| SOM THING GOOD | |
| Posted by: | hugoP 12:00 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| Yeah, she isn't an actress. Yeah, he couldn't quite pull off a rounded character. Yeah, the "suits" had some nerve, even attempting such a thing. You know what? This took guts from everybody involved and I think we should appreciate the fact that a lot of successful people (Underwood, Moyer included) who didn't have to put themselves out there decided to do it. My own two cents: this might have been the most "meta" experience of the year-- you couldn't help but think about the whole story behind the production while you were watching the whole thing. Yes, that means the whole enterprise never quite captivated. But it also demonstrates just how surprising it is these days for big entertainment companies to actually take chances and put a lot of resources and reputations on the line. And, in this case, they indicated that America can still fall in love with a Broadway musical....and with live musical theatre on television. I hope, really hope, that this leads to more. And, for those of you who didn't like it, it only took up one channel on your 500+ channel line-up (not including your Netflix, Hulu, You Tube and Amazon accounts) and didn't really hurt you one bit. OK, I did it. Defended the whole thing. Let me have it. | |
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| Posted by: | dreamawakening 12:23 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | SOM THING GOOD - hugoP 12:00 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| Oh well, I tried to do a positive thread below too but everyone here is too negative. We should have known better! LOL | |
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| Posted by: | PlayWiz 12:29 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - dreamawakening 12:23 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| It's very good that the producers put on a musical, but it's also important for folks to have high standards. Look at "Peter Pan" with Mary Martin and Cyril Ritchard (if you can find a copy), or old kinescopes of Barbara Cook in "Bloomer Girl", Julie Andrews in "Cinderella", even Lesley Ann Warren and company in the remake. If they going to do it, do it right, with capable performers. I still was entertained by the evening, though many times not for the reasons R&H had in mind. | |
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| Posted by: | lowwriter 11:47 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - PlayWiz 12:29 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| I know it's just me, but I always found Warren a pale comparison to Andrews in Cinderella. | |
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| Posted by: | PlayWiz 12:11 pm EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - lowwriter 11:47 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| She was very pretty though, and it made an impact. But seeing both performances later on, Andrews' performance is indeed superior. | |
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| Posted by: | hugoP 12:46 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - PlayWiz 12:29 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| I think I am in the ATC minority in that I don't feel Carrie Underwood was a ridiculous notion. She has a wonderful voice and has a lot of stage presence when performing pop and country. That sometimes translates...and sometimes doesn't...into success in acting roles. And Stephen Moyer was also a bet worth making. And casting pros like Audra and Laura likely helped the whole cast find their footing. This production was created with very high standards and very big ambitions...yeah, we can all criticize what didn't work (and plenty did not work) but a lot doesn't work in live television. When you watch old kinescopes from the Golden Age of Television you see lots of static stagings, lots of wooden performances, lots of awkward moments...and lots of powerful, unforgettable things. SOUND OF MUSIC LIVE had a few of those, too. And, even though it only part-way worked, they did it without a net...and without auto-tune....and without re-dos...and without any guarantees. I freely criticize cynical, low-expectation, bottom-feeding television all the time....this, for all of its flaws, was not that. | |
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| Posted by: | lowwriter 11:50 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - hugoP 12:46 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| My feeling is that if this had been an actual production of SOM that had allowed a few previews, Carrie might have improved acting wise with an audience. It was risky doing it this way. I know Moyer had some stage experience but I think they should have tried harder casting Von Trapp since he didn't have much chemistry with Carrie. | |
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| Posted by: | Chromolume 12:52 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - hugoP 12:46 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| And has anyone yet noted that the telecast also dodged a major potential bullet? Had the announcement of Mandela's death come only a few hours later than it did, might NBC have felt covering that news was more important than a live musical? That could have been a very odd situation. (I assume that they would have simply held the broadcast - or held on at whatever point it was interrupted, resuming after the coverage. But who knows?) | |
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| Posted by: | Michael_212 12:12 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | SOM THING GOOD - hugoP 12:00 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| You know what also would have taken guts? Casting 2 seasoned musical theatre actors who may not be well known to the general public in the leads in order to produce the most artistically satisfying product possible. | |
| URL: | Corner Table |
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| Posted by: | lowwriter 11:57 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - Michael_212 12:12 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| And probably much fewer people would have watched. This is network TV in the 21st century, not Broadway. | |
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| Posted by: | mikem 09:39 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - Michael_212 12:12 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| Casting 2 unknowns as the leads would have taken guts, but it also wouldn't have been a good long-term strategy. With any new endeavor, you try to increase the odds that it will be successful (and remember that NBC's definition of success is high ratings). Now that the endeavor has been successful and the principle has been proven, they can go out on a limb more. But I don't fault them for playing it safe this time. If they had cast 2 unknowns, gotten a better broadcast but ratings were so bad that no one is going to do this again for 50 years, would that have been a better outcome? Some would say yes, but I'm glad the door is wide open for more to come. | |
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| Posted by: | mikem 09:47 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - mikem 09:39 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| Another thing to add is that the ratings held pretty steady. The show was #1 in the timeslot for all 6 half-hours, without much of a drop until 10pm (when everything drops). Even then, the drop was only about 10 - 15%. People stuck with it, way beyond the length someone would watch out for the curiosity factor. The show was far from perfect and a lot of people didn't like it, but a lot of people enjoyed it. | |
