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| I know I have said this before .... | |
| Posted by: jdm 11:11 am EDT 07/04/17 | |
| In reply to: Prince of Broadway question - Duke1979 09:12 am EDT 07/04/17 | |
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| but I just do not get the concept of this show, or maybe I have not read much about it. I DID read that it would NOT recreate numbers from the original stagings, unlike Jerome Robbins' Broadway. So we will get a woman singing Don't Cry for Me Argentina, not on the balcony, but included just because it was in a Prince show? It may end up brilliantly staged, but I guess I find it an odd connector for numbers (again, not the original staging). Jim |
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| The recreations question | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 01:55 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| In reply to: I know I have said this before .... - jdm 11:11 am EDT 07/04/17 | |
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| I think there is some confusion because of what Prince said in an interview. Or at least I think he said that they would not be recreating the original stagings. But I never took what he said — which I wish I could find, and maybe I could if I searched online — to mean that if "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" were included, it would not have a woman singing on a balcony. And as the video posted by Wayman shows, it is included, or at least it was included in Japan, where it was sung by a woman on a balcony in a dress that at least evokes the dress worn in the original. I think that what Prince meant, which the video seems to confirm, is that he was not going to try to slavishly recreate the exact original stagings, some of which are lost to time anyway (except for notes in stage managers' scripts, when those can be found). In addition, he obviously was going to give Stroman some degree of a free hand. I seem to remember seeing a video online with excerpts from a workshop or perhaps it was a rehearsal for Japan with a section of "You've Got Possibilities" not in the video posted by Wayman, and that staging did not include a moment I remember so well from seeing Superman when I was eight years old. I remember this moment because the moment got a big laugh. So while most of what we see in the video may bring to mind the originals, some of them do so to a greater degree than others. Some diverge pretty far, others stay pretty close. Similarly with the costumes. And unlike Jerome Robbins' Broadway, we are not seeing the original sets recreated, although again sometimes what we see evokes the original sets, but sometimes only in the most general way. |
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| re: The recreations question | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 02:22 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 02:10 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| In reply to: The recreations question - AlanScott 01:55 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
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| Alan, could this be the ''Superman'' video you're thinking of? It's got ''Possibilities.'' Speaking of costumes, in the previous video I posted, Emily Skinner is wearing a flowered print dress while singing ''Broadway Baby.'' That is definitely not what Ethel Shutta wore in ''Follies'' (she wore a solid green dress). Also, I'm surprised they didn't give it to Nancy Opel to sing instead. She would've evoked more of a showbiz veteran. |
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| Link | 'Prince of Broadway' rehearsal: Mariand Torres and Ramin Karimloo in 'You've Got Possibilities' |
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| re: The recreations question | |
| Posted by: Ned3301 11:50 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| In reply to: re: The recreations question - WaymanWong 02:10 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
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| I don't know if this helps us ascertain how much this show is planning to be "authentic," but what happens in that rehearsal video bears no relationship to the way "You've Got Possibilities" was originally staged. For one thing, Sydney wasn't remotely that athletic. The number took place around Clark Kent's desk, not in a kind of floor show all over the office. And when Sydney unwittingly revealed the trademark tights under his shirt, it was a matter of opening a few buttons in a teasing way, not pulling the top half of his shirt open and then standing in front of him. The idea was that she is paying no attention to him even while she's addressing all his supposed faults, so she's looking right at him while missing the telltale colors of his Superman outfit that are right in front of her eyes. It was a great way to define how Sydney looks at the world--in other words, she's focused on herself. But this new staging isn't about character. It's in this new style of throwing every staging trick at the public because directors and choreographers are afraid that audiences won't listen to lyrics and they'll get bored if the actors are still for a few moments. |
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| re: The recreations question | |
| Posted by: MarjorieMae 05:39 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| In reply to: re: The recreations question - WaymanWong 02:10 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
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| OMG! I wouldn't be at all surprised if knife fights break out at Ramin's yoga classes for the mat behind his. | |
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| re: The recreations question | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 02:21 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| In reply to: re: The recreations question - WaymanWong 02:10 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
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| Thanks, Wayman. It was a different video, with a different staging. Maybe I'm just thinking of the first one you posted, although I don't remember seeing all of that before. Not only is Emily Skinner wearing something different, but she does not seem to be playing a woman in her 70s (and obviously she's not a woman in her 70s). The whole original concept of the number seems to have been dropped for that one. Shutta's dress looks light blue in some photos, and in some it looks kind of teal. Maybe not teal exactly, but very blue-green. It may be that the color was changed between the opening in Boston and the opening on Broadway. As so often is the case with older shows, many of the photos we have of Follies are pre-Broadway. |
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| and whose staging is it, anyway? | |
| Posted by: stevemr 07:24 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| In reply to: re: The recreations question - AlanScott 02:21 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
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| Although those involved (including Prince) know the answers, it seems reasonable to ask/wonder who should get primary credit for the staging of a musical number --- Shutta's number may well have been staged by Prince, but it might well have been staged by Michael Bennett? Is a collection of musical numbers from Prince's productions Prince's work? Or the work of Jerome Robbins, Michael Bennett, etc? Adding in the contribution of Susan Stroma only complicates the question (or perhaps relieves the need for resolution of rights issues). | |
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| re: and whose staging is it, anyway? | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 01:58 am EDT 07/05/17 | |
