| THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | MockingbirdGirl 01:00 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| “Music Man is something we have optioned the rights to, and we’re looking very seriously at some casting options, but we’ve also optioned the rights to The Wiz,” NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt noted Friday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. “That could be what we do instead.” | |
| Link | THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Greg_M 01:54 pm EST 01/18/15 |
| In reply to: | THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - MockingbirdGirl 01:00 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| Quvenzhané Wallis as Dorothy - you know, because who else has starred in a musical lately? | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | hitbycab 10:38 am EST 01/17/15 |
| In reply to: | THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - MockingbirdGirl 01:00 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| OY!! unless Brian William's niece does it.... | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 10:39 pm EST 01/17/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - hitbycab 10:38 am EST 01/17/15 |
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| Actually, I'm surprised they haven't considered doing How To Succeed with Brian as the Book Voice. Or have they? ;-) | |
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| Without a live audience, these remain odd, sterile affairs. | |
| Posted by: | DistantDrumming 06:03 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - MockingbirdGirl 01:00 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| But, I doubt that's going to change. | |
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| re: Without a live audience, these remain odd, sterile affairs. | |
| Posted by: | FleetStreetBarber 08:00 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | Without a live audience, these remain odd, sterile affairs. - DistantDrumming 06:03 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| I don't think that the lack of a live audience dictates that the result will be "an odd, sterile affair." There was no live audience for Mary Martin's TV "Peter Pan" or for her telecast of "Annie Get Your Gun", both of which were watched and appreciated by millions of viewers. Same was true of Julie Andrews in "Cinderella," which drew a HUGE audience. | |
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| "Cinderella" was a different story | |
| Posted by: | Greg_M 02:11 pm EST 01/18/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Without a live audience, these remain odd, sterile affairs. - FleetStreetBarber 08:00 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| "Cinderella" was an original musical written for TV by Rogers and Hammerstein. It was an event, an original R&H show - the others were adaptions and people were at least familiar with the scores. Plus "Cinderella" was aired in Color on the East Coast and that alone would get viewers to tune in who had color sets That's why "Cinderella" drew a huge audience | |
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| re: Without a live audience, these remain odd, sterile affairs. | |
| Posted by: | JohnDunlop 07:20 pm EST 01/17/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Without a live audience, these remain odd, sterile affairs. - FleetStreetBarber 08:00 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| I agree. Mary Martin wrote and talked about her problems getting from stage to stage during commercials in the TV "Annie Get Your Gun." Maybe 60 years later, TV stagehands are able to change the scenery during commercials, or rotate the stage so the theater audience is seeing everything that's happening live. If not, networks could program musicals with very scenery changes. Hopeless, I believe. | |
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| What about a separate audience on each soundstage? | |
| Posted by: | keywslt 01:04 am EST 01/18/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Without a live audience, these remain odd, sterile affairs. - JohnDunlop 07:20 pm EST 01/17/15 |
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| I'd have been happy to be sitting in the audience watching scenes in the Darling house "live" and watching video screens of Neverland, etc. (for example). It's never hopeless... Until the producers apply "Premium Seating" price tiers. Then all is lost, boys. | |
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| Yeah and if someone were to a produce a sitcom or drama... | |
| Posted by: | DistantDrumming 11:23 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Without a live audience, these remain odd, sterile affairs. - FleetStreetBarber 08:00 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| ...that resembled one from that era it would look dated and out of place in today's landscape. I truly, honestly appreciate NBC's willingness to take a big risk like this. It's exciting to see them shake things up and to try something new (which, obviously, is actually very old), but in 2015 this type of viewing experience feels so sterile and remote to me. It's so odd to see someone sing a bit showstopper and then there's just nothing. Silence. If you've seen how much they've spent on these last two productions, it would cost just as much to mount a fully staged Broadway quality production with a live audience. As the National Theatre cinema screenings have shown, it is possible to film a production in front of a live audience AND make it engaging on film/video. | |
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| re: Yeah and if someone were to a produce a sitcom or drama... | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 12:01 am EST 01/17/15 |
| In reply to: | Yeah and if someone were to a produce a sitcom or drama... - DistantDrumming 11:23 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| It's so odd to see someone sing a big showstopper and then there's just nothing. Silence. Though if you think about it, that's the same as watching a movie musical at home. You might applaud if you were watching the film with a full audience in a movie theatre, but that's the reaction of the live crowd watching the film, not the reaction of anyone IN the film. But in that case, the applause of the audience in the movie theatre would be sufficient to "fill the gap" that's actually in the movie - applause is applause, no matter where it comes from. If NBC did these as HD film presentations (like the Met or the National Theatre) there might be a spark for applause at the end of songs, even if there wasn't an audience actually on the soundstage. But how many of us tend to applaud the ends of songs in our living rooms, studio audience or not??? | |
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| Well, admittedly, I'm not a big fan of film musicals... | |
