#1
Posted: 8/21/16 at 3:45pm
I don't mean this in a snarky way I'm just not familiar with this show I'm curious what makes it a classic?
What is great about City of Angels?
#3
Posted: 8/21/16 at 4:40pm
The score IS fantastic, it's true. And I'd be as happy as anyone to see a fully staged revival back on Bway.
But I do remember feeling that a great deal of that gorgeous intricate wordplay you love so much listening to the album was much much harder to appreciate live onstage. The words went by way too fast to know what the hell was being said, just that it was damn clever. The detective story was super-hard to follow as well, made even harder by the double-roleplay of the cast in the crime story vs. the cast of Hollywood personnel imagining the story.
The thing was ingenious as hell, but made my brain ache to watch, and moved my heart not at all.
#4
Posted: 8/21/16 at 7:35pm
i'm not sure if I would enjoy it quite as much now as I did then. But, in addition to some wonderful songs and some of the snappiest lyrics to have come along in a long time, it was different. Being a musical comedy, and a funny one at that, made it very special/refreshing for that era. The design concept worked quite well. And it had heart.
Updated On: 8/22/16 at 07:35 PM
#5
Posted: 8/21/16 at 7:45pm
This is a musical comedy that is actually comedic. So I vote first for the book.
#6
Posted: 8/21/16 at 7:51pm
I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the original production on Broadway years back. It was clever and delightful and was well-cast.
Too bad the planned film adaptation then did not push through, as according to the late Larry Gelbart, Hugh Jackman was not interested to do the double-role of writer and detective.
#7
Posted: 8/21/16 at 11:44pm
Someone in a Tree2 said: "The score IS fantastic, it's true. And I'd be as happy as anyone to see a fully staged revival back on Bway.
But I do remember feeling that a great deal of that gorgeous intricate wordplay you love so much listening to the album was much much harder to appreciate live onstage. The words went by way too fast to know what the hell was being said, just that it was damn clever. The detective story was super-hard to follow as well, made even harder by the double-roleplay of the cast in the crime story vs. the cast of Hollywood personnel imagining the story.
The thing was ingenious as hell, but made my brain ache to watch, and moved my heart not at all.
"
SINGER
"Familiarity.
And in your case we both know what that breeds."
ME
"Huh? What breeds? Oh, I get it. Familiarity. Familiarity breeds contempt."
Meanwhile, I missed the next several lines of the lyric. That is typical of Zippel's writing to me.
I didn't find the book so hard to follow, but the lyrics, oy! Meanwhile, the music is some of my favorite by Coleman.
#8
Posted: 8/22/16 at 1:30am
I love the score to this show. It has some really great songs that have become standards (With Every Breath I Take, You're Nothing Without Me), and the lyrics are great as well. I'll admit it takes a few listens to really get into it. It's very jazz based and there is a lot of scatting in the opening number as well as Everbody's Gotta Be Somewhere. The songs are extremely catchy, though, and will get stuck in your head after you hear them a couple times. The performances on the original recording are perfect and the band is superb.
The show has a really clever plot and the original production was amazing. The way they had the sets and costumes in all black and white for the movie scenes and in vibrant color for the real life scenes was such a cool effect. Would love to see a revival of this show.
Updated On: 8/22/16 at 01:30 AM
#9
Posted: 8/22/16 at 3:11am
You may have hit the nail on the head on why it wasn't a smash that it seems to deserve to be upon listening to its score. YET... I believe that the delicious lyrics don't need to be totally decoded in real time to enjoy the double feature of the show.
I first saw the first national tour of the show in SF 25 years or so ago. I mainly remember the staging of the B&W noir screenplay and the color real life scenes and how cleverly the show switched between them. I found the score wonderfully tuneful and appropriate. A few years ago, I downloaded the score and fell in love with the grit in it and the wit in it.
I eagerly awaited the SF Playhouse's revival of it (VERY well done - still playing for a couple more weeks). I found it richly rewarding. Even if I agreed that the smartypants lyrics were too clever for their own good, I still believe that they communicate exactly what they need to do. And, like double-entendres in a family film, many of the lyrical joys are there to enhance the enjoyment of the discerning and repeat viewer, but if you miss them, the essential elements of the song still do their work.
Where I think the show falls short is in the resolution. Like MANY of the noir movies it salutes, the web is a little too convoluted to wipe away with the resolution it presents. After applauding the "Hollywood ending" one is left with a "wait a minute.. what?" feeling.
Still - the score is a HUGE fave, and I think it richly deserves a B'way revival!
Updated On: 8/22/16 at 03:11 AM
#10
Posted: 8/22/16 at 5:05am
Terrific score, smart, original idea (doubling and parallels between hard-boiled Hollywood and Noir worlds), funny book, dynamic, highly conceptual designs (black and white / color), sexy and comical.
#11
Posted: 8/22/16 at 5:53am
Totally forgot to mention Rachel York's bare ass. 10/10
Updated On: 8/22/16 at 05:53 AM
#12
Posted: 8/22/16 at 7:29am
SINGER
"Familiarity.
And in your case we both know what that breeds."
ME
"Huh? What breeds? Oh, I get it. Familiarity. Familiarity breeds contempt."
Meanwhile, I missed the next several lines of the lyric. That is typical of Zippel's writing to me.
Gaveston, is the main point there - and I agree it may well be far from the best lyric in the show - really that familiarity proverbially breeds contempt?
Or is it rather - and much more self-evidently (per the through line of the song) - that Gaby has had it with an all too FAMILIAR pattern of Stine selling himself, their marriage and his art short? In other words, is familiarity primarily about proverbial contempt (though it is has that underlying association)? Or is it rather, and much more readily accessibly, about loss of truth and trust in life, work and marriage (which for Gaby are an all too familiar pattern of hurt and disappointment)? Isn't that first and foremost where this familiar pattern leaders, and only tangentially and by further nuance to contempt? And doesn't that kind of play on words well suit this character?
"
Updated On: 8/22/16 at 07:29 AM
#13
Posted: 8/22/16 at 4:27pm
City of Angels Pros: Funny one-liners. Clever premise. Strong act one.
Show stopping songs for the female leads including: What You Don't Know About Women, Lost and Found and You Can Always Count on Me.
Cons: Flat second act. The murder mystery revolves around the fate of some tertiary, non-singing characters. The writer's plot revolves around his infidelity and his repetitive clashes with the producer. The producer gets funny dialogue but the men all get dull solos.
The writer's whiny solo, "Funny," is in the 11'o clock slot though we don't care about him or empathize with his plight. He's getting paid a lot of money to adapt a pulp novel into a pulp screenplay while sleeping with his secretary. I've seen three productions and I always leave Act Two less enthused then I felt at intermission.
threepanelmusicals.blogspot.com
Updated On: 8/22/16 at 04:27 PM
#15
Posted: 8/22/16 at 4:36pm
I've always wondered if it's Rachel York's character depicted on the show's poster artwork.
Updated On: 8/22/16 at 04:36 PM
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