| re: It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. | |
| Posted by: | Singapore/Fling 04:01 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. - dramedy 03:54 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| And those shows were not about gay cartoonists and their lesbian daughters. Those shows were also built on popular properties, and had music that was familiar to its audience. Much more popular appeal. I quite like "Fun Home" and think it could do well on Broadway, but their opening date suggests, to me, that the producers don't think it will have the legs to run without awards. Tessori and Krohn might pick up the score award, but they are going up against Sting. More likely, Krohn might pick up Best Book, which we know does nothing for box office (see "Passing Strange", still my favorite musical of the last ten years). And while the Pulitzer is prestigious, it is not an indicator of Tony success. And as we have long seen, the smaller shows have a real hard time competing against the big, audience pleasing, famous name attached musicals. | |
| reply to this message | | |
| It's about family | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 05:02 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. - Singapore/Fling 04:01 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| It's not about gay cartoonists and their lesbian daughters. (Apart from the fact, noted below, the father is not a gay cartoonist.) It's about family. It's about parent-child relationships. It's about things that are so universal. I'm not saying it's going to be a smash that will run for years, but I truly think it's about things that most regular theatregoers will find very easy to relate to. And even though the score is mostly not written in traditional, easily accessible song forms, it's also not a difficult listen. (Of course, I've never found Sondheim the slightest bit difficult so perhaps I'm not the best judge.) The weekly nut will be low. I think it might be very successful. I do worry a bit about the restaging that will be necessary for Circle in the Square. It doesn't seem to me a natural space for the show. | |
| reply to this message | | |
| re: It's about family | |
| Posted by: | Singapore/Fling 05:08 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | It's about family - AlanScott 05:02 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| Good point about the universality of the family aspect. If they can sell it on that, they could do well. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: It's about family | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 05:19 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: It's about family - Singapore/Fling 05:08 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| I think it will be about word of mouth. If the show is as good as it was at the Public, I'd think word of mouth will be very good. But I could be wrong. We'll see. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: It's about family | |
| Posted by: | bwaydiva1 05:07 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | It's about family - AlanScott 05:02 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| When they perform on the Tonys (assuming they're nominated), they should do "Welcome to Our House on Maple Avenue". That shows the whole cast and introduces the plot. It shows them as a family. It is a specific story with universal themes-that's what they need to convey. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: It's about family | |
| Posted by: | simbo 05:59 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: It's about family - bwaydiva1 05:07 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| Assuming they pay for a Tony slot, I'd go with the title song - "Welcome to our house on Maple Avenue" does showcase the cast and set up plot, but ... it's very plotty and angsty, and it doesn't show the humour of the show, and it doesn't really grab the attention (it's a "settle in, here's the story" song, not a "wow, look at this!" song). The title song, by contrast, is attention grabbing, funny, and, importantly for marketing purposes, repeats the title of the show multiple times! | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: It's about family | |
| Posted by: | bwaydiva1 06:10 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: It's about family - simbo 05:59 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| I'm not sure the kids' song would go over as well. I think "Welcome to Our House" is a better choice but I could foresee a medley of that with either one of Small Alison's solos or "Welcome to the Fun Home" (there's something about caskets onstage that's disturbing to some people-not me, but it could be a turn off). | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: It's about family | |
| Posted by: | simbo 10:51 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | re: It's about family - bwaydiva1 06:10 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| It's a show about a family who work in a funeral home. If caskets are a turnoff, that person isn't going to go anyway. To me, you pick your most energetic, attention grabbing number - avoiding because of fear of bad reactions to caskets is like if "Grand Hotel" had avoided "We'll Take a Glass Together" because some people dislike seeing public drunkenness. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: It's about family | |
| Posted by: | bwaydiva1 08:01 am EDT 08/09/14 |
| In reply to: | re: It's about family - simbo 10:51 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
|
| |
| I still think showing the family and the tensions is a good move. The kids are cute but it's a grown up show-it's not for children. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. | |
| Posted by: | bwaydiva1 04:47 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. - Singapore/Fling 04:01 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| Next to normal, Once, Spring Awakening=smaller, darker musicals that did very, very well. (And no A-listers attached. Hmmmmm... maybe little, darker shows do have a shot and a place on Broadway?) I think this little show has potential. They need to market it correctly-and the choice to open when they are is smart. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. | |
| Posted by: | Singapore/Fling 05:04 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. - bwaydiva1 04:47 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| Interesting that you note "Once" as being a darker show - what about it strikes you as dark? For me, "Once" is a lovely romantic musical that follows a fairly well-worn story of sadsack guy meets hopeful girl and gets his mojo back. Told with fun rock songs and a lot of finely observed thoughts about love. I think it's a marvelous piece, but I wouldn't say dark. "Spring Awakening" is darker, but had the benefit of being a flashy production built on a direct, accessible rock score. It had a nice run on the backs of teenagers who kept coming back to see it. It also had again, a front and center boy meets girl romance for plot. I like "Fun Home", and I hope it has a good run. But it is a difficult sell, material wise. And the Public has not had a sucessful Broadway transfer of an original musical since... "Bring in Da Noise"? (Am I forgetting something?) And the producers have noted that it's going to be a tough sell. I don't think that the length of their run has anything to do with their worth as a piece, but I do see them hedging their bets, which might be wise - we all saw "Bridges" burn through their reserve and then some. And with "Fun Home" budgeting at $5 mil, they don't have much in their coffer for bad weeks. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| Where did your $5m figure come from | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 05:07 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. - Singapore/Fling 05:04 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| Was that in the ny times article? Playbill didn't state any numbers. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Where did your $5m figure come from | |
