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re: Good call, JayBee

Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 04:44 pm EDT 03/13/14
In reply to: re: Good call, JayBee - Chazwaza 03:35 pm EDT 03/13/14

Very well put, Chazwaza. It's well worth noting that a show can be "great" without being "perfect," aside from the fact that, obviously, definitions of "greatness" and "perfection" vary.

MY FAIR LADY is unquestionably a great show, but it's far from perfect (all those grammatical errors in the lyrics, and several words and expressions that people in England would never use). WEST SIDE STORY is a masterpiece, but some of Laurents' dialogue is not very good, even if his book is great overall. And so on.

I do agree with you that I don't think I've ever heard anyone say anything critical about GUYS AND DOLLS, and that show is pretty much universally regarded as great.


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re: Good call, JayBee

Posted by: PlayWiz 09:30 pm EDT 03/13/14
In reply to: re: Good call, JayBee - Michael_Portantiere 04:44 pm EDT 03/13/14

Nathan Detroit needs another song in the Broadway version.

Plus the guy on the OCR singing "More I Cannot Wish You" might have been effective on stage, but I nearly always used to bypass it on my LP.

So there! (Plus my comment above about the opening). Otherwise, I love it.


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re: Good call, JayBee

Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 10:43 am EDT 03/14/14
In reply to: re: Good call, JayBee - PlayWiz 09:30 pm EDT 03/13/14

As I'm sure you know, one reason why Nathan sings so little in the show is that Sam Levene, the original Nathan, could barely sing at all. If you just hand some of the singing lines in "The Oldest Established" and the title song to Nathan, I think that plus "Sue Me" gives him an appropriate amount to sing for that character, since he's obviously there much more for comedy than for beautiful singing.


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re: Good call, JayBee

Posted by: Chazwaza 04:52 pm EDT 03/13/14
In reply to: re: Good call, JayBee - Michael_Portantiere 04:44 pm EDT 03/13/14

However Guys & Dolls hardly identified as a musical "for adults" specifically, the way ALNM is. If JayBee is looking for a musical that is both perfect and for adults, it's going to be hard. But I still say Sweeney Todd is as perfect as ALNM (and most would say it's far better) and is very much for adults specifically.


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re: Good call, JayBee

Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 04:55 pm EDT 03/13/14
In reply to: re: Good call, JayBee - Chazwaza 04:52 pm EDT 03/13/14

I have a hard time figuring out what exactly a musical "for adults" means, but I certainly agree with you that SWEENEY is as great a show in its own way as ALNM, if not even greater.


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re: Good call, JayBee

Posted by: Chazwaza 04:59 pm EDT 03/13/14
In reply to: re: Good call, JayBee - Michael_Portantiere 04:55 pm EDT 03/13/14

I guess it means dealing with specifically adult themes and situations... meaning not things people under 16 could even understand, or subjects that wouldn't be appropriate for people under 16.

Family-friendly shows like Guys & Dolls and The Music Man probably do not qualify. Though they're certainly more "for adults" than Annie, for example. They aren't for kids but they can be enjoy by kids.

Into the Woods I think is for adults, but can certainly be enjoyed on many important levels by kids. It's one of the few shows that I think successfully lives in both those worlds.


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