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| re: Memories of the original production of NINE | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 11:45 pm EDT 06/23/18 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 11:45 pm EDT 06/23/18 | |
| In reply to: Memories of the original production of NINE - bobby2 11:31 pm EDT 06/23/18 | |
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| Very true, though it's Franchi, not Franchini. And on that - the first time I was musical director for the show, and doing some research on the score, I got a wonderful chance to talk with one of the original ensemble members (I'm not telling who, lol.) She told me that Raul Julia and Sergio Franchi were pretty much polar opposites - Julia was not the best singer, but he acted the hell out of the role, while she said Franchi sang like a dream but simply couldn't act. I never had the chance to see the original production, but sure fell in love with the cast recording. (And I had the coveted cassette version, which had more music than the LP, including the full "Grand Canal" sequence. Of course, the remastered CD release contains even more than that.) |
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| We went expecting to hate it; after all, it was potentially stealing all the "Dreamgirls" thunder. | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 01:19 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 01:17 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Memories of the original production of NINE - Chromolume 11:45 pm EDT 06/23/18 | |
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| That was the vibe. It arrived in the spring of the "Dreamgirls" season. I remember seeing a Saturday matinee preview, walking home to the Upper West Side. The show sent us out on a cloud, a cliche, but true. The Yeston score on a first hearing, was just glorious. I became enamored of Karen Akers, who was such a unique presence and voice. But that whole company, what a company it was! I loved "Dreamgirls" and "Nine" and didn't pick a favorite. I went back twice, always loved it. That set and staging were just sublime, tucked into the then 46th Street Theatre. The revival was fine; the movie depressed the hell out of me. | |
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| 'Nine' was a 10 in many areas, but I still think 'Dreamgirls' should've won Best Musical | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 12:43 pm EDT 06/25/18 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 12:41 pm EDT 06/25/18 | |
| In reply to: We went expecting to hate it; after all, it was potentially stealing all the "Dreamgirls" thunder. - Delvino 01:17 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| ''Nine'' had such a beautiful cast, and the lovely women were stunningly costumed, all directed by the amazing Tommy Tune. And I recall the delightful Kathi Moss doing ''Be Italian'' on the Tonys. (Her only post-''Nine'' B'way credit was ''Grand Hotel.'') But I wish ''Dreamgirls'' Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen could've tied with ''Nine's'' Maury Yeston for Best Score. And scenic design. I'll always remember Lawrence MIller's astonishing all-white-tile-set at the spa for ''Nine.'' So I was really bummed when I caught the tour of ''Nine'' and saw that they had replaced it with an all-brown train station. Anyone know why? Someone once theorized it might've been too hard to keep that all-white set clean, while on tour. |
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| Link | Tony Awards: 'Be Italian' with Kathi Moss from 'Nine' |
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| re: 'Nine' was a 10 in many areas, but I still think 'Dreamgirls' should've won Best Musical | |
| Posted by: pecansforall 12:59 pm EDT 06/25/18 | |
| In reply to: 'Nine' was a 10 in many areas, but I still think 'Dreamgirls' should've won Best Musical - WaymanWong 12:41 pm EDT 06/25/18 | |
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| Here's a comparison shot of the NINE set for Broadway and the set for the national tour. (Once you follow the link you might have to click on the photo to see both.) | |
| Link | NINE Broadway versus National Tour |
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| re: 'Nine' was a 10 in many areas, but I still think 'Dreamgirls' should've won Best Musical | |
| Posted by: EvFoDr 01:47 pm EDT 06/25/18 | |
| In reply to: re: 'Nine' was a 10 in many areas, but I still think 'Dreamgirls' should've won Best Musical - pecansforall 12:59 pm EDT 06/25/18 | |
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| That's fascinating. Lord knows there are plenty of reasons that sets have to be re-imagined for tour, but this does seem off since it's a unit set with very little on the stage. The white tile set does not look that technically complex (although it could be deceptive). However, the comment with the photos about imbedding lights into the arches of the train set does sort of make sense of it. That can save a lot of time when jumping from city to city. | |
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| I hate the movie | |
| Posted by: showtunetrivia 06:19 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: We went expecting to hate it; after all, it was potentially stealing all the "Dreamgirls" thunder. - Delvino 01:17 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| Nearly every single minute. And it should have translated well. Laura |
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| re: I hate the movie | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 07:14 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 07:08 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: I hate the movie - showtunetrivia 06:19 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| And it should have translated well. I disagree about that. Actually, that was my fear from the start - that it wouldn't translate well. Assuming that you've seen 8 1/2, you know how so very different it is from the musical. And it clearly took a lot of vision for the creators of the musical to make use of the same basic material in a form that would work onstage and musicalized. The musical, IMO, is really very much its own creation - and works onstage on its own terms in the same kind of way that the Fellini film works as a Fellini film. I always feared that trying to go full circle-ish and turn the musical into a film would be very difficult. And we can see that it was even harder than that. To me the musical film doesn't play well in either genre - it's not a good film (as a film), and it's not a good translation of the musical itself either. I think that a literal film of the musical onstage, captured in performance, would have worked as well as any other such filmed live musical, and would have been a good compromise. Trying to deconstruct it to make it "filmic" again didn't work. |
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| re: I hate the movie | |
| Posted by: hugoP 05:38 pm EDT 06/25/18 | |
