LOG IN / REGISTER




re: FWIW, I think Ben Platt has much more box office power currently than Tony Danza did for Honeymoon in Vegas
Posted by: lordofspeech 09:23 am EST 12/24/22
In reply to: re: FWIW, I think Ben Platt has much more box office power currently than Tony Danza did for Honeymoon in Vegas - Delvino 09:05 am EST 12/24/22

I feel the same way and might not see it just because of what it sounds like. The destruction of an innocent by a society? Not the stuff to bring me to the theatre. I’ll go see The Diary of Anne Frank or Man of La Mancha, but the focus there is on the transcendent power of the spirit, not on the trampling of the protagonist.

This evokes an old, classic discussion. What makes tragedy? Is Death of a Salesman a tragedy? Can a tragedy (like Troilus and Cressida) really work or be a commercial success unless its hero is uplifted or ennobled by the struggle (as per Josh Logan’s paradigm)? Aristotle wrote about the qualities needed for a protagonist.

But Sweeney Todd is a different kettle of fish. He is not really a protagonist. You can’t root for him. SPOILER about Sweeney Todd:

At least, for me, I am quite distanced from the Sweeney story, even though its eleven o’clock storyline revelation does send chills up my spine.
reply

Previous: re: FWIW, I think Ben Platt has much more box office power currently than Tony Danza did for Honeymoon in Vegas - Delvino 09:05 am EST 12/24/22
Next: re: FWIW, I think Ben Platt has much more box office power currently than Tony Danza did for Honeymoon in Vegas - bway1430 09:50 am EST 12/24/22
Thread:

Privacy Policy


Time to render: 0.024799 seconds.