| Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 01:39 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I haven't seen the show yet, but from everything I've read and videos I've seen... it seems like the better fit would have been BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. It is also a haunting, aching love story about two lonely people trying to find something before it's too late, etc etc... it is the kind of story that lends itself to the kind of score it sounds like JRB wrote for BRIDGES, but the property would be MUCH more interesting and of interest to the public (and especially the Broadway audience) these days, and it would have been more newsworthy and headline grabbing, the casting would be more interesting, and they'd sell plenty of tickets to people who just want to see what it's like. Unlike BRIDGES which I think made comparatively little impact as a film and has been around for a long time. This has been the thought that keeps coming into my head when I read comments and reviews about Bridges and it just makes me wish that's what he'd done instead. (I know someone recently did an opera of it that wasn't terribly well received, but either way that's a different animal) | |
| reply to this message | | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | FrankF 12:10 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Chazwaza 01:39 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| For the record, I LOVED Bridges... I think it's a beautiful score. I think it's terrific show. And the performances are top notch. Pasquale has one of the best male voices I have ever heard on the NY stage. And maybe you will love it too if you ever see it and hear it fully in context. As for Brokeback..., sure, JRB could probably write a great score for that too. But don't put down the score for yourself (and let other decide what you like for you) before you've seen it. It's quite wonderful. | |
| reply to this message | | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 02:48 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - FrankF 12:10 am EDT 03/17/14 |
|
| |
| My post was in no way putting down the score, for myself before I've seen it, or in any context. I was using the general feeling that show doesn't quite work to say that it sounds like the similar cast size, location type, story and themes make it sound like JBR's score would have been well suited to the much more exciting property of Brokeback Mountain. I certainly hope I can see the show in NY, and that it has a long run whether I love it or not. But if not, I will of course get the CD. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | kern 07:21 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Chazwaza 01:39 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| it seems like the better fit would have been BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN....the property would be MUCH more interesting and of interest to the public (and especially the Broadway audience) these days. Are you saying that when it comes to the Broadway musical homosexual relationships per se are more interesting and commercial than heterosexual ones? | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 02:51 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - kern 07:21 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I'm saying that it's a much hotter property in terms of having been a fairly recent hit/critical & award darling movie with two major movie stars, and a musical about a repressed gay romance is much more note-worthy for discussion and headlines than the Bridges of Madison County, and that there is of course a large gay contingent in the Broadway audience. On many levels it would have been more exciting and note-worthy. And I don't say it just randomly, as I've already said, the specifics of BRIDGES makes me think of BROKEBACK and so that's how it came up. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | kern 05:20 am EDT 03/18/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Chazwaza 02:51 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
|
| |
| Brokeback Mountain may be more contemporary than Bridges, but to argue that it has anywhere near the widespread appeal and popularity of Bridges is a tremendous stretch. As to the relative size of gays and heteros in the audiences of Broadway musicals, it makes me laugh to think that anyone thinks that that should or would be a consideration for the distinguished theatre artists who have created the musical Bridges. Since JRB had chosen to write music/ a musical specifically for the highly regarded Kelli O'Hara, would you have had her play Ennis or Jack if it was Brokeback that had been adapted? I have no opinion on the subject and would not argue w/ anyone who thinks that Brokeback is a better property of the two for musical theatre adaptation. I appreciate your response to me. However, I do feel that your comments were inappropriate. At the same time, I am certain that you had no intention of being divisive. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 05:32 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Chazwaza 01:39 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| Annie Proulx would have had to agree. And Brown would have had to have the idea before the opera was commissioned in 2008. And although the opera wasn't well received, I know at least one person who loved it. