Musical Cyberspace

A Chain of Musicals: SWEENEY TODD

Posted on January 2, 2012 by David Fick

To purchase the Original Broadway Cast Recording of SWEENEY TODD, click on the image above.

In January, Musical Cyberspace is going to work through a chain of musicals. This is how it works: each day I will discuss, in brief, a musical linked to the previous day’s musical by some kind of common ground. It follows then, that if you – dear reader – liked the previous day’s show, then you might enjoy the current day’s show. Comments, as alway, are welcome!

If you like Marie Christine, then you might like Sweeney Todd.

Like Marie Christine, Stephen Sondheim and Hugh WheelerSweeney Todd is a revenge drama told using an excellent score. Both shows dust off an old legend and present them for a contemporary audience, although Sweeney Todd is a far more literal adaptation of its source material.

Sweeney Todd tells the story of Benjamin Barker, who returns to London from an unjust prison sentence in Australia imposed by a judge who lusts after his wife. Assuming a new identity, he hopes to return to his wife and daughter, but discovers – thanks to Mrs Lovett, the owner of a local pie shop, that his wife poisoned herself, leaving his daughter in the care of the same judge who raped his wife and sent him off to jail. The play tells the tale of how he exacts his revenge upon the judge, a path that leads to breakdowns, epiphanies, murder and cannibalism. Highlights include “The Worst Pies in London”, “Johanna”, “Epiphany”, “Pretty Women”, “A Little Priest” and “By the Sea”.

Marie Christine is a phenomenal musical, one of the best ever written. It’s brilliantly plotted and the manner in which Sweeney himself is reconceived as a tragic hero rather than a murderous avenger straight out of melodrama is a masterstroke. Tim Burton’s film adaptation largely missed out on the tragedy and heaped on the melodrama, which was an unfortunate misstep. Thankfully, a filming of the tour of Harold Prince’s brilliant original production of the show, featuring original cast member Angela Lansbury, is available for all to see.

So, now it’s time to share your thoughts on Sweeney Todd. And what shows would you suggest to fans of this show? See which one we’ll feature here tomorrow…

Posted in Hugh Wheeler, Michael John LaChiusa, Stephen Sondheim | Tagged Angela Lansbury, Harold Prince, Hugh Wheeler, Marie Christine, Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd | Leave a comment

A Chain of Musicals: MARIE CHRISTINE

Posted on January 1, 2012 by David Fick

To purchase the Original Broadway Cast Recording of MARIE CHRISTINE, click on the image above.

We’re going to start with one of my favourite shows by Michael John LaChiusa: Marie Christine.

Marie Christine transposes the action of the Greek tragedy, Medea, into 1890s New Orleans and Chicago and combines that narrative with the voodoo-infused myths surrounding Marie Laveau and her daughter. The show tells the story of how Marie meets Dante Keyes, and how she exacts her revenge upon him when he leaves her for another woman. Highlights include “Beautiful”, “Way Back to Paradise”, “I Don’t Hear the Ocean”, “Bird Inside the House” and “We’re Gonna Go to Chicago”.

Marie Christine is brilliant, brilliant, brilliant – one of the greatest musicals of the 1990s. It’s intricate, sophisticated and complex. The first act is just about perfect and the second is almost as good. The premise works brilliantly and is executed with style: the music is incredibly lush and the lyrics, by turn, thrilling filled with profound observations that originate from the characters and the setting, but which are strongly resonant even today. Simply put, it’s a perfect example of excellent contemporary musical theatre.

So, now it’s time to share your thoughts on Marie Christine. And what shows would you suggest to fans of this show? See which one we’ll feature here tomorrow…

Posted in Michael John LaChiusa | Tagged Marie Christine, Medea, Michael John LaChiusa | Leave a comment

Double Take December: ONCE ON THIS ISLAND

Posted on December 31, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Original Broadway Cast Recording of ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, click on the image above.

It’s Double Take December at Musical Cyberspace! Every musical pretty much has something one likes and something one doesn’t in it. This month I’ll be listing one of each for a range of musicals, a different one each day.

Once On This Island

Something I Like: The show also has a score that carries you away: like the best work by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, it’s packed with beauty and emotion. (Of course, there is a slight compromise made because of that – see the following paragraph.) I also like that Ahrens offers the option of alternative lines to allow for multi-ethnic stagings of the show. People probably would have done it anyway, but at least the show retains its integrity this way. An admirable, pro-active decision.

