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| re: A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! | |
| Posted by: wasadancer 08:49 pm EST 12/17/17 | |
| In reply to: A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! - Valalala 08:33 pm EST 12/17/17 | |
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| because why? | |
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| re: A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! | |
| Posted by: Valalala 09:14 pm EST 12/17/17 | |
| In reply to: re: A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! - wasadancer 08:49 pm EST 12/17/17 | |
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| Broderick's narration is predictably wooden and listless. The camera work is handheld/wobbly and inconsistent in its angle and perspective. I suspect they're trying to sometimes invoke the look of a handheld home movie camera of the time, but of course, those shots would be in b & w. It just comes across as really bland and boring to me. | |
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| re: A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! | |
| Posted by: Snowysdad 11:09 pm EST 12/17/17 | |
| In reply to: re: A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! - Valalala 09:14 pm EST 12/17/17 | |
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| I'm not sure I agree that Broderick is more wooden than the character is in the movie, but OMG how many times he garbled words and lines. Is this going to be released as a video and if they do, can they redo all his missed words? | |
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| re: A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! | |
| Posted by: twocents 09:55 am EST 12/19/17 | |
| In reply to: re: A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! - Snowysdad 11:09 pm EST 12/17/17 | |
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| OMG how many times he garbled words and lines. Yeah. His wife is much more articulate. Apparently nothing has rubbed off, despite decades together! |
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| re: A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 11:59 pm EST 12/17/17 | |
| In reply to: re: A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! - Snowysdad 11:09 pm EST 12/17/17 | |
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| I was working tonight and haven't watched yet but I'm thrilled they rewrote the Chinese restaurant scene. When the show was on Broadway my whole family cringed during that scene. | |
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| Hurrah for getting rid of the 'fa-ra-ra-ra' in the Chinese restaurant scene! | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 01:36 am EST 12/18/17 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 01:29 am EST 12/18/17 | |
| In reply to: re: A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! - lowwriter 11:59 pm EST 12/17/17 | |
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| I also cringed when ''A Christmas Story'' on Broadway (2012) re-created that moment where a Chinese waiter sings ''Fa-ra-ra-ra!'' It was a cheap laugh. And for the record, that issue was raised by the original composer of ''A Christmas Story,'' Scott Davenport Richards, during its tryout at Kansas City Rep in 2009. He said: “I had a very strong feeling that I didn’t want an Asian kid taken to a musical and saying to his parents, ‘Why are they making fun of us?’ '' (Richards would later be replaced by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who admitted the restaurant scene was ''definitely offensive,'' but ''excused'' it because it was in the original 1983 movie, and ''we would be in hot water with a lot of fans'' [if we cut it].'') Happily, wiser heads have prevailed in 2017. The Vulture wrote about how the revisions came about. Ken Jeong, who played the owner of the Chinese restaurant, says director Scott Ellis, producer Marc Platt and writers Robert Cary and Jonathan Tolins updated the script with these changes. Jeong and Ellis made another funny contribution. After the Chinese waiters, some of whom were going to college, sang ''Deck the Halls'' flawlessly and without any hint of accent, Ralphie's father says, ''I wasn't expecting that!'' And Jeong's character says: ''What were you expecting?'' The Vulture article also notes how this Fox production was much more ethnically diverse than the original movie, which was practically all-white. Maya Rudolph, whose mom is African-American, played Ralphie's mother, and David Alan Grier played a Santa who happens to be black. (And Sammy Ramirez played Schwartz, a Jewish kid.) I only wish they had featured a couple of Asian-American kids in some of the musical numbers, but overall, I give them a thumb's-up on casting ''A Christmas Story'' that's more inclusive and reflective of our multicultural times. |
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| Link | Vulture.com: How 'A Christmas Story: Live' tackled that Chinese restaurant scene |
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| re: Hurrah for getting rid of the 'fa-ra-ra-ra' in the Chinese restaurant scene! | |
| Posted by: Delvino 10:27 am EST 12/18/17 | |
| In reply to: Hurrah for getting rid of the 'fa-ra-ra-ra' in the Chinese restaurant scene! - WaymanWong 01:29 am EST 12/18/17 | |
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| I presumed that Randy was bi-racial, or Latinx, and so did several friends who felt (guessed) that may have been Rudolph's (appropriate) request. | |
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| re: Hurrah for getting rid of the 'fa-ra-ra-ra' in the Chinese restaurant scene! | |
| Posted by: mikem 08:36 am EST 12/18/17 | |
| In reply to: Hurrah for getting rid of the 'fa-ra-ra-ra' in the Chinese restaurant scene! - WaymanWong 01:29 am EST 12/18/17 | |