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Delvino 09:55 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - AlanScott 05:32 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I watched an hour of it, viewable on line, and found the production exquisite, the casting spot on, the libretto wanting and the music insufferably inaccessible. I had no problem with these men singing. Yet the emotional impact of the story - to me decidedly large enough in scale to be operatic - was held hostage to the chilly, melody-free music. Proulx has famously said that she felt the (exquisite) Oscar-winning score by Gustavo Santaolalla was sentimental; moving in the opposite direction created an almost cerebral take that to me undermined the pathos. The film score, ironically is lean, spare, minimalist, hardly John Williams; yet it is infused with feeling. Brown might have written a haunting musical, and I find the idea compelling. "Parade" revealed a composer unaffraid to make people sing in any circumstance. "Brokeback" invites both daring and tradition, a star-crossed lovers tale with a tragic ending, more Puccini than Berg. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Delvino 10:03 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Delvino 09:55 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| Okay, maybe Berg was wrong. Bartok? Glass? | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 01:22 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Delvino 10:03 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| With my limited musical knowledge, I'd say that Berg is a good comparison. Unquestionably Wuorinen's style generally and in Brokeback Mountain is much closer to Berg than to Bartok or Glass. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Delvino 06:47 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - AlanScott 01:22 am EDT 03/17/14 |
|
| |
| Thank you, Alan. At a certain point in any opera discussion, I'm way outside my comfort zone in terms of musical knowledge. But more on-topic, perhaps this discussion brings up a more universal one about theater music: the value of melody in terms of audience access to character and story, and emotional resonance. To my ears, the richer the melody, the more likely I will respond on a deeply personal level. Such responses are thus subjective. I remember when SWEENEY TODD first appeared on disc, a big discussion of the song "Johanna" with a friend, not someone musically illiterate at all, who felt its melody was too intricate, too elliptical to serve the emotional needs of a lovesick lad's paean in musical theater. The score was still brand new, and as odd as it sounds now in light of the wide-spread recognition of the depths of the Sondheim music, such talk wasn't unheard of. When I hear "Johanna" today, of course its richness is a given -- to my accepting and admittedly loving -- ear. So it's sometimes relative, this concept of emotional access via melody. And the role familiarity plays in what constitutes a satisfying melodic line. I'm reminded of instances when a melody can seem almost too rich for the subject matter. This, too, is highly subjective, but for me CANDIDE is the definitive example. The show's vaudeville trappings, its clowns and outlandish plot turns, all true to Voltaire, don't necessarily -- I hedge here -- necessarily invite the richness that Bernstein bestows. The material is always strongest in concert -- and I've enjoyed every re-imagining (and I believe seen all of the major ones), to a point -- because the score is freed of the cartoon-like storyline. In even the best production, a song like "Make Our Garden Grow" is almost too beautiful for the simple resolution it serves. I again say "almost," because I'm always eagerly awaiting the chance to hear it well sung. It's the usually the reason I bought a ticket: the score. Oddly enough, I found it more moving in the recent Streisand concert, when the lyric was pitched rather baldly to environmental concerns. In the tale, the young lovers and their cadre have gone on a complicated journey, but they sing of optimism with the wide-eyed if tainted by circumstance innocence of youth. The song soars -- to me, above them, not among them. To me they lack sufficient dimension as characters to earn its depths. CANDIDE's book is always blamed for its relative failure; has any musical's libretto been so reworked? However it is staged, Bernstein's pile-on of melody is overwhelming to the senses, yet perhaps overshadows the characters' plight. Yes, I understand that the context is comic operetta. Still, the power in the melody is profound, in style at odds with Voltaire's satiric points. Our emotions are engaged by the music perhaps in ways the text never can come close. Again, at least to me. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | lordofspeech 06:32 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - AlanScott 05:32 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I know at least one regular NY theatre audience member who told me he LOVED "Bridges." So, critics aren't the only word in town. Look at WICKED, which the critics took issue with. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 06:48 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - lordofspeech 06:32 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I know people who loved Bridges. I admired much of it while wishing some things had been treated a bit differently. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | ptownguy 07:05 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - AlanScott 06:48 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I agree. Saw it last night . I wish they had not devoted so much time on the family, neighbors, etc. When it was just Francesca and Robert on stage, it really soared and their singing was incredible. It might have worked better if they had used the movie scenario. Never read the book -- don't know if it was different. Looking forward to the release of the CD. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 07:16 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - ptownguy 07:05 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I think it's important to devote time to the family and neighbors, but many agree with you. Most of all I wish that I felt I really got to know who Robert is. It seemed to me that he's the person we're expected to feel most for at the end, yet he's sort of a cipher in the writing. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | ilw 12:34 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - AlanScott 07:16 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I agree that Robert is a cipher, and this made it hard for me to get completely invested in the story. This problem is mentioned in David Barbour's review, which I think describes the strengths and weaknesses of the show very well. Unlike the book, the show is really Francesca's story, which was a good decision, since she is a more believable character than Robert. | |
