Whistle Down The Wind

Really? Hmm, it's supposed to be touring next season as well. Let's see what happens.

I saw it in London. The whole show needs to be overhauled and made more interesting.

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this show i have the cast cd and i cry the kids are great in it.

The equity tierred american touring production hasn't even been cast yet. The show will rehearse most likely in August and open on the ROAD in September. You are grossly misinformed.

What, what, what?? I run the Steinman site Bat Out Of Excess and I have not been informed of any Broadway production or tour. I know of a production taking place in the U.S. early 2008, that's all. I would have heard something through RUG or Dream Pollution if this was the case. Checking to confirm tho

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I haven't seen the show, but I really like the 1998 original cast recording. The score is great and Jim Steinman lyrics are quite good.

"Disaster" how, exactly?
"Staging? Story? Score? Book? Cast? "

You forgot to mention the puppy dying.

Actually, as I recall the cast was fine. Webber wrote some saccharin sweet pop ballads that were effective enough. "No Matter What" is one that springs to mind.

It's been a while, but here's what I recall: The story was set in the deep South in the 1950s. It was a part of the 1950s deep South where the bars were integrated and blacks and whites happily danced and sang together, so I'm not certain where exactly it was supposed to be. The songs these happy folk sang and danced to sounded oddly like a British mega musical composer doing a lame imitation of old time country music.

The story centered around a cute teenage farm girl who discovers an escaped convict in a barn. She asks who he is and in response to some trauma he shouts out "Jesus". For the rest of the show she assumes that he is Jesus (No I'm not kidding) and brings all her litttle friends to visit with the convict/saviour. At some point the barn burns down and three characters stand around singing all at the same time so you can't understand the lyrics. (This was a blessing.)

I think they added the snake handling later in the run, but there was a puppy who died.

It's been eleven years, but I still want my 2 1/2 hours back!

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I saw it in Washington back in the day, and other than a very strong cast, led by Davis Gaines exceptional voice, the show was somewhat of a mess.

But I would at least be interested to see how they've changed it. I find it always intriguing when creators hold on to a show for so long trying to get it "right". While it is probably most often the smartest decision to let it go and move on to a new project, I applaud composers and such for wanting to work out the kinks and make their show a success. I think 'critics' often forget that this is years and years of work that people have invested, and it isn't always so easy to let a show go.

Good luck to Whistle if the rumour is true.

-QB

Me too.
I Also love the concept album, which I usually loathe.

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The 'London Revival' was an awful production of an average musical (sets, direction, choreography, the lot). I'm sure that they'll invest a bit more money in it for any US production, but unlike the original version, the revival didn't even attempt to hide the flaws inherent in the show.

ETA: All the above is of course only in my opinion

Updated On: 2/26/07 at 08:17 AM

Wasn't this show based on a movie that was set in the English countryside? The first thing I would do is change the setting back to the UK.

Although there were many problems with the book and concept, the inauthentic portrayal of the old time American South and the ersatz country music was glaring and insulting.

Just picture Dolly Parton writing an English Madrigal set in the 16th century.

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What was the biggest issue in the South of this era?

There's no need to focus on race in this sort of show, but portraying the local honky tonk as fully integrated was simply bizarre. The songs used in those scenes sounded like a British theater composer doing a crappy imitation of country music, which is just what they were.

Let's send Diane Warren over to England to write "The Henry Purcell Story" and see how they like it.

The "snake handling" business was inexcusable. The whole thing felt like some sort of British theme park "Pirates of the Deep South" ride.

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Updated On: 2/26/07 at 09:11 AM