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| I get that Pasek and Paul were unknowns at the time, and this was a big break for them. But I hope that, now that they are in a different place, they would be able to help people come to different conclusions moving forward. My understanding is that the "fa-ra-ra" is optional now; a theater company can delete it if it wants to. |
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| So are current productions of 'A Christmas Story' using the 'fa-ra-ra-ra'? | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 11:58 am EST 12/18/17 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 11:54 am EST 12/18/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Hurrah for getting rid of the 'fa-ra-ra-ra' in the Chinese restaurant scene! - mikem 08:36 am EST 12/18/17 | |
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| I wish this change weren't optional. I forgot to mention that the original composer of ''A Christmas Story,'' Scott Davenport Richards, who originally registered this complaint about the Chinese restaurant scene, is the son of Tony-winning director Lloyd Richards (''Fences''). He's the recipient of Jonathan Larson and Frederick Loewe Awards, and his work has been done at the Old Globe, the Alliance, etc. Richards also has taught musical theater at Montclair State University, NYU and the Lincoln Center Institute. And Chuck Cooper has performed Richards' songs at 54 Below. And if you go to scottdavenportrichards.com, there's a MP3 of his catchy ''Take That'' from his version of ''A Christmas Story.'' |
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| Link | Official website: Scott Davenport Richards |
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| What about Christmas Eve in "Avenue Q"? | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 01:00 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 12:59 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
| In reply to: So are current productions of 'A Christmas Story' using the 'fa-ra-ra-ra'? - WaymanWong 11:54 am EST 12/18/17 | |
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| Wouldn't a substantial part of her role have to be re-written as well? Or at least change some of her consonants? | |
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| re: What about Christmas Eve in "Avenue Q"? | |
| Posted by: SRMHAYES 09:52 am EST 12/19/17 | |
| In reply to: What about Christmas Eve in "Avenue Q"? - PlayWiz 12:59 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
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| " Hula hoops and trumpets and drums, take it all but wait 'til it comes....Harry Truman, Truman Capote and Dewey.....CHOP SUEY" |
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| re: What about Christmas Eve in "Avenue Q"? | |
| Posted by: MarjorieMae 05:53 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
| In reply to: What about Christmas Eve in "Avenue Q"? - PlayWiz 12:59 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
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| I guess we'll find out this coming Sunday night. | |
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| re: What about Christmas Eve in "Avenue Q"? | |
| Last Edit: Ann 01:10 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
| Posted by: Ann 01:08 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
| In reply to: What about Christmas Eve in "Avenue Q"? - PlayWiz 12:59 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
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| If I remember back through the conversations, Christmas Eve is Japanese and speaks semi-broken English like someone who is Japanese would. The waiters in A Christmas Story are Chinese, and they don't make the L-R switch when speaking accented English. Or at least that's part of it. I'm sure Wayman (or his service) will further explain. | |
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| re: What about Christmas Eve in "Avenue Q"? | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 01:48 am EST 12/19/17 | |
| In reply to: re: What about Christmas Eve in "Avenue Q"? - Ann 01:08 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
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| Ann, that explanation sounded pretty good to me! | |
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| (or his service)! | |
| Posted by: wisebear 03:26 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
| In reply to: re: What about Christmas Eve in "Avenue Q"? - Ann 01:08 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
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| Glorious. Thanks for the belly laugh! | |
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| re: (or his service)! | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 03:40 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
| In reply to: (or his service)! - wisebear 03:26 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
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| Is that along the lines of someone who once referenced the columnist Rex Reed "or whoever writes his columns"? | |
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| re: A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! | |
| Posted by: wasadancer 09:25 pm EST 12/17/17 | |
| In reply to: re: A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! - Valalala 09:14 pm EST 12/17/17 | |
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| respectfully disagree. Not a Broderick fan lately, but he's right for this. And I think the storytelling and camera work are pretty darned great. | |
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| re: A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! | |
| Posted by: twocents 09:31 pm EST 12/17/17 | |
| In reply to: re: A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! - wasadancer 09:25 pm EST 12/17/17 | |
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| Loving the dogs as well! So darned cute. | |
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