| re: MEMPHIS. No contest. (more...) | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 01:05 pm EST 01/30/21 | |
| In reply to: re: MEMPHIS. No contest. (more...) - Michael_Portantiere 12:42 pm EST 01/30/21 | |
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| I think a lot of people might even put Phantom, Cats, Sunset and even maybe Evita on the link of "worst" contenders. I think Phantom is one of the most hollow musicals I've ever seen, but I'm taken enough by the story beat by beat (even though it amounts to little for me) and I enjoy so much of the score, even if it's weighed down by repetitive over-composing and over-use of tunes, and is so well done for what it is, it's not gonna make my A Grade list but it's not of the worst. Sunset is similar. If the score were just what's on the highlights CD it would be 2/3rds knock out of the park score mixed with some dud songs that bring it down. In performance of the full show, it becomes 50/50 at best because of the endless musical repetition and bad or lazy lyrics. But there's SO much that I think is good in this show (and so much that isn't too), and the story is great, the roles and actors they get for them are so juicy... it's not gonna make my worst list. Cats should be on my list maybe but on stage it is so fascinatingly dumb but experimental, so much of the score is amazing and so much is so silly and dumb, etc etc. But the highs it reaches, and the bizarreness of it... I can't put it in the worst list. I would take Cats over Kinky Boots any day. And Evita is nowhere near my worst list, especially in the Prince production of it. I find the show has many flaws in the writing (mostly what isn't written) and storytelling, and in the wrong hands (like Grandage & Ashford), it doesn't work the way it needs to, but I think it's a beautiful and thrilling show despite its flaws. It's not going to be in my top tier of musical theater writing like Sweeney, Follies, Cabaret, Fiddler, Fantasticks, Chicago, Carousel, Caroline, Fun Home, etc etc... but it's not competing for worst at all. I also love Les Miz... what can I say. And I don't love it as a guilty pleasure... despite all my snobbery and Sondheim worship, I do not agree with a lot of the criticisms of Les Miz's writing (i think the music and the lyrics are generally excellent). The worst I'll say is that it's at last 20 min too long to work, and it repeats too much musicals... but on that note I would say that at least the music it reuses so much I really love, and unlike other similarly written musicals, it works for Les Miz thematically, and I find it done well rather than in like Sunset where it just feels lazy. Les Miz isn't gonna be in my top 10 best musicals probably, but I love it and think it's really good. I think Billy Elliot would also make some lists for weakest, and that might be true for me making a bigger list, as I loved it the one time but have never revisited the score or watched the stage film of it... but it was good enough to not make even the long short list. |
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| Next: | re: MEMPHIS. No contest. (more...) - Michael_Portantiere 06:53 pm EST 01/30/21 |
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