I wholeheartedly believe Encores! was right in choosing THE LIFE. But they were wrong in going for huge rehaul that rendered the show nearly unrecognizable. There would have been nothing wrong with a semi-staged version that allowed the show to highlight its strongest suit, the score.
I am of the minority that finds Coleman's score a pretty good one. Sadly, the OBC does not do it justice. A fair amount of music is missing including Harold Wheeler's excellent dance orchestrations for "Hooker's Ball" as well as the dance interlude and conclusion to "My Body" that led straight into "Why Don't They Leave Us Alone". Why the score was not recorded intact I will never know.
Yes, the subject matter hasn't aged well through the lense of today but THE LIFE is hardly alone in that. It could and should have been addressed in another way that didn't vandalise what was salvagable from the original material.
Just my .02. |