| Posted by: | DistantDrumming 03:20 am EST 01/17/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Yeah and if someone were to a produce a sitcom or drama... - Chromolume 12:01 am EST 01/17/15 |
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| ...like Mr. Sondheim (who apparently doesn't mind it when HIS works get adapted), I think the form rarely works in film. But at least in a major (at least, the well made ones) film you have location shots and better production values. Watching a musical on what looks like a daytime soap opera set is just awkward to me. Feels like the life has been sucked out of the thing. Granted, a fantasy set like Peter Pan's works a bit better in this circumstance than a naturalistic set like Sound of Music's. | |
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| re: Well, admittedly, I'm not a big fan of film musicals... | |
| Posted by: | tpdc 12:01 pm EST 01/17/15 |
| In reply to: | Well, admittedly, I'm not a big fan of film musicals... - DistantDrumming 03:20 am EST 01/17/15 |
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| You don't like film musicals or film adaptations of stage musicals? The long success of original film musicals during Hollywood's studio days suggests that film musicals created for the movies can work very well. | |
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| re: Well, admittedly, I'm not a big fan of film musicals... | |
| Posted by: | DistantDrumming 07:20 pm EST 01/17/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Well, admittedly, I'm not a big fan of film musicals... - tpdc 12:01 pm EST 01/17/15 |
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| Both, but stage adaptations are often the most challenging for me. | |
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| re: Yeah and if someone were to a produce a sitcom or drama... | |
| Posted by: | Holland 03:12 am EST 01/17/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Yeah and if someone were to a produce a sitcom or drama... - Chromolume 12:01 am EST 01/17/15 |
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| Just so you know, Chromolume, I just stood up and applauded your post. Just to make a point. | |
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| re: Without a live audience, these remain odd, sterile affairs. | |
| Posted by: | simbo 08:38 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Without a live audience, these remain odd, sterile affairs. - FleetStreetBarber 08:00 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| It would still be somewhat odd. The TV market has changed a lot in 60 years since these shows launched. And certainly live performance when it's seen on TV these days feeds off a live audience in most cases (see also: The Voice, Saturday Night Live, American Idol, any talk show with a live band...) | |
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| re: Without a live audience, these remain odd, sterile affairs. | |
| Posted by: | mikem 07:14 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | Without a live audience, these remain odd, sterile affairs. - DistantDrumming 06:03 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| The one circumstance is which it might change is if a family-friendly musical with a big star plays on Broadway (eg, How to Succeed with Daniel Radcliffe). Then they could just film that show, live, with an audience. | |
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| That would require... | |
| Posted by: | MockingbirdGirl 07:50 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Without a live audience, these remain odd, sterile affairs. - mikem 07:14 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| ... either the network to forego commercial breaks -- unlikely, given that its their bread and butter -- or the show to insert them. Better that filming existing live stage shows for television remain the preserve of PBS, IMHO. | |
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| re: That would require... | |
| Posted by: | Singapore/Fling 08:14 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | That would require... - MockingbirdGirl 07:50 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| If they can do a live stage show every week for "The Voice", they could also do it for "The Wiz". They're just thinking about this the wrong way. | |
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| re: didn't someone from ATC suggest this ? nm | |
| Posted by: | SidL 03:27 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - MockingbirdGirl 01:00 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| . | |
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| re: didn't someone from ATC suggest this ? nm | |
| Posted by: | TheOtherOne 06:05 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: didn't someone from ATC suggest this ? nm - SidL 03:27 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| I think I did. Or I agreed with someone who did, or they agreed with me. I don't remember. It's not that I'm a big fan of the show, it just seemed like something that can combine the talents of crossover music/tv and hopefully even theater stars well and work for the kind of audience they seem to be seeking. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | sloughie 02:12 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - MockingbirdGirl 01:00 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| The Wiz would be smart if they can get the likes of Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, Jill Scott, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Vanessa Williams, etc...and then cast someone like Keke Palmer (who has proven she can carry a musical) in the lead... | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | SidL 09:10 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - sloughie 02:12 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| be a smart move to cast Justin Timberlake as the scarecrow | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Greg_M 01:31 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - MockingbirdGirl 01:00 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| "The Wiz" would be better (We already have a great film of "The Music Man" with Robert Preston and a real disaster film of "The Music Man" (starring Mathew Broderick) To date we only have a disaster film of "The Wiz" with a mid 30 year old Diana Ross as Dorothy | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Scott6263 10:00 am EST 01/18/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Greg_M 01:31 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| I saw the original Broadway production of "The Wiz" back in '75 or '76. Loved it! I went to see the movie version when it was released in '78.....what a catastrophe. A 30 year old whiny Dorothy? What were they thinking? All of the charm of the original had been destroyed by this over-bloated mess. A total critical and financial failure. Shame. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | enoch10 03:42 pm EST 01/18/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Scott6263 10:00 am EST 01/18/15 |
