I think, as do many of its fans, it is one of the more notable and sensationally entertaining scores written for a not very good (or perhaps even downright bad) musical, and deserves to shine in a semi-staged concert wherein the point is to celebrate a good score (written by a legendary broadway composer) in a show that is rarely produced
Some Encores shows the musical is rarely produced for good reason, some it's rarely produced and deserves to be widely produced... the reason the show is "lost" isn't so much the point as just that it is, and it has a score worth dusting off and giving the royal treatment to for 6 performances with a full orchestra and top tier cast.
I agree with the rest of what you said, but to equate The Life with Tap Dance Kid as shows "no one" really wanted to see... is not accurate.
I have never ever been recommended to listen to the cast album of Tap Dance Kid, let alone found it myself. I have talked to MANY fans of The Life's score over the years, and I think many find it a fascinating failure more than one to be outrightly dismissed and never thought of again. Billy isn't the only one who wishes the show around the score were better.
Encores should have produced a semi-staged concert of The Life, with the score as it was written.
Or the revised version (revised by the authors I believe, right?) that was done in London. |
