| re: Romance in Hard Times is Incredible and Insane | |
| Posted by: PJ 07:25 am EST 01/05/22 | |
| In reply to: Romance in Hard Times is Incredible and Insane - Singapore/Fling 12:00 am EST 01/05/22 | |
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| Agreed with everything you say here, S/F. The fact that the original Public Theater production went unrecorded in 1989 is one of the biggest failures of the era. The vocal performances, orchestrations (Starobin at his...most Starobin-esque), and the subject matter and time period/musical style mashup deserve proper preservation. What I wouldn't give for a reunion at the Public, either at Joe's Pub or perhaps even a weekend at the Delacorte (expand the orchestra! put them onstage! celebrate the score and downplay the ridiculousness of the story!), that results in a complete live recording for digital release. If not a true original cast reunion, then maybe Patina Miller or Lilli Cooper could tackle Henny? Sherie Renee Scott as Zoe? Kate McKinnon as Eleanor Roosevelt? It's up there with A NEW BRAIN, FALSETTOS, and ELEGIES as far as Finn scores go. If you don't love those scores, please go read another post. ROMANCE IN HARD TIMES is, to me, the other side of the LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS coin: ambitious, ridiculous off-Broadway musical that requires a just-go-along-with-it attitude from its audience with a score that saves the day every time the story almost careens off the road. Of course, LITTLE SHOP has one clear thread where ROMANCE has a tangled mess. And it has source material. From what I understand, the BSC revision added a "William Finn" character framing device/narrator who explained the fate of the original production. The whole thing got a little smaller, a little simpler, and a little bit more produceable - though I don't think it spawned a single subsequent production. The great orchestrations of the original were dumped and the musical reduction is disappointing. Probably a bad move in hindsight. Hopefully this score doesn't disappear, especially now in the days of semi-easy-to-release cast albums. |
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