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| re: What would it take for a hit revival of THE SECRET GARDEN? | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 11:07 pm EST 01/01/19 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 11:05 pm EST 01/01/19 | |
| In reply to: What would it take for a hit revival of THE SECRET GARDEN? - GrumpyMorningBoy 05:31 pm EST 12/31/18 | |
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| For starters, with today's ADD-fueled children, I do think they'd need to make some cuts to the songs that are a bit incidental. ("It's A Maze," "Come Spirit, Come Charm," some of the ensemble singing like the "Storm" sequences). There were a number of changes made to the score by the time the tour was happening (and I think I've been told that at least some of them were put into the Broadway show at some point as well). The changes are in the published vocal score and rental materials. "It's A Maze" is practically a different song, and the arrangement of "Come Spirit" is also somewhat different from what's on the recording. "I Heard Someone Crying" has a big, dramatic ending now instead of the austere, sad ending on the recording. But I'm not sure these changes reduce the running time much. (Wasn't it the Australian production, also recorded, that did do a lot of cutting and restructuring, with the writers' participation?) But frankly, if kids can make it through the (IMO) way overstuffed Lion King, (halfway through Act II I was absolutely B.O.R.E.D and really exhausted from what by that point felt like an ever-trying-too-hard-to-impress eye-candy set) this show shouldn't be a problem lol. The ultimate problem, as I mentioned before, is that structurally, too much of the musical, perhaps, is spent on the adults' stories - the rivalry between the brothers, for instance, gives us the phenomenal "Lily's Eyes" and other numbers like that Act II Quartet and Craven's "Disappear" reprise, but these songs make the show feel like much more of a classic epic romance more than anything else. For a younger audience, if anything, I think the show really would need MORE of the cantankerous Ben in "Maze," or the magic of Dickon and songs like "Come Spirit," and less of moping Archie (gorgeous as his songs are) and the family's problems. Not that kids can't love a great romantic story as well, but you know what I mean. However, NO ONE should EVER cut at least the first section of "Storm" music - the one that leads into "Lily's Eyes." One of my favorite bits of music in the show. (Especially the latter half of it, with that trumpet outburst that leads to the huge, dramatic choral wail that gradually fades into the duet - gives me chills every time!) |
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| re: What would it take for a hit revival of THE SECRET GARDEN? | |
| Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 11:28 am EST 01/02/19 | |
| In reply to: re: What would it take for a hit revival of THE SECRET GARDEN? - Chromolume 11:05 pm EST 01/01/19 | |
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| Chromolume, I know our tastes are super similar, but I do agree about that gorgeous "Storm" music that leads into "Lily's Eyes"!!! Super interesting analysis of what it would take to succeed. The show had closed by the time I got to NYC, so I've never seen a production. I have no clue how it really feels in the theater. What made MATILDA such a great success, do you think? - GMB |
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| re: What would it take for a hit revival of THE SECRET GARDEN? | |
| Posted by: finally 11:42 am EST 01/02/19 | |
| In reply to: re: What would it take for a hit revival of THE SECRET GARDEN? - GrumpyMorningBoy 11:28 am EST 01/02/19 | |
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| I think Matilda was expected to be a bigger success than it ultimately was based on the superlative reviews coming out of the London production. It had a respectable run but was not the blockbuster that many thought it would be. The biggest complaint was that it was very hard to understand, which I experienced when I saw the tour (and there are reviews from papers across the country that noted the intelligibility problems, so it was a matter of sound design and not the acoustics of any particular theater). I saw the original Secret Garden tour and was taken by the score & production design and of course had listened to the CD several times over the years. I saw the production in DC that is mentioned in the Playbill article below (the production that originated in Seattle and also played Houston with an eye towards Broadway). It was fine overall (the tree in the garden was breathtaking), but the score really stuck out as being "of an era" to me: that being the era of sung-through musicals in the vein of Les Mis and Miss Saigon and a host of other shows from the same time period. It felt very derivative of that style. Kids in the audience were antsy, for the reasons already noted elsewhere in the thread. I wanted to like it more than I ended up liking it and that was because of the material (not the production). |
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| re: What would it take for a hit revival of THE SECRET GARDEN? | |
| Posted by: larry13 12:19 pm EST 01/02/19 | |
| In reply to: re: What would it take for a hit revival of THE SECRET GARDEN? - finally 11:42 am EST 01/02/19 | |
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| I too have seen a few productions--not the original on B'way. unfortunately--and never liked it as much as I wanted to, because of the material. But I must say I think its score is like MY FAIR LADY if compared with MATILDA. I'm glad thousands of young girls--and countless others, including most critics apparently--have found so much to love in MATILDA; I thought it totally a waste of my time and money. | |
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| re: What would it take for a hit revival of THE SECRET GARDEN? | |
| Posted by: Teacher64 11:15 pm EST 01/01/19 | |
| In reply to: re: What would it take for a hit revival of THE SECRET GARDEN? - Chromolume 11:05 pm EST 01/01/19 | |
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| It was the London production that was substantially rewritten --to the show's detriment-- with the help of the original creators. It was a much more literal telling of the tale with the Broadway production's ghosts replaced with a bunch of dancing servants and gardeners. All the mystery and beauty of the Broadway production were gone. | |
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