Something I Don’t Like: I’m not sure the framework is fully realised, although it comes to an emotional conclusion in “Why We Tell the Story”. But is catharsis really all there is to the story told in Once on This Island? Can a world that is not separated by race and class emerge out of that catharsis? Surely that hope is a major part of telling the story too, more so that it is acknowledged in the show’s concluding number? Otherwise, what hope is there for a small girl crying in fear because of thunderous skies?

Feel free to share your “double take” on Once On This Island in the comment box!

Posted in Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty | Tagged Lynn Ahrens, Once on this Island, Stephen Flaherty | Leave a comment

Double Take December: I DO! I DO!

Posted on December 30, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Original Broadway Cast Recording of I DO! I DO!, click on the image above.

I Do! I Do!

Something I Like: I Do! I Do! birngs to realisation a clever concept that still has the potential to offer a pleasant evening’s entertainment, thanks to some delightful songs by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt. I would like to see it revived sometime, although it would have to be with a top-notch cast and an incredibly resourceful diretor. (I have to admit, though, that I I would probably prefer to see a brand new adaptation of the source material, since… well, see below.)

Something I Don’t Like: Although this show was never a first-rate musical, it’s even harder to make the show play now. Gower Champion’s original staging helped elevate the material beyond its limitations, the stars bolstered the whole affair with their own public personae, and the nostalgia for the past represented by the play held the attention of a whole generation of Americans as their world was changing around them. After all, just a few years later, Company would explore some the themes here more incisively and, even more recently, The Last Five Years took on the same themes using an ingenious structure to discover their relevance in a (post-)modern context. Placed alongside those two shows, does I Do! I Do! truly hold its own?

Feel free to share your “double take” on I Do! I Do! in the comment box!

Posted in Harvey Schmidt, Tom Jones | Tagged Company, Gower Champion, Harvey Schmidt, I Do! I Do!, The Last Five Years, Tom Jones | Leave a comment

Double Take December: SHERRY!

Posted on December 29, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Studio Cast Recording of SHERRY!, click on the image above.

Sherry!

Something I Like: I like that it gave us one of the greatest behind-the-scenes stories in musical theatre. After the original production, it was thought that the score was lost because it was assumed that it was accidentally sent along with the set to be burned. More than 30 years after that, the score was discovered in a trunk at the Library of Congress, leading to a starry studio recording of the show. Isn’t that just something?

Something I Don’t Like: The reputation of Sherry! is based on the popularity of the starry cast recording made when the score was re-discovered and with those great performances comes a inflated sense of how well the show works. The problem is that James Lipton and Laurence Rosenthal’s.songs get in the way of the action contrived by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart for their play, The Man Who Came to Dinner. One wonders how the show might have ended up with a more well-established team crafting the score, or perhaps a team that avoided “opening up” the play too much. There’s also the title: Sherry! makes the show sound like its going to be one of those 1920s Cinderella musicals, when it should be so much more.

Feel free to share your “double take” on Sherry in the comment box!

Posted in James Lipton, Laurence Rosenthal | Tagged George S. Kaufman, James Lipton, Laurence Rosenthal, Moss Hart, Sherry! | Leave a comment

Double Take December: HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING

Posted on December 28, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Broadway Revival Cast Recording of HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, click on the image above.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Something I Like: I really love “Brotherhood of Man”. It is one of Frank Loesser’s most memorable numbers and I adore too the rearranged version from the 1990s revival of the show.

Something I Don’t Like: What was perhaps sharp satire in 1961 is less so now. What was once Pulitzer-worthy is now simply pleasant. (Does that mean that in fact it was perhaps not Pulitzer-worthy in the first place? Or does it mean that the worth of a Pulizter is only transient?) Anyway, the point is that office life has changed a great deal, parituclarly in the past decade with the rise of the digital age. Sure there is still relevance in Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert’s book, but some of the satire is dated because that which is satirised no longer penetrates the general public consciousness. This is perhaps why the current revival of the show has had to depend on its star player to keep things running. It’s probably wise to remember that without Daniel Radcliffe in the central role, the revival might never have happened in the first place.

