Posted: 6/14/17 at 10:54pm
Certainly explains why it's so awful.
Updated On: 6/14/17 at 10:54 PM
Posted: 6/14/17 at 11:09pm
Since it hasn't been mentioned, I truly love Costume Party. I think it gorgeously expresses the different feelings that each of the characters has - and we all did on that day.
Posted: 6/15/17 at 7:47am
I have to ask: I LIKE the song Me and the Sky, but (as I mentioned) it seems so out of place, like we have this character with a great history, so let's share her story -- which, IMO, has nothing to do with the show. Why do we get a bio of this one character, when that history has nothing to do with the events in Newfoundland?
Am I missing something?
Updated On: 6/15/17 at 07:47 AM
Posted: 6/15/17 at 8:08am
I still struggle to understand what motivates people to click on and take the time to read a thread that is clearly about a show they don't like, just so they can post comments like:
"None."
"ZERO, there aren't any."
"It is indeed hard to find a good song in CFA"
Posted: 6/15/17 at 8:16am
I actually do like the show.
Posted: 6/15/17 at 11:14am
The best song in the show is Me and the Sky? It is somewhat disheartening that the best song in the show is one that repeats the word "suddenly," over and over again in the way that it does, which is a tell-tale sign of poor and amateurish writing. I would probably consider the best song to be Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere. I also must say that it is rather difficult to find a good song in the show. It really does feel like there's 5 songs in the whole musical and the rest is just underscored dialogue and the songs that we do get have some extremely problematic lyrics. It's just my opinion, but it's not a score that I feel the need to hear again after leaving the theatre.
Updated On: 6/15/17 at 11:14 AM
Posted: 6/15/17 at 12:20pm
GeorgeandDot said: "The best song in the show is Me and the Sky? It is somewhat disheartening that the best song in the show is one that repeats the word "suddenly," over and over again in the way that it does, which is a tell-tale sign of poor and amateurish writing. I would probably consider the best song to be Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere. I also must say that it is rather difficult to find a good song in the show. It really does feel like there's 5 songs in the whole musical and the rest is just underscored dialogue and the songs that we do get have some extremely problematic lyrics. It's just my opinion, but it's not a score that I feel the need to hear again after leaving the theatre."
I like Me and the Sky, but it's not the best song in the show for me. Repetition is a well-worn trope of songwriting, and many of the lyrics are taken almost verbatim from Beverley Bass's interview. Personally, as a person of a certain age, the repetition of "Suddenly [x happened to me]" and "Suddenly [y] happened to me" was very effective. That's how many people feel about growing older. As they say about parenting, the days are long, but the years are short.
I also disagree that there are "5 songs" in the show. Welcome to the Rock, 38 Planes, Wherever We Are, Costume Party, I Am Here, Prayer. Heave Away, Stop the World, Me and the Sky, Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere and Something's Missing are all distinctive songs that are different from one another. And I can't think of any "problematic" lyrics in the show - what on earth are you referring to? If you mean plebeian lyrics, well yes, all musicals have those.
Posted: 6/15/17 at 12:44pm
What I meant by problematic was that there are quite a few extremely clunky lyrics. More than in most shows and while I agree that the word "suddenly" can easily be used to describe how life can seem to fly by, it is a rule that if you are using the word "suddenly," your piece is probably not as well written as it could be. Also, I did not literally mean that there are only 5 songs, I meant that in a huge score of underscored dialogue, it can be hard to find the few songs that are purely a song. The actual songs get kind of hidden away.
Posted: 6/15/17 at 12:50pm
It's not a "rule." In no way is it a rule that the use of "suddenly" repetitively means that a piece is not well written. It is your opinion. And there are some clunky lines, yes, but no more than in other shows. I completely disagree that the songs are hard to find, as they are quite distinctive from each other.
Posted: 6/15/17 at 1:07pm
GeorgeandDot said: "...it is a rule that if you are using the word "suddenly," your piece is probably not as well written as it could be."
Whose rule is that?
Posted: 6/15/17 at 1:33pm
It's an unwritten rule that writers of all mediums are strongly suggested to avoid the overuse of the word suddenly. If you use the word suddenly over and over again, there is probably a better and more focused way to write what you are trying to say.
Everything that I have said is just my opinion of the show. I should able to express my opinion on here free of confrontation. It has already been established that you don't agree with my opinion, so let's leave it at that.
Updated On: 6/15/17 at 01:33 PM
Posted: 6/15/17 at 3:03pm
qolbinau said: "It is indeed hard to find a good song in CFA in my opinion, but I must admit I enjoy "Me & The Sky".
Not sure why anyone would want to listen to a song with these vomit-inducing lyrics. But to each their own.
Make me a channel of your peace:
Where there is hatred
Let me bring your love
Where there is injury
Your pardon, Lord
And where there's doubt
True faith in you"
you've said a lot of idiotic things on this board but this one might take the cake for most idiotic.
Posted: 6/15/17 at 3:30pm
GeorgeandDot said: "It's an unwritten rule that writers of all mediums are strongly suggested to avoid the overuse of the word suddenly. If you use the word suddenly over and over again, there is probably a better and more focused way to write what you are trying to say.
