorite. Plus I think "Model Behavior" from Women on the Verge is one of the greatest comedy numbers written for musical theatre this century.

fashionguru_23 said: "I love the score of "Bring It On", and was it ever confirmed who wrote what, other than some of the obvious?"

according to my itunes which i may have updated with the piano conductor score’s info, Tom Kitt and Amanda Green wrote Tryouts, Something Isn’t Right Here, Better, It Ain’t No Thing, Enjoy the Trip, Killer Instinct, Legendary and Eva’s Rant. Lin-Manuel wrote Do Your Own Thing, We Ain’t No Cheerleaders, It’s All Happening and Cross the Line. The three writers collaborated on What I Was Born to Do, One Perfect Moment, Friday Night Jackson, Bring It On, We’re Not Done and I Got You. this should mostly be correct i believe!

edit: i looked in the vocal score, of the songs not recorded (mostly incidentals? i’ve never seen the show) Lin also wrote The Day Goes By, Kitt and Green wrote Happy Kitties, Cheer Camp, In the Bag, Phone Calls, Bridget+Twig, What Was I Thinking and Campbell’s In

Updated On: 6/24/20 at 05:55 AM