Posted: 12/5/15 at 10:10pm
Ragtime!
Posted: 12/6/15 at 1:47am
Bye Bye Birdie could be a lot of fun- I'd cast Jon Hamm as Albert, does anyone know if he can sing?
Cinderella would be a good choice too.
Posted: 12/6/15 at 9:52pm
I could agree with Hairpsray if we got Eric Stonestreet as Edna.
Harry Connick Jr. just nailed "Luck Be a Lady" on the Sinatra tribute, maybe Guys and Dolls starring him and Kristen Bell?
Posted: 12/6/15 at 10:01pm
Bye Bye Birdie with Shawn Mendes would be good!
Posted: 12/7/15 at 12:22am
Singing in the Rain...based on a well known and liked movie...some great parts for triple threats...
Posted: 12/7/15 at 12:44am
Albert is not a very vocally demanding role. Dick Van Dyke was not a superbly talented singer and he managed fine.
Posted: 12/8/15 at 2:33am
The more and more I think about it, the more I think HAIRSPRAY would be a great choice. Not only does it have a fresh feel to it, but it also can be, stylistically speaking, interpreted a variety of ways. Plus it offers a wide range of stunt casting and opportunities for POC. I know for The Wiz, some people like Latifah and MJB only rehearsed for a few weeks, and I think there's a few roles in Hairspray that big names could portray without having to dedicate the time to a multiple month rehearsal period.
Nick Jonas as Link, Amy Poehler as Velma and Taran Killam as Male Authority Figure? Maybe Latifah and Marsden could reprise their roles from the film.
Posted: 12/8/15 at 3:25am
I don't think there is any need, EVER, to do a 'live' broadcast.
A few dress rehersals with an audience, film it , then announce it 'live' if they must.
It's all about advertising dollars-which show will attract those $$$ -it's got nothing to do with artistic choices.
I think they line up 6 shows-contact the advertisers and whichever show draws the most $$--wins.
Cynical ? nah-desperate for a nookie !
x
Posted: 12/8/15 at 8:17am
In the age of On-Demand, there are very few real television events anymore, and NOTHING remotely like what they used to be in the past (108 million viewers tuning in to see R&H Cinderella in 1957).
Doing these shows live is one of the only ways to get an audience of 11-plus million viewers now. So I argue that there absolutely is a need for these to be live.
I do agree that with a comedic musical with lots of "laughs," they should consider having a studio audience. There is something almost spooky about doing live comedy in a silent vacuum.
Posted: 12/8/15 at 8:20am
Miss Saigon in 2018 with the Broadway cast.
That would finally be a proper document of the show.
Then they can do with the movie version whatever they like.
Updated On: 12/8/15 at 08:20 AM
Posted: 12/8/15 at 8:41am
I just hope they don't do some boring show like Cinderella. Hairspray or West Side story would be great. They need to do a show with some edge to it. Something relevant.
And the broadcast has never been about the season. I see no problem with doing West Side Story.
.
Updated On: 12/8/15 at 08:41 AM
Posted: 12/8/15 at 8:46am
Hamilton22 said: "I just hope they don't do some boring show like Cinderella. Hairspray or West Side story would be great. They need to do a show with some edge to it."
I agree. I think HAIRSPRAY is a great idea.
.
"
Posted: 12/8/15 at 9:50am
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Pros: Good for families, familiar, opportunities for guest stars (Potiphar's wife, Pharoah), open to different interpretation, hunky male lead, catchy music.
Cons: Slight story, overly familiar (seen it, done it).
Updated On: 12/8/15 at 09:50 AM
Posted: 12/8/15 at 10:59am
And the broadcast has never been about the season. I see no problem with doing West Side Story.
I don't know about that, On Thursday night NBC was calling it "A Holiday Tradition".
Posted: 12/8/15 at 11:18am
Posted: 12/8/15 at 11:22am
Oh sure, WEST SIDE STORY would be perfect for the entire family to gather around the TV and watch for good old fashioned holiday entertainment!
