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| re: MUSIC MAN Last Night — It's Really All That | |
| Posted by: dsikula 02:31 am EST 01/20/22 | |
| In reply to: MUSIC MAN Last Night — It's Really All That - Clancy 08:29 am EST 01/19/22 | |
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| I, too, was there Tuesday night, and thought it was dreadful. The cast is game and mostly doing their best, but it felt like they'd slashed the book to the bare minimum just to give the numbers some kind of context, then filled those numbers with unnecessary dancing that makes no sense. There's no build; just everyone rushing like they had to get out of the building by 10:00. I felt no chemistry between Harold and Marian (I can't speak to whatever chemistry Jackman and Foster may have), since she just seems angry until the end of Act One, then warms with no real preparation. The rest of the cast -- Mays and Mullin excepted -- were ciphers, as (surprisingly to me) even Hensley and Houdyshell did nothing, though they had little to work with (though the former was not helped by the new lyrics for "Shipoopi)." Even the new orchestrations seemed thin. Not surprisingly, though, the audience went bananas. I guess if you go in expecting Hugh Jackman in "The Music Man," this is what you will probably want and get. In the words of Abraham Lincoln, "Those who like this sort of thing will find this is the sort of thing they like." |
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| re: MUSIC MAN Last Night — It's Really All That | |
| Last Edit: Roman 08:34 am EST 01/20/22 | |
| Posted by: Roman 08:31 am EST 01/20/22 | |
| In reply to: re: MUSIC MAN Last Night — It's Really All That - dsikula 02:31 am EST 01/20/22 | |
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| I have to agree. The whole thing felt completely uninspired. It’s a favorite of mine and I’ve never been disappointed in or bored by a production— until now. There’s nothing new or even exciting here. Just Hugh Jackman. Playing Hugh Jackman. That’s not quite enough. And the added and extended dance numbers add nothing to the story and grow tiresome midway through the second act. How they could screw this up is beyond me. It just feels like a missed opportunity. What could have been gumbo or a robust minestrone is cream of potato. |
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| re: MUSIC MAN Last Night — It's Really All That | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 09:53 am EST 01/20/22 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 09:52 am EST 01/20/22 | |
| In reply to: re: MUSIC MAN Last Night — It's Really All That - Roman 08:31 am EST 01/20/22 | |
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| If there's one consistent complaint -- and I've followed reports since the first preview -- it's this new focus on extended dance sequences, apparently with dance breaks added or heightened. It's not clear why they don't work, or rather, why they weigh the evening improperly; does it really feel as if the book material is shortchanged? Do the dances lack specificity? Or does it feel as if a town that doesn't have reason to physicalize emotion suddenly expresses itself via by moving to music? I can't figure out if it's the choreography or not encouraging the suspension of disbelief. In a preponderance of American musicals -- other than in dream ballets or the like -- dance is organic to the moment, tied to a circumstance that could be illustrated with dance. Music Man's tempi certainly suggest dance can work. But is it too little attention to the book scenes that's causing this imbalance? Can anyone elaborate? It's the first such critique I've read of any show. | |
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| re: MUSIC MAN Last Night — It's Really All That | |
| Posted by: dsikula 02:28 am EST 01/21/22 | |
| In reply to: re: MUSIC MAN Last Night — It's Really All That - Delvino 09:52 am EST 01/20/22 | |
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| I found the book shortchanged in that, other than Harold and Marian, no one's characters go beyond a quick sketch (not that they're deeply developed in the first place ...), but you'd really never know about the whole Tommy/Zaneeta thing without paying close attention and the Marcellus/Harold relation is pretty much "Greg!" "Marcellus! You're here?" "There's a pool table!" and we're into "Trouble." I thought the most "egregious" of the dance sequences were "Trouble," "Seventy-Six Trombones," and "Marian the Librarian," where the River Citizenians are almost immediately dancing in unison, with no needing to be persuaded by Harold. I wouldn't have minded them so much had there been some storytelling or development, but they're big production numbers from the get-go, unlike Onna White's lovely character-based work in the movie (and, I assume, in the original). |
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| re: MUSIC MAN Last Night — It's Really All That | |
| Posted by: Ann 09:54 am EST 01/20/22 | |
| In reply to: re: MUSIC MAN Last Night — It's Really All That - Delvino 09:52 am EST 01/20/22 | |
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| I'm also wondering if the running time is much longer with this revival. | |
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| re: MUSIC MAN Last Night — It's Really All That | |
| Posted by: dsikula 02:19 am EST 01/21/22 | |
| In reply to: re: MUSIC MAN Last Night — It's Really All That - Ann 09:54 am EST 01/20/22 | |
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| It wasn't noticeably, in that the extensions in the dance sequences were made up for by the cuts in the book. | |
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