| In reply to: re: I hate the movie - Chromolume 07:08 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| Such a disappointment. It was as if Playboy Magazine decided to film a musical for 'sophisticated, worldly gentlemen'. The women were all objectified, the glitz and slickness overpowered everything...and the emotion? Gone. Why they jettisoned so much about young Guido, including his role in BE ITALIAN, is mystifying. The BE ITALIAN number, as eye popping as it looked in the trailer, is emblematic of what went wrong-- all sex and spectacle, no heart. I was crushed. I really, really hope that someone gets to make the movie that should have been made of NINE. And I was doubly disappointed because that cast was pretty remarkable, even if there were few trained singers in the mix. |
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| re: I hate the movie | |
| Posted by: hugoP 05:50 pm EDT 06/25/18 | |
| In reply to: re: I hate the movie - hugoP 05:38 pm EDT 06/25/18 | |
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| Just re-watched (for the first time in a decade) the BE ITALIAN sequence...Young Guide IS there-- well, technically not "there" because he's in an odd flashback that is intercut with the Fergie music video that is standing in for the BE ITALIAN number in the film. I guess it's an homage to MEIN HERR, but, again, all the heart is lost and it's all empty spectacle....and sand....and tambourines. But I would one day like to see more of Fergie in a real role. |
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| re: I hate the movie | |
| Posted by: Delvino 08:58 am EDT 06/25/18 | |
| In reply to: re: I hate the movie - Chromolume 07:08 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| Fully agree. Nothing in the film really worked, though the fancy-ied up MTV-ish (or something; ugh) musical numbers had moments of holding my attention. It's a rare filmed musical that I never wanted to set eyes on again. I can bounce around cable, land on a bad musical, and not be able to budge. I couldn't sit through "Nine" again, and I dearly love the Yeston score, butchered and messed-up and augmented as it is. | |
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| re: I hate the movie | |
| Posted by: bobby2 10:15 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: re: I hate the movie - Chromolume 07:08 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| and I can't believe Penelope Cruz got an Oscar nomination for Carla. Plus they cut out Be on Your Own for some dumb reason and added a non-memorable song. If they were going to nominate somebody for supporting actress I think Nicole Kidman deserved it . I thought she did ok with Unusual Way and her other scenes. Marion Cotillard was good but they pushed her for Lead Actress thinking they would make room in supporting but it backfired on them. |
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| re: I hate the movie | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 01:00 pm EDT 06/25/18 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 12:58 pm EDT 06/25/18 | |
| In reply to: re: I hate the movie - bobby2 10:15 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| I couldn't get past the major miscasting of Daniel Day-Lewis as Guido Contini. As for cutting ''Be on Your Own,'' I imagine they wanted Yeston to write a new number for Luisa that could be Oscar-eligible. So you wound up with the stripteasy (and dreary) ''Take It All,'' which actually did get an Oscar nomination for Best Song. I thought the Academy should've nominated another new song instead: ''Cinema Italiiano,'' which was livelier and more fun. |
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| Link | 'Cinema Italiano'' (with Kate Hudson) from 'Nine' |
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| re: I hate the movie | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 04:36 pm EDT 06/25/18 | |
| In reply to: re: I hate the movie - WaymanWong 12:58 pm EDT 06/25/18 | |
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| Just for the hell of it, I threw the soundtrack into my phone and I do actually listen to some it now and then. The orchestration under Penelope Cruz doing "A Call From The Vatican" is pretty thrilling. I find "Take it All" to be a fine song on its own out of context, but, of course, it pales in comparison to "Be On Your Own" in context. I always find I like the idea of "Cinema Italiano," but tire of it before it finishes. | |
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| re: I hate the movie | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 04:32 pm EDT 06/25/18 | |
| In reply to: re: I hate the movie - WaymanWong 12:58 pm EDT 06/25/18 | |
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| Eh, i find that song to not only be forced in (in a re-write of the Press character that doesn't help the themes and conflict of the story), but musically lazy and lyrically awkward in many spots. I definitely don't think it deserved an Oscar nod. It's also staged in seemingly the only way Rob Marshall can conceive of a musical number in a movie... it's so unimaginative and tiresome. Same for "Take It All". | |
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| re: Memories of the original production of NINE | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 10:38 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Memories of the original production of NINE - Chromolume 11:45 pm EDT 06/23/18 | |
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| I saw the original production with Julia twice and once with Franchise. I loved them both. The staging was so inventive and all the women were wonderful. It was the first time I heard Karen Akers and she was stunning singing Be on Your Own. I loved hearing Unusual Way for the first time. That season of Nine and Dreamgirls was so special. There should have been a tie for best musical. |
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| re: Memories of the original production of NINE | |
| Posted by: Snowgrace 04:15 am EDT 06/25/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Memories of the original production of NINE - lowwriter 10:38 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| YES! Wouldn't that have been something?? Remember my best friend & me hanging from I think balcony seats, must have been fall of senior year in high school, ENTRANCED by the energy of the show & its OBC, & YES, after, repeatedly playing that complete cassette recording on the walkman, etc., etc...where that tape went, I WISH I knew, cause the vinyl and cd I got don't have it all. Karen Akers striding through the house at the end of BE ON YOUR OWN (OH she was wonderful...a friend's parents later took me to hear her at Carnegie Hall!!!), Anita Morris writhing on that block, my friend falling madly in love with Raul Julia who was SO fine, the energy of the BE ITALIAN number, the gorgeous harmony of the opening number and its set and costumes all in black and white as I remember...feel so lucky to have been there!!!! | |
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