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| re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... | |
| Posted by: bway1430 02:08 am EST 02/22/19 | |
| In reply to: Are jukebox musicals dumbing down Broadway or just giving us what we want? - StageDoorEddie 09:07 pm EST 02/21/19 | |
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| Would those not also count as 'jukebox musicals'....new shows built around old, well-known songs? | |
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| re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 03:51 pm EST 02/22/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... - bway1430 02:08 am EST 02/22/19 | |
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| The one difference is that the Gershwin songs were written for the theater. | |
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| re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... | |
| Posted by: comedywest 11:19 am EST 02/22/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... - bway1430 02:08 am EST 02/22/19 | |
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| Or Singin in the Rain...but in those cases the writers put some serious thought into the book. I twas just a case of stringing together songs on a thin plot. | |
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| or going back further, GEORGE M (one of the first jukebox musicals?) | |
| Posted by: dreambaby 10:40 am EST 02/22/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... - bway1430 02:08 am EST 02/22/19 | |
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| I recently saw the 1970 televised adaptation of the 1969 musical starring Joel Grey, GEORGE M, and wondered about its place in the history and pantheon of jukebox musicals. I'm certain there were similar musicals developed utilizing a song catalog before it, but can't name any off the top of my head. | |
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| re: or going back further, GEORGE M (one of the first jukebox musicals?) | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 11:03 am EST 02/22/19 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 10:59 am EST 02/22/19 | |
| In reply to: or going back further, GEORGE M (one of the first jukebox musicals?) - dreambaby 10:40 am EST 02/22/19 | |
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| There have been composer-themed revues for decades...many of them not produced on Broadway (too small, etc) and many of them not all that well-known, but I'm sure regional/community/school groups do them all the time. Obviously, there are the more well-known ones like Side By Side By Sondheim (and the other Sondheim revues), Ain't Misbehavin', Closer Than Ever and Starting Here, Starting Now, Jacques Brel, etc. Or shows like Forever Plaid, The Taffettas, The Marvelous Wonderettes, etc, which target both a sense of period and the boy/girl group style. There have been a few Cole Porter revues (most notably the London-born "Cole"), there was the Noel Coward "Cowardly Custard," a few Rodgers revues (at least 2 well-known ones about the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalog, and one called "Sing For Your Supper" with Rodgers and Hart songs), some Irving Berlin revues, and then others that were less Broadway-centric but featured composers/lyricists of the same golden era, like Stardust, Swingin' On A Star, etc. Or, revues like Tintypes that have a more overt historical take on music of a certain period. (And more - there are revues about Loesser, Harburg, Kander And Ebb, Herman, Finn, and on and on...) So yes, there have been many, many of these. Do we consdier them to be "jukebox" retroactively (before the term was ever used to describe such shows)? I guess that's a personal decision as to what their classification is. But yes, the idea of revues that use composers/writers/performers as a common theme have been around for a long time. |
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| re: or going back further, GEORGE M (one of the first jukebox musicals?) | |
| Posted by: dreambaby 12:49 pm EST 02/22/19 | |
| In reply to: re: or going back further, GEORGE M (one of the first jukebox musicals?) - Chromolume 10:59 am EST 02/22/19 | |
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| I didn't see the Broadway production of George M. Was it considered a revue, rather than a musical? | |
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| re: or going back further, GEORGE M (one of the first jukebox musicals?) | |
| Last Edit: comedywest 01:24 pm EST 02/22/19 | |
| Posted by: comedywest 01:21 pm EST 02/22/19 | |
| In reply to: re: or going back further, GEORGE M (one of the first jukebox musicals?) - dreambaby 12:49 pm EST 02/22/19 | |
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| I wouldn't say that. I saw the TV version and remember it being very low-key (but then I was a kid and expecting a stage version of "Yankee Doodle Dandy"). But there was a real plot. |
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| re: or going back further, GEORGE M (one of the first jukebox musicals?) | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 07:07 pm EST 02/22/19 | |
| In reply to: re: or going back further, GEORGE M (one of the first jukebox musicals?) - comedywest 01:21 pm EST 02/22/19 | |
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| Yes - George M is a book show - I somehow wasn't thinking about that when I posted about the other revues lol. | |
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| re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 09:45 am EST 02/22/19 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 09:40 am EST 02/22/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... - bway1430 02:08 am EST 02/22/19 | |