Two rival gangs duke it out in the inner city slums.
A virginal Puerto Rican girl falls in love with an ex-rival gang leader fueling a gang war that leaves her brother dead, his best friend dead, her brother's girlfriend almost gang raped in the local drug store only to end in her ex-boyfriend killing the ex-rival gang leader she fell in love with.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
Posted: 12/8/15 at 11:30am
Ditto, MISS SAIGON - - - A Vietnamese prostitute with a heart of gold falls for a U.S. soldier who impregnates her, abandons her, goes back to the US and re-marries another woman only to be haunted with memories of her - - - he confesses all of this to his current wife and they along with a friend go back to Vietnam to "save" the Vietnamese prostitute - - - a whole lot of other crap goes on - - - but in the end the Vietnamese prostitute kills herself.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
Updated On: 12/8/15 at 11:30 AM
Posted: 12/8/15 at 11:33am
The fact that they want to keep this a 'family' event limits their options. Meron and Zadan said in one of their recent interviews that PETER PAN was mistake because it was more or less an out of date, creaky old musical that had run its course. It's hard for me to imagine that shows like THE MUSIC MAN, GUYS AND DOLLS or much of the R&H catalog would fare much better in the ratings than PETER PAN did (regardless of the fact they are superior in their writing).
I think the CHRISTMAS STORY musical is a good idea. How about WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY? I think they could also follow in the footsteps of many of the TV musicals from the 50s and 60s and have something written new - expressly for television.
Posted: 12/8/15 at 11:38am
Posted: 12/8/15 at 11:45am
Two rival gangs duke it out in the inner city slums.
A! virginal Puerto Rican girl falls in love with an ex-rival gang leader fueling a gang war that leaves her brother dead, his best friend dead, her brother's girlfriend almost gang raped in the local drug store only to end in her ex-boyfriend killing the ex-rival gang leader she fell in love with.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
Now Carlos, you're a creative person. You don't have to steal snarky comments already said by Jordan Catalano, just so you can try and look smart. Silly Carlos.
:)
Updated On: 12/8/15 at 11:45 AM
Posted: 12/8/15 at 11:54am
Bye Bye Birdie BUT they would have to cast an actual famous pop star in the role of Birdie [Harry Styles would be available...] if not BBB, I think doing 'A Christmas Story: The Musical" would be a great choice.
Posted: 12/8/15 at 11:59am
Why would they do Les Miserables Live when you have the movie filmed "live" or Dreamgirls Live when you can watch the great movie adaptation starring Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Fox, Eddie Murphy, etc... Who are they going to get to top that?
If they go with the classics, I would hope it would be West Side Story, Gypsy or Annie Get Your Gun.
But I really hope they go with something more contemporary with big characters that will attract huge stars again - No one wants to see Megan Hilty star on primetime in Annie Get Your Gun regardless if its a good idea.
What about "Bonnie & Clyde" or "Spamalot" or "Sunset Boulevard"?
Side note - can you imagine "Drood" with a live text/tweet in as to who the killer is? That would be interesting.
Posted: 12/8/15 at 12:03pm
Hamilton22 said: Now Carlos, you're a creative person.
I know I am! 
Updated On: 12/8/15 at 12:03 PM
Posted: 12/8/15 at 12:29pm
Kad said: "But Sound of Music still beat out both The Wiz and Peter Pan.
Peter Pan just isn't a very good musical. It's meandering, it's overlong, it's remarkably inert, a great deal of its score is unmemorable. And that's on top of the fact that the production was missing genuine star quality and was a misconceived mess. "
Ratings Gains for NBC's THE WIZ LIVE Now On Par with 'Sound of Music'
Posted: 12/8/15 at 12:38pm
Hairspray would be a great choice but since the Zadan and Meron duo done the film, I wonder if they will consider it. If it happens please please pleaseeee bring James Marsden as Collins.
My top three choices for a good television musical would be Hairspray, White Christmas and Cinderella. They should do them and not Music Man