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| i can't remember any of my friends liking the movie even when it first came out and some of them were obsessed with diana ross. i think the tipping point between just not liking the film and responding with something resembling moral outrage was/is influenced by whether or not you saw it on broadway. i remember enjoying THE WIZ on broadway very much but there was nothing earth-moving about it - until stephanie mills sang "home" and that's an experience i will never forget. that odd but wonderful, weirdly childlike and not at the same time voice coming out of that tiny little girl and going places with that song no one, including streisand, would ever take it again. stunning. no way diana ross in what could well be the biggest casting disaster ever was going to compete with that. i think the film of THE WIZ is a big ole mess but i don't hate it the way others do. then, i didn't have the investment in the broadway production others had, either. like i said i enjoyed it. i loved the design and, especially, the score but the magic, for me, was stephanie mills. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Scott6263 09:43 am EST 01/19/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - enoch10 03:42 pm EST 01/18/15 |
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| Great points. My mother took me to see it on Broadway. We were mesmerized by the whole thing. Just a completely joyous affair. Then the film came out. Thud city. Diana Ross destroyed that film. Nothing at all like "Dorothy" should be.....way too old, crying, whining. The whole movie was just so "over" everything.....they threw in everything but the kitchen sink. And it sunk. I love "The Wiz"...the story, that score. I wish it was remade....this time into a quality movie musical. | |
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| am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 05:09 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Greg_M 01:31 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| I understand why people don't think it's good, and how it isn't the same as the stage show... but I actually very much buy the justification they establish for why Dorothy is so old... and I think that setting it in NYC and taking advantage of all that is a really smart (smarter than the original version I might even say) way of doing the show. And it's a very fun movie that retains almost the entire score, and all the songs are performed fantastically! What's not to like. | |
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| re: am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? | |
| Posted by: | mermaniac 06:42 pm EST 01/17/15 |
| In reply to: | am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? - Chazwaza 05:09 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| I've always loved it, and always will. Critics don't know anything, gang ! | |
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| re: am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? | |
| Posted by: | PlazaBoy 11:53 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? - Chazwaza 05:09 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| I'm with you. I thought Ross nicely played this more mature and repressed version of Dorthy. Her chemistry with Micheal Jackson is so strong and watching them ease on the down the road is thrilling to me. I also like the NYC setting. The only parts of the film I dislike are the lengthy Emerald City sequence where the fashions change colors and every moment of Richard Pryor's performance. I was never a fan of his, and this film did not change my mind. | |
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| re: am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 12:05 am EST 01/17/15 |
| In reply to: | re: am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? - PlazaBoy 11:53 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| ...the lengthy Emerald City sequence where the fashions change colors... Oh, god yes - that whole "color changing" thing was unbelievably awful, and pointless. The first time I saw that, I kept wondering if all of a sudden it was a different movie, and when the hell we were going to get back to The Wiz. | |
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| re: am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? | |
| Posted by: | TheOtherOne 06:08 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? - Chazwaza 05:09 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| You just might be. I remember it being awful. I did not mind Diana Ross's age, but I did mind her weeping through so much of the film. And it was awfully ugly to look at. A rare misfire from Sidney Lumet, who perhaps was not the man to direct a musical, all black or otherwise. | |
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| re: am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 05:50 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? - Chazwaza 05:09 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| And it's a very fun movie that retains almost the entire score, and all the songs are performed fantastically! "So You Wanted To See The Wizard" (one of my favorite songs in the stage score) reduced to one line, as NOT sung by Pryor? ;-) | |
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| re: am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 07:49 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? - Chromolume 05:50 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| Yeah, I know.. that's one of my favorite songs too and I don't know why they did that. But a LOT of the score was retained. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | lowwriter 01:08 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - MockingbirdGirl 01:00 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| Seeing The Wiz at Encores a few summers ago, I found the show had dated and the book wasn't very good. But this would allow diversity on NBC live programming. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 03:10 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - lowwriter 01:08 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| The book is awful. The screenplay is too. Maybe they can work on making it better? We shall see. The rewrites for Peter Pan were, in my professional opinion, icky. ;-) Two things I hope they consider carefully - one, not to update the score too much. I'm sure they'll do some rethinking, but frankly, the original score is SO well-written and arranged that I hope they'll just leave it as a "retro"-feeling 70's piece. I don't want this score to be "Annie"-d, so to speak. And two - to your comment on diversity - if you mean that there should be diversity in the cast itself, to be honest, I really hope not. To me it's a specifically black piece, as much as Ain't Misbehavin' or an August Wilson play. I hope they will honor that. