Musical Cyberspace

Double Take December: ANYONE CAN WHISTLE

Posted on December 13, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Original Broadway Cast Recording of ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, 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.

Anyone Can Whistle

Something I Like: I really like the fact that Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim’s Anyone Can Whistle and was allowed an original cast recording. The world would be a poorer place without Angela Lansbury’s recording of “Me and My Town”. And of course, the rest of the score is filled with gems too, from the heart-wrenching title tune and the inspiring “Everybody Says Don’t” to the charming “Come Play Wiz Me” and the once cut and now restored “There Won’t Be Trumpets”.

Something I Don’t Like: It seems clear to me that everyone was trying to be so clever with Anyone Can Whistle and all that ‘creativity’
was ultimately at the expense of the show. It also seems apparent to me that there is some pride held by its creators that the show is – to myth – unfixable, when what was really unfixable was Laurents’s hubris and everyone’s attempts to satirise absolutely everything between the rise and fall of the curtain. There’s nothing in Anyone Can Whistle that a good does of focus and self-discipline couldn’t have fixed.

Feel free to share your “double take” on Anyone Can Whistle in the comment box!

Posted in Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim | Tagged Angela Lansbury, Anyone Can Whistle, Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim | Leave a comment

Double Take December: SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE

Posted on December 12, 2011 by David Fick

Today’s musical is Sunday in the Park with George.

Something I Like: James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George is great theatre and there is much to admire in it. “Sunday” is one of the most thrillingly beautiful numbers to appear in a musical ever. “We Do Not Belong Together” is one of the most heartbreaking numbers to appear in a musical ever. The first act offers pure catharsis on an epic scale. Brilliant stuff.

Something I Don’t Like: I understand completely why the second act is there. I find some of the second act just as moving as the first. But it doesn’t work as well: the section dealing with the Chromolume feels a bit clunky to me and then the resolution comes just too easily for me to buy it wholesale. Fortunately the reprise of “Sunday” largely manages to distract one from that because it is, as it was in Act I, such a beautiful piece of music.

Feel free to share your “double take” on Sunday in the Park with George in the comment box!

Posted in 30 Day Challenges | Tagged James Lapine, Stephen Sondheim, Sunday in the Park With George | 1 Comment

Double Take December: HONK!

Posted on December 11, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Original Demo Recording of HONK, click on the image above.

Honk

Something I Like: The most attractive thing about George Stiles and Anthony Drewe’s Honk! is its sweet sincerity. The score is solid and serves the story well. And it is a super family show, well balanced for the consumption of both parents and children. It’s an excellent musical for a family audience.

Something I Don’t Like: The bottom line is that Honk! is a piece of children’s theatre that tries to compete with the big boys. Maybe one day it will find its niche as the animated film it should be. (I’d say Don Bluth would be a perfect match for the piece, but Disney isn’t the first rank animation studio they once were, so perhaps it would be a nice step back to glory for them. As long as it’s traditionally animated, and not CGI.)

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

Posted in Anthony Drewe, George Stiles | Tagged Anthony Drewe, Disney, Don Bluth, George Stiles, Honk | Leave a comment

Double Take December: THE BOOK OF MORMON

Posted on December 10, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Original Broadway Cast Recording of THE BOOK OF MORMON, click on the image above.

The Book of Mormon

Something I Like: What first attracted me to this show is its score and that is still the top thing about it for me. Yes, there are times when the lyrics could be more meticulously crafted, but the score is a great listen and bears repeat plays with ease. I also like how the credit for book, music and lyrics is collectively attributed to Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone: a sign of true collaboration!

Something I Don’t Like: The book falls apart a bit in the second act. Not in terms of narrative or drive or energy, all of which it offers in droves. It’s in the way that it’s done, with scenes becoming more and more like mere setups for the songs rather than finding the best way to tell the story in collaboration with the score.

Feel free to share your “double take” on The Book of Mormon in the comment box!

Posted in Matt Stone, Robert Lopez, Trey Parker | Tagged Matt Stone, Robert Lopez, The Book of Mormon, Trey Parker | 1 Comment

Double Take December: FINIAN’S RAINBOW

Posted on December 9, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Broadway Revival Cast Recording of FINIAN'S RAINBOW, click on the image above.

