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| re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? | |
| Posted by: pecansforall 08:21 pm EDT 03/21/21 | |
| In reply to: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? - portenopete 08:06 pm EDT 03/21/21 | |
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| I'd hate to see a revival of this if the size of the orchestra has to be reduced to save money (which is usually the case). Those original orchestrations are sublime. | |
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| re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? | |
| Posted by: ArnoldMBrockman 09:05 am EDT 03/22/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? - pecansforall 08:21 pm EDT 03/21/21 | |
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| CITY OF ANGELS WULD MAKE A GREAT MOVIE-Black and White and Color ! | |
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| re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 09:03 pm EDT 03/21/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? - pecansforall 08:21 pm EDT 03/21/21 | |
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| And yes - the ORIGINAL orchestrations, not the ones redone for licensing (which are the only available ones now). What do we think of how the role of Lieutenant Munoz is written in light of today? Would "All You Have To Do Is Wait" need to be rethought? |
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| re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 09:52 pm EDT 03/21/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? - Chromolume 09:03 pm EDT 03/21/21 | |
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| I don't think so - Munoz is a character written by a white writer in the 1940s, so the stereotypes can be attributed to Stein. One way to address that as well would be to cast the show diversely, so that we have other actors of color who aren't playing stereotypes. | |
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| re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? | |
| Last Edit: EvFoDr 11:00 am EDT 03/22/21 | |
| Posted by: EvFoDr 10:58 am EDT 03/22/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? - Singapore/Fling 09:52 pm EDT 03/21/21 | |
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| I used to own a copy of the script but alas it's lost. In addition to Munoz's song, there is also diaologue...in one of the replay/rewrite moments...where Munoz actually brings up race and talks about Stone having "the right color skin". Unfortunately I cannot expand more on the precise tone or whether this helps or hurts the concern because it's been so long since I've seen the show. But this could potentially be a moment to adjust something if the authors felt it would be helpful. It's tricky whether audiences will accept the stereotypes being Stine's. | |
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| re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 04:43 pm EDT 03/22/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? - EvFoDr 10:58 am EDT 03/22/21 | |
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| And of course Zippel's unfailing sense of wordplay ALMOST redeems the stereotypes in the song - for instance, the notion of Stone suffering from the aftereffects of Mexican food for his last meal before he is executed because "they are gonna give you gas." I have to give him credit for that. :-) | |
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| re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 01:08 am EDT 03/22/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? - Singapore/Fling 09:52 pm EDT 03/21/21 | |
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| The musical is a very clever satire of the detective/film noir genre, especially movies like The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Chinatown, and others. It's full of racism, homophobia, and other human failings. Dave Zippel's lyrics make me laugh out loud every time I play the CD. "You Can Always Count on Me" is obviously intended to be a tribute to the performances of Lee Patrick and Eve Arden in various film noir dramas. I like your casting ideas because I would hate to see anyone rewrite the dialogue to try to make the show politically correct. | |
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| re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 01:41 am EDT 03/22/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? - BroadwayTonyJ 01:08 am EDT 03/22/21 | |
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| I would hate to see anyone rewrite the dialogue to try to make the show politically correct. I agree with you. I guess I'm also asking because, as I think I mentioned elsewhere, this show is on our short list for a college production at the moment, but I'm a little concerned for student reactions, and am not sure if characters like Munoz are going to be seen as a detriment or if they'll be understood in context. Things are touchy right now with diversity/racial issues, and I sense that's not going away anytime soon. That, and of course, the eternal question of whether I can really cast an awesome Angel City 4 (last time I lucked out, but those parts are damn hard!!). ;-) |
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| re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? | |
| Last Edit: Singapore/Fling 11:20 am EDT 03/22/21 | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 11:19 am EDT 03/22/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? - Chromolume 01:41 am EDT 03/22/21 | |
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| It can get harder when you're working with college students versus the general public. A lot of the campus response will be influenced by the ways that your department/school are responding to the larger issues around diversity, representation, and dismantling white supremacy in our culture; if the students are already inclined to not trust the administration, you'll have a harder road. First and foremost, the best thing you can do is include members of the student body in your process of choosing the musical. Bring them into the conversation as to what shows you're looking at, why they speak to you, and see how the students respond and what concerns or advice they have in approaching each selection. And then, in terms of being proactive, some things your school could do would include hiring a director of color and bringing the history of racism in Hollywood into your rehearsal process and public-facing content. If the production approaches the show by saying, "this reflects the reality of our culture and we're investigating that within the context of this show", then you should foster more goodwill. It's not about being "politically correct", it's about acknowledging the ways that these stereotypes are harmful and often distasteful to members of the audience who are seeing their culture played for laughs. So part of the strategy is to take out or complicate the mockery, in the hopes that you can still keep the joy (as in, Munoz is enjoying torturing Stone with these references, so you try to make that the focus of the song... if Munoz is in charge of the stereotypes, it changes the tone). |