| Posted by: | Singapore/Fling 05:10 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | Where did your $5m figure come from - dramedy 05:07 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| I read it in one of the articles, so it must have been the Times. The article noted that it was a fairly modest capitalization. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| Thanks | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 05:11 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Where did your $5m figure come from - Singapore/Fling 05:10 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| It would have to be modest to expect any chance to recoup at circle. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| Yes, the capitalization is mentioned in the NYT article... | |
| Posted by: | garyd 05:23 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | Thanks - dramedy 05:11 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| also mentions that Gold will be directing. Hope it does well, I very much like the play. I also love Circle in the Square probably due to some weird atavistic theatre in the round gene. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| Is that number 3? | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 04:52 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. - bwaydiva1 04:47 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| Spring awakening wasn't discussed yesterday of your favorite dark musicals. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Is that number 3? | |
| Posted by: | bwaydiva1 05:00 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | Is that number 3? - dramedy 04:52 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| NO | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Is that number 3? | |
| Posted by: | BroadwayTonyJ 05:35 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Is that number 3? - bwaydiva1 05:00 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| I got busy yesterday and didn't have time to keep guessing. How about these dark musicals: Grey Gardens? The Fields of Ambrosia? Evening Primrose? The Consul? (if we are including Broadway operas). | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Is that number 3? | |
| Posted by: | bwaydiva1 06:12 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Is that number 3? - BroadwayTonyJ 05:35 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| You got Grey Gardens. That's there. There is a tie for my 5th-and they are less like the others. But you still have one more! Bonus points if you can put them in order. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Is that number 3? | |
| Posted by: | BroadwayTonyJ 06:22 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Is that number 3? - bwaydiva1 06:12 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| Passion? Carousel? Follies? | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| Since passion and follies are Sondheim, that would be no | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 06:41 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Is that number 3? - BroadwayTonyJ 06:22 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| Sweeney to dis way darker than those. I'm guessing lestat. Just kidding. Marie Christine and wild party are pretty dark bit are rarely on anyone lists. Maybe Caroline or change. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Since passion and follies are Sondheim, that would be no | |
| Posted by: | bwaydiva1 06:55 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | Since passion and follies are Sondheim, that would be no - dramedy 06:41 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| No...you got one there with the Sondheims. I didn't care for Marie Christine or Wild Party or Caroline. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Since passion and follies are Sondheim, that would be no | |
| Posted by: | BroadwayTonyJ 07:29 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Since passion and follies are Sondheim, that would be no - bwaydiva1 06:55 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| OK, so 3 of your favorites are for sure: Fun Home, Grey Gardens, and Next to Normal. A fourth one is either Passion or Follies so I'll guess Follies. So that leaves the 2 that are tied for 5th: Cabaret? Parade? Kiss of the Spider Woman? Chicago? All this darkness is giving me a headache! | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Since passion and follies are Sondheim, that would be no | |
| Posted by: | bwaydiva1 11:06 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Since passion and follies are Sondheim, that would be no - BroadwayTonyJ 07:29 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| LOL It was Passion. The no. 5 slot is 2 shows that are a little different (less dark...). One was my first musical. (You never forget your first.) | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| The father is not the gay cartoonist, the daughter is. Nmi. | |
| Posted by: | UWS_JIM 04:43 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. - Singapore/Fling 04:01 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| Nmi | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| Hand Palm to Face. nm | |
| Posted by: | Singapore/Fling 05:11 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | The father is not the gay cartoonist, the daughter is. Nmi. - UWS_JIM 04:43 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| Too distracted at work... | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. | |
| Posted by: | Ann 04:32 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. - Singapore/Fling 04:01 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| ... their opening date suggests, to me, that the producers don't think it will have the legs to run without awards. Or that they didn't want to open in the dead period of the season. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| Tessori has been nominated four times | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 04:27 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. - Singapore/Fling 04:01 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| So I would say she might have a slight edge over brown who has won twice and sting. Although lauper won for that crap pop score over Tim minchin for Matilda. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| Get your s out ;) | |
| Posted by: | Ann 04:33 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | Tessori has been nominated four times - dramedy 04:27 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| Tesori - one s. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Get your s out ;) | |
| Posted by: | bwaydiva1 04:39 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | Get your s out ;) - Ann 04:33 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| I think she's got a great shot even over Sting. She's a respected American songwriter and this is her best work to date. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| It may suggest | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 04:19 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
| In reply to: | re: It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. - Singapore/Fling 04:01 pm EDT 08/07/14 |
|
| |
| But there are other reasons like getting financing in place, finding the right size theater which seems like under 800 seats for the show, creative team and others availability. When a show doesn't transfer immediately after it closes off broadway, conflicts in schedule,finance and theaters begin to pop up. If it did transfer last season, I think it would have won the Pulitzer since the flick was long gone and with the crash of many of the spring musicals, it probably would have had a good chance of beating gentleman. But Matilda would have swept the awards if it opened a year later. | |
| 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: 0.318909 seconds.