| Link | David Barbour review of BRIDGES |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | ptownguy 08:30 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - AlanScott 07:16 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I do think the family should be part of the story too. I just liked the way it was done in the film with the adult children discovering who their mother really was and what she gave up for them. The inevitable case of comparing one medium to another. Nonetheless, this show does deserve to be seen and I really hope it finds an audience. The audience certainly liked it last night. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 09:27 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - ptownguy 08:30 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| The audience with whom I saw it during previews seemed to like it a lot, too. I heard several very positive comments during intermission and after the show. I think this is a show that could have a nice run if word of mouth can take hold. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Ncassidine 02:17 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Chazwaza 01:39 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I haven't seen that movie in quite some years, but it occurs to me that those characters don't really want to sing. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 02:26 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Ncassidine 02:17 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I think that's a narrow view of the characters and the musical form. I think those characters are desperate to sing... and I think there's a way to musicalize what isn't going on in their actual dialogue. I know that's one of the criticisms people had of the opera, that they didn't want to sing, but I still think I can hear them singing JRB music. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 06:39 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Chazwaza 02:26 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| "I know that's one of the criticisms people had of the opera, that they didn't want to sing." One of the reasons why an opera might be felt to be more appropriate is because they are singing all the time, no one suddenly starts to sing because he must express himself lyrically. And in opera the orchestra can tell us what's going on underneath a vocal line that may seem relatively inexpressive. This can happen in musicals, but opera perhaps permits or encourages it more. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 07:00 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - AlanScott 06:39 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I guess one way to approach it is for everyone to be singing except the two guys... who only sing when they finally get together, and they try to sing with their wives, etc, but the song is always wrong or just sung by the wife when they sing together. It certainly has the ability to be beautiful or exceptionally silly. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| what a fascinating thread | |
| Posted by: | jero 08:40 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Chazwaza 07:00 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| who sings? creative team ho.... One of my favorite moments in theater was at The Secret Garden and that quartet and suddenly you hear that small yet large voice crying out "I heard someone crying." I couldn't find her on stage but OH... viscerally.. it was surely something to sing about. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 07:04 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Chazwaza 07:00 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| Well, I think one sings, the other doesn't. ;) Jack sings, Ennis doesn't. But that's very Do I Hear a Waltz? (or at least what Sondheim thought might be a workable idea). | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| Just curious, Alan ... | |
| Posted by: | Alcindoro 12:18 pm EDT 03/19/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - AlanScott 07:04 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| Have you had a chance to listen to BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN as purely a musical/audio experience yet? | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | PatrickHSF 05:49 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Chazwaza 02:26 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| Part of Enis' tragic character to me is his inability to express himself. It would take a shrewd composer to give him a voice and vocalize his feelings while showing the pain of his keeping his emotions hidden and inside. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| I adore you.. A SHREWD COMPOSER. | |
