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re: BROADWAY REVIEW ROUND-UP: 17 links and excerpts for “IF/THEN”

Posted by: kidmanboy 10:28 am EDT 03/31/14
In reply to: re: BROADWAY REVIEW ROUND-UP: 17 links and excerpts for “IF/THEN” - Bwayguy 09:38 am EDT 03/31/14

Are they being extra kind, or is it simply more enjoyable to sit through something unique of which you have no preconceptions and no familiarity. Isn't it easier to get lost in a story that you haven't heard before? I think that's why some musicals based on well-known commodities, don't do well (Rocky, Legally Blonde, etc.). While things loosely based on well-known commodities or that have a recognizable name but don't have a plot familiar to everyone, seem to sell more tickets (Wicked is one terrific example).


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re: BROADWAY REVIEW ROUND-UP: 17 links and excerpts for “IF/THEN”

Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 10:46 am EDT 03/31/14
In reply to: re: BROADWAY REVIEW ROUND-UP: 17 links and excerpts for “IF/THEN” - kidmanboy 10:28 am EDT 03/31/14

"Is it simply more enjoyable to sit through something unique of which you have no preconceptions and no familiarity? Isn't it easier to get lost in a story that you haven't heard before?"

I would say yes. But the theory is that, at current Broadway prices, fewer people are willing to take the chance on an unknown commodity.


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re: BROADWAY REVIEW ROUND-UP: 17 links and excerpts for “IF/THEN”

Posted by: Bwayguy 10:57 am EDT 03/31/14
In reply to: re: BROADWAY REVIEW ROUND-UP: 17 links and excerpts for “IF/THEN” - Michael_Portantiere 10:46 am EDT 03/31/14

Everyone is hypocritical about this topic of "original musicals". I didn't hear anyone complaining about Once, The Producers or Hairspray for example. Quality is quality no matter what the source.


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re: BROADWAY REVIEW ROUND-UP: 17 links and excerpts for “IF/THEN”

Posted by: BestFriend 05:14 pm EDT 03/31/14
In reply to: re: BROADWAY REVIEW ROUND-UP: 17 links and excerpts for “IF/THEN” - Bwayguy 10:57 am EDT 03/31/14

I wouldn't necessarily accuse everyone of hypocrisy. Those were all based on a certain kind of film - quirky indie or cult following films, rather than mainstream commercial Hollywood blockbusters. (Kinky Boots is another indie example.)


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re: BROADWAY REVIEW ROUND-UP: 17 links and excerpts for “IF/THEN”

Posted by: kidmanboy 01:07 pm EDT 03/31/14
In reply to: re: BROADWAY REVIEW ROUND-UP: 17 links and excerpts for “IF/THEN” - Bwayguy 10:57 am EDT 03/31/14

I think Once, The Producers, and Hairspray differ from Rocky or Bridges of Madison County or Legal Blonde in the sense that I doubt that many of the people that saw those musicals had actually seen the source material. And I am not talking of quality, but of marketability and word-of-mouth.


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re: BROADWAY REVIEW ROUND-UP: 17 links and excerpts for “IF/THEN”

Posted by: enoch10 12:47 pm EDT 03/31/14
In reply to: re: BROADWAY REVIEW ROUND-UP: 17 links and excerpts for “IF/THEN” - Bwayguy 10:57 am EDT 03/31/14

i think much of the current distaste for musicals from movies has less to do with quality and more to do with quantity. we're drowning in the them.

quality does factor in. you certainly hear less about it when the approach is as successful as, say, ONCE was.


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re: BROADWAY REVIEW ROUND-UP: 17 links and excerpts for “IF/THEN”

Posted by: ryhog 01:08 pm EDT 03/31/14
In reply to: re: BROADWAY REVIEW ROUND-UP: 17 links and excerpts for “IF/THEN” - enoch10 12:47 pm EDT 03/31/14

I think if we analyzed what it is that people are actually saying, it is really about a distaste for banal exploitation regardless of source. If a film is imaginatively and creatively utilized as the foundation for a play, I don't think we hear objections. Likewise, if a musical exploits something that has nothing to do with any film, but it is exploiting something in a banal way, we are going to complain about it. Conversely, if a musical is written on a completely blank slate, but tells a banal story with banal songs, we are not going to praise it. So we end up pretty much where we started: we like what we find good, we dislike what we find bad.


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re: BROADWAY REVIEW ROUND-UP: 17 links and excerpts for “IF/THEN”

Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 11:07 am EDT 03/31/14
In reply to: re: BROADWAY REVIEW ROUND-UP: 17 links and excerpts for “IF/THEN” - Bwayguy 10:57 am EDT 03/31/14

I wouldn't say yhat "everyone is hypocritical" on this topic; obviously, it depends on the specific show.

As wonderful as it can be to see an entirely new show with an unfamiliar story, I'm sure we'd all rather sit through a great musical based on familiar material than a bad one that's completely original.


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