Threaded Order Chronological Order
| re: for the record, The Life had a lot of fans and major awards recognition ... | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 12:37 am EDT 03/16/22 | |
| In reply to: re: for the record, The Life had a lot of fans and major awards recognition ... - Chazwaza 09:26 pm EDT 03/15/22 | |
|
|
|
| Crazy For You isn’t a jukebox musical, it was a refusal of Girl Crazy. Even though it was much different story wise, it was using music written for the theatre. To me, a jukebox musical is when pop songs not written for the theater are shoehorned into a plot. My opinion. | |
| reply to this message |
| re: for the record, The Life had a lot of fans and major awards recognition ... | |
| Last Edit: Chazwaza 02:37 am EDT 03/16/22 | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 02:22 am EDT 03/16/22 | |
| In reply to: re: for the record, The Life had a lot of fans and major awards recognition ... - KingSpeed 12:37 am EDT 03/16/22 | |
|
|
|
| I think your opinion is basically wrong. You have decided it's defined as "shoe-horning", it is not automatically that. You have decided it's pop songs and ones not written for the theater... but if they are written for the theater just not for the show they're being put in, that's different and fine. And if they are pop songs from an era when different kinds of songs were popular, that's fine. So now we've had no one commenting on the relatively long run, the notable number of Tony noms, the beating out of other shows for those noms, and the wins from other awards... but we've explained why Jelly's Last Jam isn't a normal "jukebox", and how Crazy For You is better than or not the same as other "jukebox musicals" ... ok, those won. They are both top tier examples of musicals without original scores written for their shows that competed against and won against other original musicals. Jelly's being even more notable an exception because of the new lyrics etc. Nonetheless... the 9 other examples of nominated "jukebox" musicals from before 1997, and the 2 in question that could have been nominated in 1997, remain. Do you think the creators of Play On or Dream intended for their shows not to be taken seriously as "Best Musical" material the way the 9 other (of the 11) less brilliant "jukebox" musicals who got nominated for Best Musical were? Do you think they just "shoe horned pop songs" into a random plot? Do you also not think Crazy For You is just re-using of very basic and familiar plots/scenes with songs taken mostly from shows written at a time when musicals weren't so complicated or book-dependent, but done well? Whatever you think, the fact remains The Life was chosen over those 2 1997 musicals in question (among at least one other major musical that year with an original score and a lot of fans). You guys can pick all you want on these little things. The point is that The Life wasn't nominated for Musical, let alone Score or Book or Direction, because there was nothing else to nominate, original musical or musical *with songs not written for the show they're now in* so they had to nominate this show they all thought was a flaming pile of trash. Flaws and all, it was nominated largely because people thought it was worthwhile, and presumably amounted to more good than bad. It won things because people thought it was good, and presumably better than other things. My point was that 2 other musicals eligible for the big award and other nominations that they didn't get but The Life did, like Play On and Dream, weren't automatically dismissed as candidates for Best Musical because they were what I've called "jukebox" (meaning a musical with a score made up of songs not written for the show they're now in)... they obviously seemed to think The Life was a better musical or made up of more good than bad than was Play On or Dream or Jekyll & Hyde... since they've been fine nominating similar shows in the past. |
|
| reply to this message |
| By the way, the Oxford Dictionary has this definition of "jukebox musical" | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 07:07 am EDT 03/16/22 | |
| In reply to: re: for the record, The Life had a lot of fans and major awards recognition ... - Chazwaza 02:22 am EDT 03/16/22 | |
|
|
|
| Dictionary Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more juke·box mu·si·cal noun noun: jukebox musical; plural noun: jukebox musicals a musical that features hit songs of a popular music group or genre. "a jukebox musical featuring the best rock songs of the 1980s" |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: for the record, The Life had a lot of fans and major awards recognition ... | |
| Last Edit: KingSpeed 07:03 am EDT 03/16/22 | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 07:02 am EDT 03/16/22 | |
| In reply to: re: for the record, The Life had a lot of fans and major awards recognition ... - Chazwaza 02:22 am EDT 03/16/22 | |
|
|
|
| First of all, I meant "revisal," not refusal. Auto-correct. And I stand by my definition of jukebox musical. I said nothing about Jelly's Last Jam or The Life in my post so I don't know why you brought them into it. I never said anything anything about a show being "different and fine." I didn't even judge jukebox musicals as being a bad thing. And I never said Crazy For You was better than anything. I never even mentioned "Play On" or "Dream" (which is a revue, not a jukebox musical, by the way)._ After going off the rails, you even started attacking "you guys" and you were no longer responding to my post. Read my post. Then read yours. Have you lost your mind??? | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: for the record, The Life had a lot of fans and major awards recognition ... | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 07:32 pm EDT 03/16/22 | |
