| re: You read that from me | |
| Posted by: | perfectlyfrank 11:06 pm EST 01/18/15 |
| In reply to: | re: You read that from me - AlanScott 09:13 pm EST 01/18/15 |
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| This new author sees problems where there aren't any. Never good. Reminds me of Hwang's lame attempt to improve on Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song. Better to be like Barrlett Sher who took the original book of South Pacific and made tweaks with the utmost respect for Hammerstein's original book and the show was a smash. The film Gigi won an Oscar for best adapted screenplay. It still holds up beautifully. Better to find a writer or director that will respect the film script and adapt it to the stage without losing what makes the film a classic. Chevalier singing Thank Heaven for Little Girls is definitely one of the things that makes the film great. | |
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| re: You read that from me | |
| Posted by: | enoch10 05:02 pm EST 01/19/15 |
| In reply to: | re: You read that from me - perfectlyfrank 11:06 pm EST 01/18/15 |
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| >> This new author sees problems where there aren't any. men expressing a sexual interest in little girls is a problem at any time under any circumstances but never more so than when developing a commercial enterprise designed to appeal to as many people as possible. | |
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| re: You read that from me | |
| Posted by: | Ann 05:16 pm EST 01/19/15 |
| In reply to: | re: You read that from me - enoch10 05:02 pm EST 01/19/15 |
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| In this form, I almost feel it won't matter to a good portion of the mainstream audience. Maybe it's because they look like they're the same age, but these two are like Cinderella and Prince Charming - everyone wants them to be together. Young people have no concept of what a courtesan is and, even if they think about asking someone what the hell is going on, by the end of the show, I'm guessing they will no longer care. | |
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| re: You read that from me | |
| Posted by: | enoch10 04:28 pm EST 01/20/15 |
| In reply to: | re: You read that from me - Ann 05:16 pm EST 01/19/15 |
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| that makes sense. i've never seen a version of GIGI where they are close to the same age and while on one hand it's something of a violation of the text on the other it's an adaptation into another genre and so allowances are allowed or, at least, tolerated. mostly. i guess. i think it's reductive but the argument that the genre trivializes what it adapts is, unfortunately, easily supported with only rare exceptions. in this case, i'm not sure i even object to the reduction. at least i understand it. kinda. it's an interesting debate i'm having in my own head about this. i'm making some assumptions without seeing it which is always tricky but if it is the kind of musical that really wants to be seen as a big broadway family-friendly kind of show (or even one eager to not offend) - what other choice do they have but to narrow the ages? look at some of the discussions just in this thread. so the safe choice is an understandable one. just defending something for wanting to a big family-friendly broadway show that makes safe choices doesn't seem to be something i want to support. i enjoy some of the score for GIGI. i love the source material to no end. still, i keep coming back to the conclusion this just isn't good material for a musical. the film worked, for me anyway, because of casting (i don't see the sophistication of either leslie caron or audrey hepburn in this young woman) and, more importantly, minnelli's gorgeous directing but it didn't succeed at the box office. the source material is too french and requires nuances most americans aren't attuned to especially the kind that like family-friendly fare. some material can be adapted easily. some material you just end up torturing. | |
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| re: You read that from me | |
| Posted by: | BrianJ 01:30 am EST 01/21/15 |
| In reply to: | re: You read that from me - enoch10 04:28 pm EST 01/20/15 |
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| What's your source that the movie didn't succeed at the box office? I know it wasn't a box office smash on the scale of MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, but I was always under the impression that it was a box office success. (Not that I've researched this much.) | |
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| re: You read that from me | |
| Posted by: | Ann 07:51 am EST 01/21/15 |
| In reply to: | re: You read that from me - BrianJ 01:30 am EST 01/21/15 |
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| Well, it's Wikipedia but a start: "According to MGM records, the film earned $6.5 million in the US and Canada and $3.2 million elsewhere during its initial theatrical release, resulting in a profit of $1,983,000." | |
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| re: You read that from me | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 01:57 pm EST 01/19/15 |
| In reply to: | re: You read that from me - perfectlyfrank 11:06 pm EST 01/18/15 |
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| In this case, you also have Lerner's rewrite for the stage to look at. I'm not sure quite how different it was, but it had to have been at least somewhat different. I just think this is one piece that was conceived for the screen and is probably never going to wholly work onstage. | |
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| re: You read that from me | |
| Posted by: | Ann 07:40 am EST 01/19/15 |
| In reply to: | re: You read that from me - perfectlyfrank 11:06 pm EST 01/18/15 |
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| It's a commercial decision. If the audience is expected to react in a negative way, he's going to want to change it. The show already is a tough sell for modern audiences because of its age (this is not how I feel personally, but looking to sell it to contemporary audiences). | |
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| re: You read that from me | |
| Posted by: | bodacious 03:10 am EST 01/19/15 |
| In reply to: | re: You read that from me - perfectlyfrank 11:06 pm EST 01/18/15 |
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| In the Playbill article linked, Thomas says that 'Thank Heaven...' was sung by Honore as the opening number in an earlier version of her adaptation, but that the surprising (to her) audience aversion to seeing it that way onstage led to the change. (The audience/s mentioned here were presumably at early readings, workshops or similar.) I don't have a strong opinion on the change myself, by the way. | |
| Link | Recent Playbill article |
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| re: You read that from me | |
| Posted by: | bicoastal 01:13 pm EST 01/19/15 |
| In reply to: | re: You read that from me - bodacious 03:10 am EST 01/19/15 |
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| I am hoping for the best here. "Call the Midwife" is very consistent in its writing for both long range character arcs and short episodic ones. And it is moving and rarely cloying. I agree with the above comments about Chevalier's performance but I don't agree that I am the problem if the song becomes creepy. We live in a more enlightened society and yes, it may mean more p.c. baggage but that's the way it is. I saw the Reprise production in L.A. and it was flat-out uncomfortable when William Atherton sang about little girls. It was partly a case of bad casting but also a case of how we as a society have changed. I don't think if this piece were written today that that song would open the show. Ms Thomas acknowledges the strength of the song but also the times we live in; I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. I am seeing the show next week so will be able to see for myself if her ideas work. | |
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| re: You read that from me | |
| Posted by: | Billhaven 03:58 pm EST 01/19/15 |
| In reply to: | re: You read that from me - bicoastal 01:13 pm EST 01/19/15 |
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| William Atherton? Not the best choice. | |
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| re: You read that from me | |
| Posted by: | LovestheShow 04:07 pm EST 01/19/15 |
| In reply to: | re: You read that from me - Billhaven 03:58 pm EST 01/19/15 |
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| While I was never creeped out by Maurice Chevalier singing "Thank Heaven for Little Girls," I am always creeped out by William Atherton doing anything. LOL. He's probably a lovely man, but he always seems to play creeps! | |
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| re: You read that from me | |
| Posted by: | bicoastal 03:44 pm EST 01/20/15 |
| In reply to: | re: You read that from me - LovestheShow 04:07 pm EST 01/19/15 |
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| Yes, it was a terrible piece of casting, and probably created more of a problem with the song than there might have been with someone else. | |
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