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| rising above mediocrity | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 01:24 pm EDT 05/21/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Some Like It Hot left us COLD - canbelto 12:36 pm EDT 05/21/23 | |
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| I would say that this isn't true -- many many great performers have risen above mediocre material, i think there's a long history of stars who can spin straw into gold. But it's also very hard for good material to rise above a mediocre performer. This is what happens all over the place when amateur companies put on a bad production of a good musical and the audience thinks the show isn't good. The material actually isn't mediocre, but it can't rise above the limits of the performers doing it. This is why I'm always hesitant to bring friends who don't know a musical to a production of it if I haven't seen it first. At least half the time it doesn't do the show or score justice at all. But a great song can be done badly by a mediocre performer, and a mediocre song can become gold when done by a great performer. And I think that's possibly happening in SLIH -- I think the material given to Sugar is generally good, and a performer who has effortless star quality and can act the role and bring star quality to it would be making a stronger case for the material than what we're seeing in SLIH. |
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| re: rising above mediocrity | |
| Posted by: AnObserver 11:00 am EDT 05/22/23 | |
| In reply to: rising above mediocrity - Chazwaza 01:24 pm EDT 05/21/23 | |
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| Someone I know has a theory about why there are so few actors with "star quality." Schools and universities discovered they could make money having a theatre department and therefore they grind out mediocre performers. But that's only part of the reason. And don't forget Mssrs. Prince and Sondheim only endured "stars." THEY wanted to be the stars. That's only part of the reason also. Television, internet, money, time, real estate greed, etc. Rudolf Bing said, "The problem with Madame Callas is that she is smart." !!! |
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| re: rising above mediocrity | |
| Posted by: champagnesalesman 12:24 am EDT 05/22/23 | |
| In reply to: rising above mediocrity - Chazwaza 01:24 pm EDT 05/21/23 | |
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| You are so right I remember seeing Elaine Stritch in a concert version of Sail Away and I left there thinking "what a good musical this is why isn't it ever done." . and a few years later Mel Miller did it at musicals tonight starring a woman with below zero star quality and the audience was clearly thinking "wow this show stinks no wonder nobody ever does it" i was the production not the show.. maybe when the lackluster Miss Hicks leaves the show a more charismatic Sugar might take over |
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| re: rising above mediocrity | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 05:25 pm EDT 05/22/23 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 05:20 pm EDT 05/22/23 | |
| In reply to: re: rising above mediocrity - champagnesalesman 12:24 am EDT 05/22/23 | |
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| I think it's more the material, the way the role has been reconceived, as Ms. Hicks actually has one of the strongest voices in the cast. But Sugar here has no real vulnerability, and the overpowering amplification doesn't help either. I saw the recent production of the Jule Styne-Bob Merrill "Sugar" and the more traditionally cast actress, along with the rest of the excellent cast there had better and stronger material which actually didn't rewrite the essence of the famous sex comedy that Billy Wilder and company wrote and filmed. | |
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