HOME ALL THAT CHAT ATC WEST COAST SHOPPIN' RUSH BOARD FAQS

LOGIN REGISTER SEARCH THREADED MODE

not logged in

Threaded Order | Chronological Order

re: Thank you; can't be stated enough.

Posted by: enoch10 11:01 pm EST 01/16/15
In reply to: Thank you; can't be stated enough. - Delvino 06:16 am EST 01/16/15

>> it takes just as much work to write a bad play as to write a good one.

um, no. there is such a thing as lazy writing and even smart people and good writers can do it.

i'm not saying that's what HONEYMOON is. i think it's a failure but not from last of trying. but lazy writing is a real thing. it exists.


reply to this message |
Um, you missed my whole point.

Posted by: Delvino 10:28 am EST 01/17/15
In reply to: re: Thank you; can't be stated enough. - enoch10 11:01 pm EST 01/16/15

"um, no. there is such a thing as lazy writing and even smart people and good writers can do it."

"Um" yes, and you're missing my whole point. One can toil mightily and end up with a stinker of a show. Stinkers are not necessarily the result of sloth; they are sometimes (one might say often) the result of a series -- a chain reaction -- of bad creative decisions, all made with painstaking care, over time, with much thought and effort involved. A "good" show is magic because elements coalesce. A bad one can happen when those elements -- carefully assembled -- simply don't line up. If there was a scientific correlation between effort and outcome, we'd put musicals in development for a year, through ten workshops, and "know" we had a winner. How many shows toil and revise only to still end up with a hot mess? Too many. No, good and bad outcomes are not easily determined by a measure of effort.


reply to this message |
re: Um, you missed my whole point.

Posted by: ryhog 01:01 pm EST 01/17/15
In reply to: Um, you missed my whole point. - Delvino 10:28 am EST 01/17/15

Everything you say is true, but there is yet another aspect to this: sometimes, talented people without a lazy bone in their body, create something that just does not resonate with a significant audience. This happens over and over, and can relate to a story (The Last Ship) or to songs (anything by JRB) that lack widespread acceptance. The reason show business is harder than it looks is that nothing is every enough-not talent, not industry, not pure dumb luck. It takes a certain alchemy to make great theatre, and even that alchemy does not necessarily persist over time.


reply to this message | reply to first message
re: Um, you missed my whole point.

Posted by: Delvino 02:28 pm EST 01/17/15
In reply to: re: Um, you missed my whole point. - ryhog 01:01 pm EST 01/17/15

That is the best stated case for the unavoidable mystery in all collaborative artistic achievement that I've read in a while.

Repeatedly, we attend the presentation of new work by the most respected, admired and beloved -- the point of awe -- artists who work in the theater. When the newest offerings don't measure up, we are crestfallen and momentarily baffled. It's never a question of ambition, or effort, or application of talent. Sometimes, it simply doesn't happen.


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 | Sound Advice Upcoming Releases CDs/Books/DVDs, etc. | 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 - 2015 www.TalkinBroadway.com, Inc. ]

Time to render: 0.026991 seconds.