| In reply to: re: for the record, The Life had a lot of fans and major awards recognition ... - KingSpeed 07:02 am EDT 03/16/22 | |
|
|
|
| Your post is part of a thread. Read the thread. My mind is quite found, thanks. |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| I don't really mean "Have you lost your mind???" | |
| Last Edit: KingSpeed 07:28 am EDT 03/16/22 | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 07:25 am EDT 03/16/22 | |
| In reply to: re: for the record, The Life had a lot of fans and major awards recognition ... - KingSpeed 07:02 am EDT 03/16/22 | |
|
|
|
| I was just trying to convey that your anger at me was misplaced. You clearly have a lot of passion for The Life and want to defend it with all you have. Personally, I enjoyed The Life. I saw it twice. I love "My Body." Fun number. Oh and I don't consider "shoehorning" a bad thing either. The fun of Mamma Mia's book is about how they shoehorn the songs into the story. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| Chazwaza - I love your passion for this show | |
| Posted by: standingO 01:59 pm EDT 03/16/22 | |
| In reply to: I don't really mean "Have you lost your mind???" - KingSpeed 07:25 am EDT 03/16/22 | |
|
|
|
| I keep thinking of the line in "My Body": "I know what I'm doing, I know who I am If you got a problem, I don't give a damn" To your point, THE LIFE lead Tony nominations in 1997. 12! It seemed like the favorite in May, although no show was a lock. (STEEL PIER had 11 noms; the real Tony favorite was the revival of CHICAGO). My memory is Rosie's love for TITANIC helped bolster support for that show and helped it win. (I enjoyed TITANIC, but it's pre-Broadway buzz (from Riedel maybe?) was so bad that there was a sense it may be a disaster). Also, THE LIFE's Tony number is one of the few times when the performance mattered for sales. I remember talking to an usher after the Tonys and they said sales picked up after the "My Body" number aired. I wouldn't be surprised if THE LIFE's year-long run was sustained by interest due to that performance. Ah, 1997 Broadway. When Riedel and Rosie mattered nearly as much as Brantley and jukebox-based/movie-based musicals weren't as ubiquitous. Does anyone still wear a hat? |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Chazwaza - I love your passion for this show | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 03:53 pm EDT 03/16/22 | |
| In reply to: Chazwaza - I love your passion for this show - standingO 01:59 pm EDT 03/16/22 | |
|
|
|
| The spring of 1997 was such an odd time. There was all this anticipation for a slew of new musicals that would be opening. I mean, come on...a new Maury Yeston musical (TITANIC), a new Kander and Ebb musical (STEEL PIER) and a new Cy Coleman musical (THE LIFE) not only opening in the same season, but all opening that spring. People were vibrating with excitement. The well-received revivals of CHICAGO and 1776 had opened and both were transferring into commercial runs. It was shaping up to be a spectacular end of the season. And then...well...all these shows actually opened. And none of them got the rave reviews. All the reviews were kind of ho hum and shoulder shrugging. TITANIC became a hit of sorts because Rosie O'Donnell liked it and promoted it pretty heavily on her show. In fact, it featured in the animated opening credits. And it later won Best Musical. I felt bad for Manhattan Theatre Club that spring because they'd opened a pretty good little musical down at the old Variety Arts Theatre called THE GREEN HEART (based on a film called A NEW LEAF), with a score by Rusty Magee and a starring turn from Magee's wife, Alison Fraser. THE GREEN HEART couldn't attract press or audiences for love or money because of all the anticipation for the shows opening on Broadway. And, to be honest, that show didn't get strong reviews either (but no better or worse than the shows uptown got), but the creative team kept working on the show and it became a very special little jewel over the course of its run. But no one saw it and no cast album was made. And it disappeared just like THE LIFE and STEEL PIER would. But, at least, those got cast albums. |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Chazwaza - I love your passion for this show | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 01:18 am EDT 03/17/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Chazwaza - I love your passion for this show - JereNYC 03:53 pm EDT 03/16/22 | |
|
|
|
| I saw THE GREEN HEART twice. Ruth Williamson had a showstopper in it. Remember that? Something like “The Easy Life.” | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Chazwaza - I love your passion for this show | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 07:40 pm EDT 03/16/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Chazwaza - I love your passion for this show - JereNYC 03:53 pm EDT 03/16/22 | |
|
|
|
| That's a shame, I've never heard of The Green Heart! Obviously because of what you said and the lack of cast album. I feel endless sympathy for the creators and cast of any musical that doesn't get a cast album ... it's nearly impossible to have a life after the premiere production without one. And even if a show is rarely produced and flops, if the score has quality or potential, the album gives the writers a calling card to help lead to other notable projects. How sad. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
Time to render: 0.028197 seconds.