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| re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 04:54 pm EDT 03/22/21 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 04:53 pm EDT 03/22/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? - Singapore/Fling 11:19 am EDT 03/22/21 | |
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| First and foremost, the best thing you can do is include members of the student body in your process of choosing the musical. We do. We have a student subcommittee who vets any number of titles before making recommendations. Though this doesn't mean that faculty aren't allowed to make other suggestions as well. It's a process we implemented a few years ago and are still trying to improve. And then, in terms of being proactive, some things your school could do would include hiring a director of color and bringing the history of racism in Hollywood into your rehearsal process and public-facing content. If the production approaches the show by saying, "this reflects the reality of our culture and we're investigating that within the context of this show", then you should foster more goodwill. Yes. Last year's spring musical was originally going to be the revival version of Side Show (vetted and chosen by the students, but with some regrets after - not sure how that happened), with an African-American director, who after being sold on the project, eventually changed his mind - Spring Awakening went in its place with the student body's consent. Which then got cancelled of course, but is now going to be the online musical this spring with a different director. In general, we're not shying away from shows with racial issues, however the BIPOC students are concerned about choosing shows with "token" roles - and I totally understand that. |
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| re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 05:52 pm EDT 03/22/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? - Chromolume 04:53 pm EDT 03/22/21 | |
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| It sounds like y'all are having the right conversations - and of course, not everyone will be 100% happy, but if you're doing the work and proceeding from a place of goodwill and listening to each other, I think generally that's enough to keep people happy and feeling valued. | |
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| Casting the Angel City 4 | |
| Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 10:42 am EDT 03/22/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? - Chromolume 01:41 am EDT 03/22/21 | |
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| I've had multiple regional theater people tell me that the only thing keeping them from staging a production of CITY OF ANGELS was the difficulty in casting that quartet. That stuff is hard AF. - GMB |
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| re: Casting the Angel City 4 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 04:35 pm EDT 03/22/21 | |
| In reply to: Casting the Angel City 4 - GrumpyMorningBoy 10:42 am EDT 03/22/21 | |
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| it's even harder than "hard AF" lol. I like to joke that my callback for the quartet gave me a literal headache from the concentration it took - listening for pitch accuracy, blend, etc. I did luck WAY out. I remember arriving for the first rehearsal with them, knowing that they were all good musicians but knowing there would be a lot of careful plunking and slow work to be done - to discover that they already had much of the music leaned (!!) - they had been meeting on their own. 3 of them are still working in the biz now - a musical director (Steven Cuevas, most recently the MD of the Once On This Island tour), a wonderful regional/Broadway actor (Sam Simahk), and a songwriter/comedian (Camille Harris). They were FABULOUS! |
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| re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 10:11 pm EDT 03/21/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? - Singapore/Fling 09:52 pm EDT 03/21/21 | |
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| You make a good point about Stine's writing. I guess it comes down to whether people can view it that way - something that would be permissible in the period setting - or if it just doesn't seem comfortable anymore. | |
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| re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? | |
| Posted by: altonido 03:04 am EDT 03/22/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is it time for a CITY OF ANGELS revival? Perhaps starring.....? - Chromolume 10:11 pm EDT 03/21/21 | |
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| Had Covid not intervened, it's entirely possible that NY would have seen a "City of Angels" revival in '20-'21. One of the reasons why the acclaimed Donmar Warehouse production was brought back to the West End in 2020--five years after its original run--was as a potential Broadway transfer. Had things not gone as they did, Ben Brantley would likely have done his usual summer jaunt to London and reviewed it. Had he liked it, it might very well have been picked up for NY, perhaps as a limited engagement by one of the non-profits. And 2020 London star Vanessa Williams would probably have transferred with it. Brantley's strong reviews for London revivals of "Company," "The Color Purple" and "Caroline, or Chanage" had a lot to do with them becoming Broadway revivals. So this "City of Angels" might very well have followed suit. The 2020 London run of "City of Angels" only managed to play a few weeks before the shutdown. It did not even get to a press night where it would have been re-reviewed by London critics, not least because of several major cast changes from the Donmar version. |
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