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| re: what's become of all the lesser known/newer William Finn musicals? | |
| Last Edit: Chazwaza 06:19 pm EST 01/05/22 | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 06:16 pm EST 01/05/22 | |
| In reply to: re: what's become of all the lesser known/newer William Finn musicals? - Singapore/Fling 05:46 pm EST 01/05/22 | |
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| I could point to a hundred small theaters and more minor regional theaters where community engagement (specific to that community) and cultural importance does not at all seem to be part of the criteria. And for quite a lot of theater "community engagement" is basically just letting the community know they do plays and musicals worth seeing. And is this part of the thread all to try to make a convincing argument that NO theater in America would meet with anything but failure, empty seats, and financial ruination if they were to produce a William Finn musical? I mean... trust and believe, most people in "the community" have never heard of Falsettos or A New Brain either, and probably not Spelling Bee. Based on art work and subject matter, some people might want to see Spelling Bee and some might want to see Elegies... it's hard to say. In one thread we can say there's no need to justify reviving King & I and My Fair Lady, and in another we're claiming no theater could ever put on a Finn musical let alone one that doesn't have a googleable track record. So are we saying that amateur and regional theaters ONLY produce actually famous works? It's just not true. Maybe I've lost the bead on this thread but I'm not sure what the point that's being made is or what it's based on. The criteria you mention... unless they have to achieve ALL of the criteria, could be said of literally any play or musical depending on the community or talent attached (and attached talent rarely plays into it because unless you're a MAJOR theater you do not have performers with recognition almost ever). |
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| re: what's become of all the lesser known/newer William Finn musicals? | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 07:02 pm EST 01/05/22 | |
| In reply to: re: what's become of all the lesser known/newer William Finn musicals? - Chazwaza 06:16 pm EST 01/05/22 | |
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| I don’t quite follow your logic train: this thread was about why theaters wouldn’t produce four obscure musicals by William Finn, not why they wouldn’t produce *any* of them. Somehow, the goal posts moved. Of the shows he’s written, I would wager “Spelling Bee” gets done a lot. First off, it probably has the strongest name recognition to a general theater audience. It can be billed as “The Tony-winning Broadway hit”, it is a fun comedy, it has audience interaction, and it tells a heartwarming story of family. That ticks so many boxes. Then “Falsettos” is more niche, but it also won some Tonys, can be sold as a family story, a Jewish story, a gay story, and an AIDS story. The recent revival probably helped get it back in people’s consciousness, which could also make it an easier sell (though not an easy one) for the next five years. “A New Brain” might be sticky enough from the two cast albums to make it sellable to a more in-the-know theater crowd, and it also provides good roles to a variety of performers who may be local theater “celebrities”. I don’t know if it has the same hook as the other two, partly because the story isn’t as strong, but you could probably sell enough tickets to make it work. The other factor I left out is word of mouth. These shows could all generate good word of mouth, whereas the other Finn shows probably wouldn’t. They might excite some truly adventurous aficionados, but that won’t sell a run. |
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