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | SingersRMusicians2 05:08 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Chromolume 03:10 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| I didn't think that lowriter meant diversity within The Wiz itself, but, rather, diversity in NBC's live musicals, overall. But I may be wrong. That said, I DO wish there were different races represented in the Wiz. I don't see why the Scarecrow, Lion and Tinman have to be of the same race, for example. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 05:12 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - SingersRMusicians2 05:08 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| I don't think it's a question of them all being the same race for logical genetic reasons... it's because the show and especially the score are written FOR black performers in a style that is frankly only comfortable to be sung or seen/heard performed by black performers. Of course, non-black people can do it justice, and we're not talking about some holy scripture of black culture... I'm just saying, this is, I'm sure, what people mean when they say it should be kept an all black cast. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Greg_M 05:25 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Chazwaza 05:12 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| You can't have it both ways. If you want inter racial shows you can't pick only the white shows and not the black ones. It's either both on none. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | enoch10 10:15 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Greg_M 05:25 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| i disagree. THE WIZ is like disco. one of the great things about disco was that it so clearly sounded like exactly what it was; inner city urban, black, hispanic, and gay. in that order. THE WIZ isn't disco but it came out at the same time and was every bit as specific. again, THE WIZ isn't disco but it's gospel-based the way disco was gospel-based. anybody who heard the score for THE WIZ for the first time when it was new automatically located the music as coming from exactly where it came from. that was kinda the whole point. no one's saying no white actors anywhere (there are certainly whites in the inner city and some made contributions to that sound) but the music of THE WIZ, i think, inherently makes it speak to/for an urban sensibility. one of the great joys of that kind of music made at that specific time was that it managed to be that specific without being exclusionary. as did THE WIZ. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Singapore/Fling 08:18 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Greg_M 05:25 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| No, it isn't. If there were such a thing as a fair playing field for people of all races, then artists wouldn't need to do things like create a version of "The Wiz" that allows black theatre artists to perform on Broadway. Our culture has not changed that much since the 70s. I strongly urge you to look at the book "Some of My Best Friends Are Black", a bad title for a remarkable piece of journalism that explores the systematic exclusion of African-Americans from cultural, economic, and civic parity with White America. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 05:40 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Greg_M 05:25 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| Most shows are, IMO, neither "black" or "white," when issues of race (or real historical people portrayed onstage, etc) aren't an integral part of the plot or concept of the show. But when they are - and I think The Wiz is one of those shows that has a clear concept of being an unmistakable African-American perspective on the Wizard Of Oz - I think it's important to honor that. I would have no problem with a mixed-race company of The Wizard of Oz - the story (and the way it's presented as a theatrical property) have nothing to do with race or ethnicity. It's a level playing field (as opposed to being a specifically "white" show IMO), so I feel any actor can potentially play those roles. The Wiz is an adaptation of that story meant to be told from a unique black perspective. I feel there's an enormous difference there. There's nothing stopping anyone from casting it as they see fit, of course - I just think it makes the most sense when the show rings true as a specifically black adaptation. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | KingSpeed 05:38 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Greg_M 05:25 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| No. It's not. You can have a black Carrie in CAROUSEL but you can't have a white Bess in PORGY AND BESS. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Greg_M 02:07 pm EST 01/18/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - KingSpeed 05:38 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| That makes no no sense, color blind casting is just that, you can have any race playing Bess in "Porgy and Bess" if you're doing color bind casting. People will accept it if it's color bind casting, if they don't they they shouldn't accept it in "Carousel" | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Brandnuva 04:34 pm EST 01/17/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - KingSpeed 05:38 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| Often with "Black/African American Theater" the themes are explicitly about race or, in this case, a racialization of themes that are present in source material. I grew up on The Wiz. Knew all the songs and material. Then, as a college student, immersed in courses on race and culture in society, went to see a local production, and had an extremely emotional response to the realization that the ideas of (1)being in a foreign land where nothing is familiar (2)being convinced that you lack intelligence (3)being convinced that you lack emotional capability to feel (4)being convinced that you are a beast who lacks courage, etc all take on very different tones when presented through the lens of the Black experience in America. That being said, I don't think this is a show that REQUIRES an all black cast. I think it requires thoughtful inclusion. I think Justin Timberlake as the Scarecrow is a wonderful idea. I don't think you can say color-conscious casting is the same in every instance. Having a lost boy of color in Peter Pan is not the same as having a white actor play a slave in the pre-Civil War South. And when the context of a play is one that is ABOUT race (which, often is the case with Black/African-American Theater) you have to consider that context. | |
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