Feel free to share your “double take” on How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in the comment box!

Posted in Abe Burrows, Frank Loesser, Jack Weinstock, Willie Gilbert | Tagged Abe Burrows, Daniel Radcliffe, Frank Loesser, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Jack Weinstock, Willie Gilbert | Leave a comment

Double Take December: FANNY

Posted on December 27, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Original Broadway Cast Recording of FANNY, click on the image above.

Fanny

Something I Like: The title always makes me smile. In all seriousness, there is something about his show that draws you in – perhaps it is its restful, romantic tone. It’s the kind of thing you’d like to see Bartlett Sher revive and lovingly recraft, with Marion Cotillard in the title role. That might be wonderful and he might be able to find the vital pulse of the show, something that the recent Encores! reading didn’t seem to achieve.

Something I Don’t Like: I hate that the film adaptation eliminated the songs, relegating Harold Rome’s score to the background. Joshua Logan, who directed the film, certainly looked after Samuel Behrman’s and his own interests as writers of the book.

Feel free to share your “double take” on Fanny in the comment box!

Posted in Harold Rome, Joshua Logan, Samuel Behrman | Tagged Bartlett Sher, Harold Rome, Joshua Logan, Marion Cotillard, Samuel Behrman | Leave a comment

Double Take December: CARNIVAL

Posted on December 26, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Original Broadway Cast Recording of CARNIVAL, click on the image above.

Carnival

Something I Like: I love the story, and the fact of the matter is that Bob Merrill and Michael Stewart’s Carnival is a very pleasant show, with moments that are simply enchanting. I like that Jerry Orbach was in the original cast, a perfect piece of casting. I would have loved to see the Encores! concert production with Anne Hathaway and it might have been interesting to see her in a film of the show when she was age appropriate for the part.

Something I Don’t Like: I’m not convinced that I find the show as moving as Lili, its inspiration. I am also not aure that I like the title: it’s a change like that from Liliom to Carousel, but without the gained symbolism and resonance.

Feel free to share your “double take” on Carnival in the comment box!

Posted in Bob Merrill, Michael Stewart | Tagged Anne Hathaway, Bob Merrill, Carnival, Carousel, Jerry Orbach, Lili, Liliom, Michael Stewart | Leave a comment

Double Take December: SUNSET BOULEVARD

Posted on December 25, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Original London Cast Recording of SUNSET BOULEVARD, click on the image above.

Sunset Boulevard

Something I Like: “As If We Never Said Goodbye” is a marvelous number that truly extends what is little more than a close-up of Norma’s face in the film. Close-ups being impossible in that way unless you’re using multimedia in the theatre, the song fills in the complexity of what Norma is feeling at that moment. Cinematic techniques give way to theatrical ones and a classic diva moment of the musical theatre is born.

Something I Don’t Like: I don’t like that people malign the show because it is such a straightforward adaptation of the piece. I don’t think there would be any point in adapting it any other way and I think it was a very valid choice on the part of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black, Christopher Hampton and Amy Powers (in what limited capacity she had in the final product). That said, I think the musical does have a very different feel to the film in spite of its narrative mimeticism and the emotional journey of each is different to the other.

Feel free to share your “double take” on Sunset Boulevard in the comment box!

Posted in Amy Powers, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Christopher Hampton, Don Black | Tagged Amy Powers, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Christopher Hampron, Don Black, Sunset Boulevard | 2 Comments

Double Take December: A TALE OF TWO CITIES

Posted on December 24, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording of A TALE OF TWO CITIES, click on the image above.

A Tale of Two Cities

Something I Like: Jill Santoriello’s tenacity in seeing this musical through from conception to a Broadway production. It’s nothing short of astounding that she achieved what she did considering the overall quality of the show itself.

Something I Don’t Like: On that note, it’s sad that the show is something of a Frank Wildhorn knockoff. I also don’t like the fact that the recession at the time of the show’s premiere has become the official scapegoat for the show’s commercial failure. While this may offer those who had money invested in the show some comfort, it doesn’t excuse the fact that the show simply isn’t the compelling piece of work it should be given the pedigree of its source material.

Feel free to share your “double take” on A Tale of Two Cities in the comment box!

Posted in Jill Santoriello | Tagged A Tale of Two Cities, Jill Santoriello | 4 Comments