| Various & Sundry (was re: My problem with the selections) |
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| Posted by: |
Marlo*Manners 11:57 am EDT 04/02/14 |
| In reply to: |
re: My problem with the selections - lowwriter 11:25 am EDT 04/02/14 |
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I don't think the idea was to provide novelty - the usual BBTY concert focusing on one season does that in spades. They were doing a cavalcade of shows from the Golden Age. So "Oklahoma!" which along with "Show Boat" is considered a watershed turning point in musical comedy (the point where it becomes "musical theater") has to be there. They just could have picked a better selection with a more appropriate performer.
Scott Siegel has a good ear for talent for the most part - so I am not surprised that Deborah Tranelli actually can sing and well - or has until very recently. I heard the quality in the voice but the breathing, support and pitch were all over the place. Clearly Scott had heard her live earlier this year (maybe at that Triad show) and liked her. Here's hoping for greater success in the future.
As for length of runs being indicative of a show's total "success" that is tricky. Lots of mediocre shows had long runs and made money because of popular stars or feeding into then hot trends or fads. Shows like "Candide" which were flops have had a rich afterlife. But the big thing is that fifty, sixty, seventy or eighty years ago a show could run less than a year, pay back its investors and be considered a success. The monster economics of the current Broadway model means that a musical has to run for years with full houses or it loses a fortune. Result: less and less creativity.
How about non-operatic interpretations of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"? I think it would work well as a folk or gospel ballad.
Marlo Manners (Lady Barrington)
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