| re: The last great musical to open on Broadway | |
| Posted by: | JayBee 07:32 am EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | The last great musical to open on Broadway - JayBee 08:17 am EDT 03/13/14 |
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| Thank you all for your passionate responses. I would love to know how many people posting on this thread actually saw the original production of Night Music. I'd wager few. (No need to respond. It is a personal musing.) Now, the last great play to open on Broadway was --- Never mind. | |
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| re: The last great musical to open on Broadway | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 12:06 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: The last great musical to open on Broadway - JayBee 07:32 am EDT 03/14/14 |
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| And as I have and others have said a few times now in this thread, unless you have seen every major musical in nyc since 1973, in its original nyc production, then you cannot claim that ALNM is the last great one, and also if you haven't seen them ALL then you cannot outrightly dismiss the opinions of people who know ALNM well but didn't see the original production in 1973. And as I said before, what is the point of starting a thread here that dismisses or objects to the opinions of anyone born at least after 1960 if not 1957 or 1952 (when a person would be 13, 16, or 21, 13 being the youngest possible age one could even see ALNM and have a valid opinion of it... but I would argue that 16 or 18 are the youngest, and that's assuming they are pretty sophisticated teenagers). Now I know you're thinking that as (probably) an nyc resident all or most of those years, and as someone who has seen possibly MOST of the notable musicals on Broadway and off (that's quite a lot, as you said "in nyc" no "on broadway"), you're probably thinking that if you didn't see it you heard the cast album and because you have good taste you can tell from the album that the material wasn't going to be in contention for "Last Great Musical" no matter how good the production was (just as I could tell ALNM was a great musical just from hearing the CD before ever seeing it or even reading the script). But I'm afraid that's still short-sighted and unfair, and not in line with the harsh criteria you've set up. (I mean, I'm sure if I was Tommy Tune's production of NINE with the original cast, I wouldn't harp on some of the less than perfect things I picked out listening to it on CD... but to someone seeing it live it might have been the greatest thing ever or at least that they've seen, or at least better than everything they've seen since) | |
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| re: The last great musical to open on Broadway | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 07:51 am EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: The last great musical to open on Broadway - JayBee 07:32 am EDT 03/14/14 |
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| If you don't want people to respond, why wonder on the board like that? As I mentioned below, I saw it three times. I love Sondheim, and I loved the production, but it's among the lesser Sondheim shows for me. I find too many of the lyrics a bit too knowing for the characters, or problematic in other ways, although brilliantly crafted, of course. I find much of the writing in the book to be straining for an elegance and wit that it too often fails to achieve. And I find some of the characters under-musicalized, yet I find "It Would Have Been Wonderful" an unnecessary though entertaining song. I wish that some different song-placement choices had been in the second act. That said, there are many things that I love about the show, even some things about the book. But it's not one of my favorites. Less quintet and more singing for the principal characters would have been nice, although I like the quintet's material. It sounded in one of your posts below like you were saying that if someone hadn't seen the original production he had no right, or at least no basis, on which to comment on your statement that Night Music was the last great musical. Perhaps you were joking. I couldn't tell. If you weren't, that seems odd (as others suggested indirectly). I mean, if I'd seen the original production of Carousel and said it was the last great material, and if you didn't see the original production you were not qualified to disagree, that would be very silly, for reasons that I think are fairly obvious. | |
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| re: The last great musical to open on Broadway | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 06:25 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: The last great musical to open on Broadway - AlanScott 07:51 am EDT 03/14/14 |
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| The Light in the Piazza would rank high on my personal list of favorite musicals of the last 20 years or so, probably no. 2 or 3. With a few minor revisions and clarificatons, it might have been no. 1. | |
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| re: The last great musical to open on Broadway | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 06:39 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: The last great musical to open on Broadway - AlanScott 06:25 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
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| I'd be very curious what your top 5 or 10 musicals of the last 20 years (or so) are. (hell, go for 30 yrs if you want) | |
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| re: The last great musical to open on Broadway | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 07:21 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: The last great musical to open on Broadway - Chazwaza 06:39 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
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| Oh, there are so many shows that I didn't see that I feel I should have seen and that perhaps would have made this list if I had, but of what I've seen, here are my faves (sticking strictly to the last 20 years and not necessarily in order of preference): Adding Machine The Light in the Piazza Fun Home Parade Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Grey Gardens Floyd Collins Passion (that one gets in just under the wire timewise) I may be forgetting something. Runner-ups would be The Wild Party (LaChiusa) and Spring Awakening. | |
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| re: The last great musical to open on Broadway | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 07:45 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: The last great musical to open on Broadway - AlanScott 07:21 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
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| Very interesting. My top 10 list would including these 12: (not in order) The Wild Party (LaChiusa) Grey Gardens Spring Awakening Parade Bernarda Alba Ragtime The Light in the Piazza Floyd Collins Caroline or Change Violet Hairspray Hedwig and the Angry Inch Runners Up might include: Rent A New Brain Adding Machine Dessa Rose Taboo Fun Home Avenue Q Book of Mormon See What I Wanna See Next to Normal Marie Christine There are others I enjoyed a lot (like In the Heights) but that haven't meant anything to me outside the theater. I haven't seen nor am I familiar with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. | |
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| re: The last great musical to open on Broadway | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 08:13 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: The last great musical to open on Broadway - Chazwaza 07:45 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
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| No passion for Passion? | |
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| make that 13 | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 08:23 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: The last great musical to open on Broadway - AlanScott 08:13 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
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| Yes, absolute Passion for Passion. I thought I'd written it in there. I guess if I had to cut 3 from that list for some arbitrary reason of having to arbitrarily make a top 10 list for the last 20 years... No, I can't, all 13 are absolutely exceptional, unique and wonderful pieces of musical theater. (I'd cut Hairspray first, but it's the only old fashioned-style musical comedy so hard to cut it.. then and Grey Gardens because most of what I love is the 2nd act, though the 2nd act is more brilliant than most full shows, then Violet? I don't know! Not that anyone asked) | |
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| That was meant as a response to chatter. Need more coffee or food. (nm) | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 06:34 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: The last great musical to open on Broadway - AlanScott 06:25 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
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| nm | |
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| re: The last great musical to open on Broadway | |
| Posted by: | chatter 06:17 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: The last great musical to open on Broadway - AlanScott 07:51 am EDT 03/14/14 |
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| What about Light in the Piazza? I adored it. | |
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| Sorry about the typos | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 05:30 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: The last great musical to open on Broadway - AlanScott 07:51 am EDT 03/14/14 |
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| "I mean, if I'd seen the original production of Carousel and said it was the last great material . . ." Yeah, that should have been musical, not material. And I left out made in this sentence. "I wish that some different song-placement choices had been made in the second act." | |
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