| Posted by: | jero 08:43 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - PatrickHSF 05:49 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| isn't that what everyone on this board craves? | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 07:01 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - PatrickHSF 05:49 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| And yet, isn't that a good use of song? To be his inner thoughts, juxtaposed with his simple and sparse choice of words and inability to express himself that way to others? I think it could be very effective. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | lordofspeech 08:21 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Chazwaza 07:01 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| The puppeteer in CARNIVAL, someone who cannot express himself in person, has two great soliloquy songs. That might be the way to go for a character who doesn't express himself to others. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 10:49 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - lordofspeech 08:21 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| "The puppeteer in CARNIVAL, someone who cannot express himself in person, has two great soliloquy songs. That might be the way to go for a character who doesn't express himself to others." Excellent point. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| kind of like Billy Bigelow | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 02:56 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Michael_Portantiere 10:49 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| Who doesn't express himself well and is very similar in many ways to the type of character you have in Brokeback, and has one of the greatest songs/soliloquies in musical theater. No one said a musical must be a straight up literal adaptation of the actual dialogue and actual goings on of the movie or novella where people sing what used to be dialogue. In Carousel, Carnival, "He Wanted To Say", Light in the Piazza, and many other musicals and probably operas... there is evidence of using music as a metaphor and/or juxtaposing sparse dialogue with lush or rousing or beautiful songs that express something words can't (or that the character doesn't know how to say or refuses to say). | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | LegitOnce 06:43 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Michael_Portantiere 10:49 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| So you're saying a musical of "Brokeback Mountain" needs puppets? | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 11:15 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - LegitOnce 06:43 am EDT 03/17/14 |
|
| |
| Maybe Rod and Nicky could star? ;-) | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 11:44 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Chromolume 11:15 am EDT 03/17/14 |
|
| |
| Perfect! | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Logan69 02:16 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Chazwaza 01:39 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I, too, wish that had happened. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 02:00 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Chazwaza 01:39 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| "I know someone recently did an opera of it that wasn't terribly well received." Yes, unfortunately, the person who wrote the music for the opera writes the kind of music that some critics admire but that no one else wants to hear. I agree with you, the idea of JRB adapting BROKEBACK as a musical is very intriguing and full of potential. Too bad it will presumably never happen. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 05:29 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Michael_Portantiere 02:00 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| "Yes, unfortunately, the person who wrote the music for the opera writes the kind of music that some critics admire but that no one else wants to hear." I want to hear it. James Levine seems to like it. Some prominent musicians seem to like it because they play it. People used to say stuff like this about Mahler and Bartok. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 05:40 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - AlanScott 05:29 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I was employing hyperbole to make a point :-) That said, I really don't think this opera or Wuorinen's music will stand the test of time. And in my opinion, there's no comparison to Mahler and Bartok whatsoever -- even though I realize you meant in terms of the reception of the music rather than quality. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | ryhog 08:30 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Michael_Portantiere 05:40 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| The more apt comparison might be Jason Robert Brown. Outside of a small clique, the hyperbolic "no one" wants to hear his extant oeuvre, and it is at least as reasonable to say his music will not stand the test of time. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 10:46 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - ryhog 08:30 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I completely disagree. Although there's no way of knowing for sure, I suspect that Jason Robert Brown's music will stand the test of time far, far better than Charles Wuorinen's. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | ryhog 10:59 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Michael_Portantiere 10:46 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| That, of course, is not what I suggested. What I said was that Brown may be a more apt comparison to Wuorinen than who you suggested-Bartok and Mahler. