| Look what happened to 'Mabel' | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 08:26 pm EDT 08/19/17 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 08:19 pm EDT 08/19/17 | |
| In reply to: re: One of the biggest omissions - CCentero 06:23 pm EDT 08/19/17 | |
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| I don't know if Jerry Herman was ''one of the most artistically vilified writers in Broadway history,'' but critics seemed NOT to blame his score (which wasn't Tony nominated), but on Michael Stewart's book and Gower Champion's direction (both of which WERE Tony nominated). In Hark Harris' N.Y. Times review (Oct. 7, 1974), he writes: ''We have all seen a musical with book trouble before, but this one has book trouble so bad that it is practically library trouble. ... Mr. Champion throws everything at the audience, including even a bathtub, in which Mack briefly ponders and parades. ... Here is a case where the bath should have gone out with the bathwater. Never have so many props propped up so much show ... ''The burden is carried by [the score]. Mr. Herman is usually underrated by everyone but the public, but he has the common touch, a gift for melodies that seem at once familiar and memorable, and lyrics that are always painless, sometimes neat and occasionally clever. In happy addition, the musical collaborators here—Donald Pippin, Philip J. Lang and John Morris—know how to give a score that authentic Broadway gloss and brassiness.'' For the record, ''Mack & Mabel'' still got 8 Tony nominations, and the Drama Desk DID nominate Herman for Best Score. (When Herman returned a few seasons later, he got a Tony nomination for Best Score for ''The Grand Tour.'') There's always been talk of a major ''Mack & Mabel" revival, but the book and downbeat ending always seem to be the stumbling blocks. |
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| Previous: | re: One of the biggest omissions - CCentero 06:23 pm EDT 08/19/17 |
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