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| Posted by: | TheOtherOne 10:40 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - mikem 09:47 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| I found it dull, but I did watch the whole thing. I'm glad I did. The contrast between the cheery surface and inner darkness of "No Way To Stop It" was quite impressive, and the threat of the Nazis seemed more ominous in the show than it does in the film, with its energetic underscoring and battery-cutting nuns. We're left with the impression that Max is going to pay dearly for having helped Von Trapp as well in the show. I do think Lehman improved the work overall, but it isn't a question of him rescuing a failure (as some imply). He had a good piece to work with and he made if flow better as a film. He also had Wise and a sensational cast to make the most of it. It is hard to compare the two on the basis of the broadcast. Televised theater, live or not, is always going to seem a little static without audience response, things are going to be lost due to sound and lighting issues, and you are still at the mercy of what the camera is showing you. The broadcast lacked a flow that it needed, but I think that owes more to these technical issues than the show itself. I have never seen The Sound of Music on stage. I would not avoid it on the basis of this production. | |
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| re: SOM THING GOOD | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 06:01 pm EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - TheOtherOne 10:40 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| I really disliked the directorial touch of making us think that Max was going into possibly lots of trouble for facilitating the escape. It's not suggested in the published script, and while I understand the temptation to add it, I really think it's a mistake. We shouldn't be worried at the end about Max possibly being executed or dying in a concentration camp. We should be moved that the Trapps are escaping. | |
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| Posted by: | lowwriter 12:01 pm EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - TheOtherOne 10:40 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| I've seen the show on stage and I've enjoyed it very much. Both Debbie Boone and Rebecca Luker were delightful Marias. Casting the Captain is harder, really. I'm not sure if anyone remembers now but although the SOM film was an enormous hit, it wasn't actually a huge critical success. Several critics, including Pauline Kael, hated it and Julie Andrews' sweetness. | |
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| Posted by: | wmdmcree 10:38 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - mikem 09:47 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| I wonder if "Scandal" was responsible for a large portion of that drop in viewers. | |
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| Posted by: | lowwriter 12:05 pm EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - wmdmcree 10:38 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| The drop wasn't significant. Scandal and Elementary are both popular 10 pm shows and their ratings went down on Thursday. | |
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| Posted by: | mikem 10:51 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - wmdmcree 10:38 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| "Scandal" probably had something to do with it. All of the trending Twitter items were about SOM or Scandal. The ratings for SOM were actually higher at 8:30 than at 8, probably because people were watching "The Big Bang Theory" at 8. That may have actually helped the show somewhat, since I thought the first half-hour was a little shaky and things got much better once they got past that. | |
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| re: SOMETHING GOOD | |
| Posted by: | WaymanWong 02:05 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - Michael_212 12:12 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| Would that be gutsy or foolhardy? With unknown theater actors, the ratings would've been much, much lower. Carrie Underwood was the draw. She's an American Idol winner, a 6-time Grammy winner and a multi-platinum-selling recording artist. Who's to say what's ''most artistically satisfying''? Over 18 million tuned in and stayed with it. They easily could've changed channels. It was the No. 1 show among the dream demographic of adults, 18-49, and NBC's best Thurs. since 2004. | |
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| re: SOMETHING GOOD | |
| Posted by: | TGWW 07:42 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOMETHING GOOD - WaymanWong 02:05 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| And get no one to watch? Last night they were discussing it on TMZ and one of the girls said it was horrible and I quote "It was a stupid play thing, and there was no gazebo". And this is from someone who reports on show business everyday. No matter how low rung reporting it is, the average viewer probably knew less about it than she did going in except it starred Carrie Underwood. | |
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| Posted by: | PlayWiz 02:17 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOMETHING GOOD - WaymanWong 02:05 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| A live musical on tv is the newest reality show in its own way. Maybe some of the other networks will jump on the bandwagon to compete. They usually do try to copy one another. But hopefully with accomplished singing actors. | |
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| re: SOM THING GOOD | |
| Posted by: | bradmurf 01:14 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - Michael_212 12:12 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| "You know what also would have taken guts? Casting 2 seasoned musical theatre actors who may not be well known to the general public in the leads in order to produce the most artistically satisfying product possible." Heaven forbid, right? | |
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| Posted by: | LegitOnce 12:26 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - Michael_212 12:12 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| You know what would have taken even more guts? Presenting a 7-hour medieval mystery play in the original Middle English, with a cast of death row convicts performing in total darkness. | |
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| re: SOM THING GOOD | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 12:28 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM THING GOOD - LegitOnce 12:26 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| You know what would have taken even more guts? Presenting a 7-hour medieval mystery play in the original Middle English, with a cast of death row convicts performing in total darkness. Shhh!! Don't say that...or someone might pick up on that and try to make a reality series out of it. Perhaps starring the Kardashians...;-) | |
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