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 09:04 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - ryhog 08:30 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| The more apt comparison might be Jason Robert Brown. Outside of a small clique, the hyperbolic "no one" wants to hear his extant oeuvre, and it is at least as reasonable to say his music will not stand the test of time. Ok - I'm curious. What musical theatre composers today do you feel DO get a good response outside of this small clique - composers whose musical theatre scores WILl stand the test of time? | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | ryhog 09:30 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Chromolume 09:04 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| The tougher question would be if you add "under 80." As asked though, I guess I'd say Sondheim, Kander, Herman. Maybe a couple more out there if I think harder, but I think you can see the problem. Reluctantly, probably Schwartz and Menken, and maybe Shaiman and Lopez. Here is another way of asking approximately the same question: if you approach someone who isn't "into" musical theatre the way a lot of folks here are to name a JRB song, or even identify it if they hear it (without being pegged to him) what would it be? My intention is not to pick on JRB per se, but to examine the prospects of these composers vis a vis someone like Charles Wuorinen. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 10:37 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - ryhog 09:30 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| Seems to me like we all had a similar discussion a few weeks ago. ;-) | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 06:34 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - Michael_Portantiere 05:40 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| "That said, I really don't think this opera or Wuorinen's music will stand the test of time." — Michael Portantiere "A life-long devotion is measured after the fact." — Dr. Sloper in both Washington Square and The Heiress. (I hope that quoting Dr. Sloper is not as bad as Alan Simpson quoting Iago.) "And in my opinion, there's no comparison to Mahler and Bartok whatsoever . . . " — Michael Portantiere Clearly. ". . .even though I realize you meant in terms of the reception of the music rather than quality." Both perhaps. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| For some reason, I thought you had heard it... | |
| Posted by: | garyd 05:39 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Jason Robert Brown should have adapted BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN instead of BRIDGES... - AlanScott 05:29 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I thought I had posted the webcast sight here and we discussed it but I guess not. We saw it opening night. I admit I am not a fan of his style of music but I found this to be particularly dry. | |
| Link | http://www.medici.tv/#!/brokeback-mountain-wuorinen-teatro-real-madrid-titus-engel-ivo-van-hove |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: For some reason, I thought you had heard it... | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 06:41 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | For some reason, I thought you had heard it... - garyd 05:39 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| Someone posted the webcast here and we did discuss it. I thought it was terrific. Sorry that you didn't like it more. But I presume you didn't make the trip primarily to see it (although perhaps you did). | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: For some reason, I thought you had heard it... | |
| Posted by: | garyd 01:05 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: For some reason, I thought you had heard it... - AlanScott 06:41 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| I think I posted the webcast but I could be wrong. Others may have as well. The main reason for the trip was to visit my son and his family but we timed this one to specifically coincide with the premier of the opera. The score seems to emphasize the inevitable doom of the characters, their situation, the oppressive nature of the society in which they live and the ever present danger to them posed by that society and the physical environment. While appropriate, it does so at the expense of allowing the audience to “feel” or experience the romance that is kindled during the idyll on the mountain. While Ennis and Jack do not necessarily recognize this, ,the audience should (and does in both the novella and the film). The score also misses the opportunity to musicalize some of Proulx’s exquisite imagery from the novella. I think this is a mistake. I try, not always successfully, to not criticize that which I do not understand so I am always a bit reticent to voice an opinion about atonal, serial, twelve tone, composition. However, most of it strikes me as an esoteric exercise in fractals and mathematical theory. My problem due to my ignorance I suppose. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
All That Chat is intended for the discussion of
theatre news and opinion
subject to the terms and conditions of the Terms of Service. (Please take all off-topic discussion to private email.)
Please direct technical questions/comments to webmaster@talkinbroadway.com and policy questions to TBAdmin@talkinbroadway.com.
[ Home | On the Rialto | The Siegel Column | Cabaret | Tony Awards | Book Reviews | Great White Wayback Machine ]
[ Broadway Reviews | Barbara and Scott: The Two of Clubs | Sound Advice | Restaurant Revue | Off Broadway | Funding Talkin' Broadway ]
[ Broadway 101 | Spotlight On | Talkin' Broadway | On the Boards | Regional | Talk to Us! | Search Talkin' Broadway ]
Terms of Service
[ © 1997 - 2014 www.TalkinBroadway.com, Inc. ]
Time to render: 3.007829 seconds.