| re: Ramin Karimloo | |
| Posted by: | FleetStreetBarber 03:07 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Ramin Karimloo - Zelgo 12:21 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| Trust me: You are not alone. And the only thing more annoying than another revival of Les Miz is a post that begins with the name of someone I've never heard of and doesn't even disclose in the post what show is being discussed. Is Ramin Karimloo a household name in every home but mine? | |
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| re: Ramin Karimloo | |
| Posted by: | NightMusic77 06:56 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Ramin Karimloo - FleetStreetBarber 03:07 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| "...the only thing more annoying than another revival of Les Miz is a post that begins with the name of someone I've never heard of and doesn't even disclose in the post what show is being discussed. Is Ramin Karimloo a household name in every home but mine?" A household name? Hardly. But he definitely has been building a following over the years outside of the U.S., and his name has been mentioned on here multiple times since this revival has been announced. I got to see him perform at the Phantom 25th Anniversary performance on Broadway and his voice is gorgeous. Don't think that is enough to get me to pay full price to see Les Mis again, but his broadway debut will definitely be a selling-point for some. | |
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| re: Ramin Karimloo | |
| Posted by: | finally 12:02 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Ramin Karimloo - NightMusic77 06:56 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| He was also part of the Les Mis and Phantom anniversary concerts that they play practically non-stop on most PBS stations. Those programs appeal to the demographic that also goes to musicals, so I don't find it hard at all to imagine him being well-known in pretty broad circles. | |
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| re: Ramin Karimloo | |
| Posted by: | enoch10 03:20 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Ramin Karimloo - FleetStreetBarber 03:07 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| i walked out of the original production and have had zero interest in any revival but i know who ramin karimloo is from the number of enthusiastic posts here about him. i'd be interested to see if the buzz in here is justified. not enough to sit through LES MIS, mind you, but interested. | |
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| There used to be as many raving plugs about Anthony Warlowe | |
| Posted by: | PlayWiz 09:11 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Ramin Karimloo - enoch10 03:20 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| and look how that turned out for "Annie". | |
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| re: Ramin Karimloo | |
| Posted by: | bearcat 04:40 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Ramin Karimloo - enoch10 03:20 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| why did you walk out of the original production? at what point in the run did you see it and who were the main actors? it's not my kind of show, but it does have a thrilling momentum with a lot of what one might (indeed) call "hokum." by the way - when someone new finds out you are 'theatre oriented,'and then extols shows in the Lloyd Weber, Frank Wildhorn phenomenon, how do you react? For many, the syndrome is the highest of (self-regarding maybe?) taste in the artistic) | |
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| re: Ramin Karimloo | |
| Posted by: | enoch10 06:03 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Ramin Karimloo - bearcat 04:40 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| i think most of my reaction was based on how much the book means to me. i was really, really young when i read it. i'd never read a book anywhere near that thick. i'd never read a book that dealt with those kind of themes. there is also a real narrative flow to the book i don't think i'd encountered before, it was one of the first books i fell in love with and i fell hard. i don't think the scope or the themes of that book make for a good musical. i guess with the proper execution anything can be musicalized but this execution didn't work for me. it felt more than anything like a trivialization of a genuinely epic masterpiece of world literature. it still feels that way. it also felt bloated and excessive and sensational in the worst possible sense of the word. it's a dumbing down and trivialization of a work dealing with themes i think should be neither trivialized nor dumbed down. i also really, really, don't like megamusicals. i think at the time i didn't understand they were just another trend that would pass. i think i only understood them in terms of this is what musicals now are and i felt that needed to be as strenuously opposed as possible. i was right. it was the original run. i would have seen it either in the summer of 87 or 88 i think, which means i walked out on my beloved judy kuhn. but you know what? i'm sure - even knowing she was in it - i'd do it again. i'm not sure what you're asking me in the second part of your post. how do i feel when people ask me about weber and wilhorn? i guess it would depend on which musical you're talking about. i loved JCS and EVITA and, i'll admit it, CATS. i had sort of a strange reaction to PHANTOM. i heard the cast album first and for the first three or four listens thought... this is terrific but it kind of stopped growing on me if that makes any sense. after the first few listens i was like, well, there's not really that much there. i had exactly the same experience watching it. 15 minutes in i was like well, this is nice and shiny but it's all surface. there's no depth here. everything he's done after that just bores me. wildhorn completely baffles me. i can't for the life of me figure out why he keeps getting produced. there must be something i am missing in his work because the one musical of his i genuinely enjoyed was BONNIE AND CLYDE and even folks who like his work tend to dismiss it. | |
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| re: Ramin Karimloo | |
| Posted by: | bearcat 06:24 pm EDT 03/15/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Ramin Karimloo - enoch10 06:03 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| thanks for taking the time to reply so thoughtfully and thoroughly yes, these epic "source material" cum musicals tend to be executed in terms of plot points rather than musicals - at least, Wicked had the sense to dramatize what is essentially one page and 1/2 of the novel, I understand when I saw Fantasia in Color Purple September 2007, the book seemed to be just skittering from plot point to plot point just to credit major moments of the book-film Fiddler, She Loves Me, and some others do more in terms of characterization and musical effects than the blockbusters which tend to bombard with thrills rather than find depth and generate honest sentiment re Wildhorn, your response to B&C is interesting because many considered this his almost breakthrough to greater musical craft | |
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| re: Ramin Karimloo | |
| Posted by: | bearcat 06:30 pm EDT 03/15/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Ramin Karimloo - bearcat 06:24 pm EDT 03/15/14 |
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| second sentence should read... "in terms of plot pts rather than characterization by musical artistry and plot development with depth" | |
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