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| Personally, I tend to categorize "jukebox" shows as those specifically involving rock/pop music only (not show music or earlier standards, etc). But yes, you have a point about the shows you mention. I tend to call them the "ersatz Gershwin" shows lol, particularly Crazy and Nice Work. But yes, they do ultimately do the same thing as the jukebox shows. I know how much people love Crazy For You. and that's totally fine - but the show has always irked me a bit. First, the title is better known as a Madonna song, and the corresponding song in the show ("K-razy For You") is a total throwaway that barely registers. (I think calling the show I Got Rhythm or even Who Could Ask For Anything More might have made more sense, lol.) Second, as is his wont, it's essentially a typical rewrite by Ludwig (the mistaken identity plot from his Lend Me a Tenor revamped), which means it's in essence a recycled book (Ludwig's, not the Girl Crazy book) with songs that IMO tend to showcase themselves better on their own. So, even with a number of entertaining moments, it has always felt like too much of a piecemeal show to me, that might have been better as an all-out revue with Stroman choreo. (And, as is, I feel that the marvelous Stroman choreo is the main reason the show exists.) But, as I said, others love the show as is, so I know my opinion isn't going to go over too well out here, lol. (But all in all, I can't imagine that a well-produced full-scale revival of the actual Gershwin Girl Crazy by Ockrent/Stroman, with a moderate amount of book/score tweaking would have been that inferior.) |
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| re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 03:53 pm EST 02/22/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... - Chromolume 09:40 am EST 02/22/19 | |
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| You’re wrong. The show was great and the title song registered. | |
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| re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 07:09 pm EST 02/22/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... - KingSpeed 03:53 pm EST 02/22/19 | |
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| No, I'm not wrong. You have your opinion and I have mine. I did say that my opinion might not be a popular one. But I do maintain that if you sneezed in that opening scene where Bobby is auditioning, you'd miss the title song. ;-) Offhand, it's hard to think of another show where the title song (assuming there is one) is so slight. |
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| re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 03:29 am EST 02/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... - Chromolume 07:09 pm EST 02/22/19 | |
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| If you get to The Pajama Game one minute after the curtain has gone up, you've missed the title song. And even if you're there, you might miss it. On the OBCR, from when Eddie Foy, Jr., starts to sing it till he gets to the end of it is 15-and-a-half seconds. And the Annie title song is pretty negligible. And moving to Martin Charnin's next show, the I Remember Mama title song comes in the first couple of minutes of the show and it's less than a minute long. I don't know what's in the licensed version now, but there wasn't actually a reprise at the end in the original production, even though the opening night playbill listed one. And there's Brigadoon, in which the title song is sung offstage, mostly under dialogue, and even if you could hear it, the end is not sung in the first scene. It's not till the end last scene that all the words are sung, and again it's all sung offstage, mostly under dialogue, and until the last bars, it's sung quietly. |
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| re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 05:56 pm EST 02/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... - AlanScott 03:29 am EST 02/25/19 | |
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| After I posted this, I did think of Pajama Game. :-) Btw - there is a reprise in the published/licenced score - and the tune is also used for the music of the "fashion show" at the end. Good catch on all of these. ;-) |
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| re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... | |
| Posted by: EvFoDr 10:46 am EST 02/26/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... - Chromolume 05:56 pm EST 02/25/19 | |
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| I always felt the title song to Hairspray was a bit of a throwaway. I mean, it is! Really just a jingle for a sponsor ad. Not that it matters since the show is bursting with spectacular numbers. One of my all time favorite modern day musicals. | |
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| Article mentions these types of shows | |
| Posted by: MockingbirdGirl 08:29 am EST 02/22/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Curious why nobody ever brings up Crazy For You, Nice Work.....An American In Paris, etc.... - bway1430 02:08 am EST 02/22/19 | |
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| “Trying to glue a song catalogue to an original story, like the goofy “Mamma Mia!” or Twyla Tharp’s daring Billy Joel dance drama “Movin’ Out,” is even more fraught with formulaic pitfalls, although breakthroughs happen...” | |
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