| In reply to: and whose staging is it, anyway? - stevemr 07:24 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
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| Shutta's number was staged by Bennett, at least according to a couple of books, and I don't doubt it. You bring up a good point. Prince worked with a lot of choreographers, and many of them received credit for staging the musical numbers, not just choreographing. While Prince surely did stage a good many of the numbers that did not involve dance (even when someone like Bennett had a credit for staging the musical numbers, as he did on Company), there are many numbers for which permission would have to be attained and credit (and royalties) given if the original staging were recreated. Enough of the shows were filmed for TOFT or for broadcast (or both) that original stagings could be recreated for a good many of the shows, although for some of the older shows this would obviously be tougher and in some cases perhaps impossible. And then Prince of Broadway will be including numbers from at least some shows that Prince only produced. So, as you say, even when it's possible, it would be very complicated to recreate all that original stagings for something like this. |
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| Prince and the many stages of his career | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 12:18 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| In reply to: I know I have said this before .... - jdm 11:11 am EDT 07/04/17 | |
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| Jim, judging from this highlights video of ''Prince of Broadway'' in its Japan tryout (2015), it DOES re-create original numbers. In that production, a Japanese actor provided narration as the voice of Hal Prince. Unlike ''Jerome Robbins' Broadway,'' which had a cast of 62, ''Prince'' appears to have a much more modest ensemble. Other than Tony Yazbeck's numbers, it doesn't look like there's a lot of dance, let alone many group ensemble numbers. The focus seems to be on classic solos (or duets) from Prince's illustrious legacy of Broadway shows. |
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| Link | Playbill.com: 'Prince of Broadway' highlights from Japan |
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| re: Prince and the many stages of his career | |
| Last Edit: MarjorieMae 01:28 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| Posted by: MarjorieMae 01:26 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| In reply to: Prince and the many stages of his career - WaymanWong 12:18 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
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| That clip doesn't sell me. Looks like a cruiseship Broadway revue (I hope it's not). I think they should have left out that audience shot at the end showing only a handful of the audience jumping up to give it a standing ovation. Maybe they should have cheated and showed a shot of an entire audience on its feet or else a lady outside the theater saying she was going to see it "twice more." As for the size of the Friedman, given the size of the company, it might be too big. I could see this playing at the Signature or World Stages. Maybe they can go that route if they can't get a transfer to a Broadway house. |
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| re: Prince and the many stages of his career | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 02:18 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Prince and the many stages of his career - MarjorieMae 01:26 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
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| Funny, I must admit ''cruise-ship Broadway revue'' also crossed my mind. It looks like a cast of 10 (with low-budget scenery). There's a slightly longer highlights reel that features Josh Grisetti as Hero from ''Forum'' and as Molina in ''Kiss of the Spider Woman.'' There's actually a lot of ''Prince of Broadway'' footage at YouTube; I was surprised to see a number from ''Grind'' in a rehearsal video. Did Japanese producers put a lot of money into this show? It seems odd that they tried this out in Tokyo and Osaka. I wonder what Japanese audiences made out of seeing these songs out of context; I can't imagine they knew all these shows. |
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| Link | TheaterMania: Ramin Karimloo, Tony Yazbeck & more preview 'Prince of Broadway' |
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| re: Prince and the many stages of his career | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 04:59 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Prince and the many stages of his career - WaymanWong 02:18 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
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| I also question having a big song called "Wait Till You See What's Next" when Prince hasn't directed a Broadway play or musical since 2007. I'm not sure that something is coming next, as sad as I am to write that... |
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| re: Prince and the many stages of his career | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 08:20 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Prince and the many stages of his career - Singapore/Fling 04:59 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
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| I wonder if they ever considered using ''Next'' from ''Pacific Overtures,'' which Prince also directed. Of course, Sondheim would have to rewrite the lyrics quite a lot (''See what's coming, see what's going. Next!''). Come to think of it, ''Prince of Broadway'' tried out in Japan, but it doesn't look like they included anything from ''Pacific Overtures.'' ;) |
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| re: Prince and the many stages of his career | |
| Posted by: MarjorieMae 02:43 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Prince and the many stages of his career - WaymanWong 02:18 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
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| Like I said, I hope it's not. They certainly recruited an impressive pool of talent. I guess Karimloo is leaving Anastasia for this or is there something I missed? | |
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| re: Prince and the many stages of his career | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 02:51 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 02:50 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Prince and the many stages of his career - MarjorieMae 02:43 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
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| Is Karimloo leaving ''Anastasia'' for ''Prince of Broadway''? Or is he contractually obligated to the former? Unless I've missed it, I haven't seen Ramin's name among the updated cast list for ''Prince of Broadway.'' Is it possible that Michael Xavier (''Sunset Boulevard'') has taken over his role? |
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| Link | Playbill.com: Karen Ziemba joins 'Prince of Broadway' (June 8, 2017) |
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| re: Prince and the many stages of his career | |
| Posted by: MarjorieMae 03:10 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Prince and the many stages of his career - WaymanWong 02:50 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
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| I thought I might've missed something. There were so many casting update posts on Google it got confusing. I personally would prefer seeing him play the Phantom. After hearing him live in Les Miz sing Bring Him Home I can imagine how thrilling it would be to hear him sing Music of the Night live. | |
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