Everything that I have said is just my opinion of the show. I should able to express my opinion on here free of confrontation. It has already been established that you don't agree with my opinion, so let's leave it at that.
I agree that you should be able to express your opinion, GeorgeandDot - but you said it was a "rule" and an "unwritten rule". A "rule" is not an opinion, it suggests that it is a fact. And an opinion, of course, is NOT a fact.
Posted: 6/15/17 at 3:34pm
^The rest of my post was an opinion, but the part about the "rule" is a fact. The use of the word "suddenly" is highly discouraged because it can throw your whole thought off balance and make you sound amateurish. That is not my opinion, it is an actual rule that many professional writers can confirm with you.
Posted: 6/15/17 at 3:40pm
But then the "rule" wouldn't apply to an interview transcript put to music, as then it wouldn't be verbatim. To me that's the genius of that particular song. It's almost word-for-word, apparently.
Posted: 6/15/17 at 3:46pm
Yes but that still doesn't make the song well written. I would like to see them translate it in a way that wasn't so stilted and clunky.
Posted: 6/15/17 at 3:47pm
"Me and the Sky" is the only song I can even vaguely remember from this almost entirely forgettable show.
Posted: 6/15/17 at 4:12pm
gypsy101 said: "qolbinau said: "It is indeed hard to find a good song in CFA in my opinion, but I must admit I enjoy "Me & The Sky".
Not sure why anyone would want to listen to a song with these vomit-inducing lyrics. But to each their own.
Make me a channel of your peace:
Where there is hatred
Let me bring your love
Where there is injury
Your pardon, Lord
And where there's doubt
True faith in you"
you've said a lot of idiotic things on this board but this one might take the cake for most idiotic.
I'm glad that they weren't written by the authors because they don't need to be embarrassed by it - and because it shows consistency in my beliefs and attitudes. It is hilariously consistent that the words I'd take issue with are actually used in these farcical, harmful belief systems - and it's pretty funny that the song manages to capture the worst religions in one song. What a cess pit of a song - selling a vision that is even more unrealistic and unachievable than the reality that those cancerous belief systems should be removed from the face of this earth. We need to protect gay people, women, safety and the truth - the biggest victims of these weapons of mass destruction.
Updated On: 6/15/17 at 04:12 PM
Posted: 6/15/17 at 6:19pm
GeorgeandDot said: "^The rest of my post was an opinion, but the part about the "rule" is a fact. The use of the word "suddenly" is highly discouraged because it can throw your whole thought off balance and make you sound amateurish. That is not my opinion, it is an actual rule that many professional writers can confirm with you."
Literally none of that is correct.
Posted: 6/15/17 at 6:40pm
dramamama611 said: "I have to ask: I LIKE the song Me and the Sky, but (as I mentioned) it seems so out of place, like we have this character with a great history, so let's share her story -- which, IMO, has nothing to do with the show. Why do we get a bio of this one character, when that history has nothing to do with the events in Newfoundland?
Am I missing something?"
My takeaway is that here's a "character" who has a love of flying and has now found herself in a hotel room in Newfoundland struggling with the fact that this thing she loves so much was used as an instrument of terror. And I think Jenn Colella plays it perfectly - from the emotion of her success and love flying to the emotions that came the day(s) in the show.
I don't see it as much as a "biographical" song as it is setting up how much joy she gets from flying and how now that has possibly changed. The show is not only about the people of Newfoundland, but also about the stories of the people who were on the planes and the journeys they took from that time in Newfoundland and also up to ten years later. We don't see a personal relationship between Captain Bass and the locals/other characters, like we do with some of the other plane people (Hannah/Beulah, Bob/Mayor, Nick/Diane/Kevin/Kevin etc), so this is a way to give us some of what she was thinking/feeling at that time.
Posted: 6/15/17 at 6:42pm
Yes it is, Cam5y. You can continue to tell yourself that if it makes you feel better, but anyone with a basic english degree will tell you that you are strongly discouraged from using the word suddenly in any sort of professional writing. It makes your writing unfocused, but apparently you know everything......
Updated On: 6/15/17 at 06:42 PM
Posted: 6/15/17 at 6:47pm
GeorgeandDot- I'm very curious where the "suddenly" rule comes from. I'm a lyricist and have heard many, many musical theatre writing rules, but never a "suddenly" rule. Maybe I missed that in musical theatre writing school? (I'm not trying to be snarky; I am legitimately curious.) I actually find the beginning lyrics of the song "My parents must have thought they had a crazy kid/'cause I was one of those kids who knew what they wanted" more clunky and problematic than the "suddenly" part (I get it's Beverly Bass' words, but it sounds clunky). I actually think the "suddenly" repetition works in the song.
I don't really remember many of the lyrics, honestly, because I found the experience of seeing the show exhausting. I enjoyed it immensely, but having everything told (as opposed to shown) made me have to focus very closely, which was tiring (maybe it's just my ADD...). A bunch of my musical theatre writing friends say that the whole show is greater than the sum of its parts, which I agree with.
Posted: 6/15/17 at 6:51pm
G&D, I don't pretend to know everything. I don't pretend to know most things. I do know how to write. And I know three things about writing in English: repetition can make your argument stronger; follow grammatical rules, at least until you become Joyce or Nabokov and can break them with impunity; and beyond that, there are no rules.
