| It's all gone backwards | |
| Last Edit: Singapore/Fling 07:50 pm EDT 08/25/22 | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 07:49 pm EDT 08/25/22 | |
| In reply to: re: I think there is a conundrum... the one I laid out. ;) - Chazwaza 06:04 pm EDT 08/25/22 | |
|
|
|
| I've only had the chance to see the revised version, so I can't really compare that to the original text. And I do agree that the current form is very much a soap opera, which is one of the main reasons why the characters become rather one-dimensional except when they sing. Meeting people at a low point can be interesting, but generally when that happens, we're given a crash course on how they reached that point, and we're also given facets of them that are appealing/redeeming, so that we can understand who they were at their best. In the current "Merrily", we don't really get that - we just get people being mean to each other for 30 minutes. But then, I also don't buy the central tragedy of this current Merrily, which softens my sympathy for all of them. Despite what Mary and Charly believe, Frank was never that deep or compelling of a writer (in this version), nor is his turn to Hollywood such a hollow, shallow betrayal of his abilities ("Rich and Happy" made the case for that when the movie was bad and Frank was high on fame, but "That Frank" tells us the movie is potentially pretty good and Frank has achieved his goals). Frank's a fine writer of popular musicals who has become a fine maker of popular films and also discovered happiness to boot... and his best friends are angry at him? They're bitter because he, what, is enjoying his life? It's a tough pill to swallow, and I don't think Furth's reliance upon easy laughs (What do I do? I *really* drink) provides the gravitas that the show would need to pull me in to their problems. So in that sense, when we finally get to Beth in the new version, she's a sigh of relief, because she is the first adult I've seen on stage who has emotional maturity and an ability to handle her own problems. |
|
| reply | |
|
|
|
| Previous: | re: I think there is a conundrum... the one I laid out. ;) - Chromolume 12:23 pm EDT 08/26/22 |
| Next: | re: It's all gone backwards - Chazwaza 05:42 am EDT 08/26/22 |
| Thread: |
|
Time to render: 0.010832 seconds.