[title of show] going to Broadway? — Page 3

As long as we're on 4-person (and piano player) shows with lots of inside theatre stuff, what does anyone think of "The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)" We saw it a couple of months ago and just had a grand time.

"As long as we're on 4-person (and piano player) shows with lots of inside theatre stuff, what does anyone think of "The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)" We saw it a couple of months ago and just had a grand time. "

I've only read the script (the theatre I work at is putting it on), but on paper I thought it was hysterical. The interesting thing about MoM, though, is that it doesn't have to be done as a 4-person-and-piano show - the licensing materials allow you to think bigger and use a larger orchestra and ensemble if you so choose.

/end threadjack. (I really don't have much to say about the success or failure of [tos] - depending on what they do and how they do it on Broadway, it could easily go either way. Hooray for indecisiveness and repeating things already said.)

Updated On: 8/13/07 at 02:29 PM

I'm sure Michael Berresse could take a hiatus from A CHORUS LINE to work on [tos], the same way Heidi may be able to leave MERMAID if [tos] happens on Broadway.

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I believe Heidi was in the Broadway company of The Full Monty.

Yes, Heidi was Emily Skinner's standby in THE FULL MONTY, and Heidi went on MANY times for the role.

[tos], just like LITTLE MERMAID, would be a Broadway show. So it could just as well, probably moreso, be a big break.

She's only in the ensemble of LITTLE MERMAID.

[tos] would be a main role.

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Is the Music Box booked after Deuce leaves?

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"And Michael's last name is pronounced the way it is spelled:

Berr (as in "error") + (pronounced like the letter) "S"

Correct.

Accent on the "S". You'd be surprised, Foster, (or maybe not) how badly that man's name has been mangled. The Italians pronounce that name (as spelled) as Berr-ess-SAY.

And UMMM, Frenzy, sorry, but sadly, though I have the cast recording, I did miss both productions of [tos], so I'm afraid I missed that joke. Guess I should have searched. Thanks for the info.

Updated On: 8/13/07 at 04:04 PM

"Heidi understudied Emily Skinner's role in The Full Monty on Broadway. That's a part of the whole joke."

I assume you mean thats a joke in [tos], and if so, is exactly why it won't work on Broadway. Its too inside. Nobody knows who Emily Skinner is, and even regular theatre goers (myself included) have no idea that Heidi was her understudy. So the joke would fall flat unless you were "in the know".

Wanna Be ... I did see it at the vineyard, and honestly, thought it was "cute" but nothing special. And throughout the whole show, I kept thinking this is way too inside to make it commercially. I don't remember this particular "joke", but I didn't find anything particularly funny or clever in the show, it had mildly amusing moments, but honestly the only "gimmick" I really remember are the cell phone messages, which again, are very inside.

The show changed over time, WestVillage. Obviously they'll have to adapt somewhat, but I believe (just from my limited knowledge of the show) that they can make it work, if they do it right.

I certainly know who Emily Skinner is, and even Mamie Duncan-Gibbs (whose name was used in [tos] for awhile). Can't see it being a long run, and it will never be on the toursts' must-see lists, but I'd love to see it on Bway.

"My reference to Chorus Line not being as community based as [title of show] was due to the fact that the songs (lyrics) and dialogue deal with issues that have wider applicability beyond the gypsy Broadway dancer community. What I did for Love? We all can relate to that at some level. An Original Musical (a [title of show] song)? Not so much. It specifically relates to the current Broadway scene? For example, does anyone beyond us know who the heck Alice Ripley is (even though they should)?"

Well, that is choosing the most specific song from [tos], and the most general one from ACL... hardly a fair comparison. (In fact, Kleban himself so disapproved of the general, sell- out nature of What I Did For Love that he made a request in his will that the song not be sung at his funeral. What I Did for Love is what the rest of Chorus Line is not- a somewhat desperate attempt to get a hit single that was generic enough to appear anywhere.)

[title of show] has more specific references, but
A) a lot of them are hysterical and can be understood without knowing inside info,
B) it acknowledges these specific references,
C) it appeals to the insider mentality (the same way tourists who have barely seen 1/10 of the shows LOVE Forbidden Bway),
D) has more universally relatable lyrics than are being acknowledged (A Way Back To Then?, Die Vampire Die), and
E) has universal implications WITHIN the specific references.

[title of show] is about wanting to stay true to one's artistic intent and creative expressions. The show brings ALL audience members into the story of the journey, and then it lets them inside the world the journey takes place in. The references to things like "Triton Gallery" and "Alice Ripley" are just genuine aspects of Broadway that populate the piece. When you hear Victoria Clark's voicemail, maybe you have NOT A CLUE who Clark is, but you laugh at the hysterical monologue of an actress dictating her family schedule on a random answering machine. Maybe you don't know who Andrea McArdle is, but you relate to Heidi's reminiscing of a favorite record she listened to as a child. Maybe you don't know who the Nederlanders are, but you understand the way that they could give two guys with a theatre dream a way to be "part of it all".

Everyone has had trouble reconciling their dreams with financial reality. Everyone has looked back to see how their childhood hopes stack up against adult actuality. Many people have felt what is like to be "two nobodies in New York". Many people have wanted to ask significant questions, like- are we writing for art? and is art a springboard for fame? and will fame get us a paycheck? but will a paycheck mean that we're sell- outs? (Sondheim's Sunday in the Park and Merrily We Roll Along, as well as Jonathan Larson's Rent, asked very similiar questions, in very specific situations, at that.)

But NO SHOW before on Broadway has said things like:
Jeff: ...And I'll make Broadway my eternal address!
Hunter: Whoa, easy, mother****er! Broadway? Let's start with Off or Off- Off, and then you can think about the Great White Way.
Jeff: But why can't I dream big?
Hunter: Well, if it was a jukebox musical, a revival, or a recognizable commodity, I'd say: Dream away, biotch! But original? On Broadway? Baby, that is RISKY!

A Chorus Line said OUT LOUD on a Broadway stage that "there isn't any work anymore", "no show runs forever", and "they're not making big shows like they used to"--- the specific worries of Broadway gypsies, addressing the REALITY on Broadway. [title of show] could say OUT LOUD on a Broadway stage the realities for original musicals, new composers and lyricists, and make a plea to audiences of tourists, New Yorkers, regular theatregoers, old folks groups, student rushers, critics, producers, families, the theatre community, and that teenager seeing his/her first Broadway show: SUPPORT REAL, ORIGINAL NEW MUSICALS. Support shows like In The Heights and Grey Gardens and yes, [title of show], and you will leave the theatre fulfilled and touched and inspired, even if you never saw a movie that the show was based on or you didn't hear a song from the show before you went in. Take risks as an audience member and you'll be rewarded, for there are artists out there eager to make artistic statements in American Musical Theatre, and you could be a much- needed supporter.

I fully respect everyone's opinions on [title of show]'s Broadway prospects, whether you liked the show at the Vineyard or not. But I am a huge huge advocate of everything [title of show] could be- and will be- for Broadway.

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Whoever said it, got it right, that [ToS] is a musical about musical theater. If you're not into musical theater, you won't get the jokes, nor will the show be that amusing. Spelling Bee is a hilarious show centered around a universal event. Avenue Q is interesting because of the "adult puppet show" angle. I don't see how this would appeal to the average tourist?

"ghostlight2, I've always spoken the 'say' in Michael's name, never ending in 'ess', like the painter Veronese (Ver-oh-nay-say). My Italian mother always said that cutting off the 'ay' was lower class."

Well...okay, MasterLcZ...YOU tell him that.