Finian’s Rainbow

Something I Like: There are some brilliant songs in Burton Lane and E.Y. Harburg’s score, “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?”, “Look to the Rainbow”, “Old Devil Moon” and “That Great Come-and-Get-It-Day” among them. I also really like that they found a way to make the controversial “race switch” work in the recent Broadway revival of the show: the elimination of blackface for the change of the senator’s race snapped the show’s satire into clear focus. Finally, the revival starred Cheyenne Jackson, which means that at any point during its run, Finian’s Rainbow starred one of the most talented leading men on Broadway – and most certainly the one that was the hottest!

Something I Don’t Like: E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy’s book is all over the place. Finding a balance between whimsical romance and political satire is never easy, and the pair didn’t manage to craft a book that matches the brilliant score.

Feel free to share your “double take” on Finian’s Rainbow in the comment box!

Posted in Burton Lane, EY Harburg, Fred Saidy | Tagged Burton Lane, EY Harburg, Finian's Rainbow, Fred Saidy | Leave a comment

Double Take December: 1776

Posted on December 8, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Broadway Revival Cast Recording of 1776, click on the image above.

1776

Something I Like: I like that nothing silly happened to even further cement the already overrated reputation of this show – like winning the Pulitzer Prize. How’s that for something nice?

Something I Don’t Like: I personally find Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone’s 1776 a bit of a snooze. There is no appeal in it for me whatsoever and I don’t really like the score at all. It’s popularity has always baffled me and I’ve always thought it must be an American thing that I just didn’t get.

Feel free to share what your “double take” on 1776 in the comment box!

Posted in Peter Stone, Sherman Edwards | Tagged 1776, Peter Stone, Sherman Edwards | 1 Comment

Double Take December: THE COLOR PURPLE

Posted on December 7, 2011 by David Fick

The OBCR of THE COLOR PURPLE.

The Color Purple

Something I Like: I love the three gossips, Doris, Darlene, and Jarene, and my favourite of their links is “A Tree Named Sofia”. They are hysterical. And there are parts of Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray’s score that I really enjoy: the cute “Huckleberry Pie” song; the ambitious expository song, “Mysterious Ways”; the moving little snippet of music and lyrics, “Somebody Gonna Love You”; the Celie-Shug duet, “What About Love?”; and the catchy “Push Da Button” are just some of these.

Something I Don’t Like: For some reason, the musical version of The Color Purple doesn’t move me in the same way that either the book or the film do. There’s just something missing. Marsha Norman’s book seems to hold things together well enough, so I suspect the problem is in the score. There’s some great music in this show, but so much of it seems to be composed around the key moments in the narrative, rather than hitting all of the moments square on.

Feel free to share your “double take” on The Color Purple in the comment box!

Posted in Fun Stuff | Tagged Allee Willis, Brenda Russell, Marsha Norman, Stephen Bray, The Color Purple | Leave a comment

Double Take December: RAGTIME

Posted on December 6, 2011 by David Fick

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

Ragtime

Something I Like: I love Ragtime. The show has a fantastic score by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and Terrence McNally manages to juggle its multiple narratives mostly successfully. That said, I think what I would like to highlight today is how much I adored all aspects of the original staging. In particular, I’d like to praise the phenomenal things that Graciela Daniele did with the musical staging and choreography of that production. If that production hadn’t basically paying for all of Livent’s costs, then it might have been the success it deserved to be. Even with all those extra expenses, the show kept its head above water for 2 years and was not the failure that the marketing team for the recent revival made it out to be in an attempt to advance their own cause.

Something I Don’t Like: I don’t have many specific quibbles with Ragtime that spring to mind. I’d have to sit with the show again and have a more thorough look. If I was pressed to name one thing in particular, it would be that it is sometimes easy to lose track of Mother’s Younger Brother’s journey, particularly because of how dominant the Coalhouse/Sarah narrative becomes. Thus, I do wish that the character featured just a little more in the score, which is where I think the fault lies.

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

Posted in Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, Terence McNally | Tagged Lynn Ahrens, Ragtime, Stephen Flaherty, Terrence McNally | 1 Comment

Double Take December: ROCK OF AGES

Posted on December 5, 2011 by David Fick

The cast album cover of ROCK OF AGES

Rock of Ages

Something I Like: Look, I’m just going to say it straight out. I have very little affection for Rock of Ages, so finding something I like about it is tough. In fact, Liza Minnelli’s interaction with the cast at the Tony Awards ceremony during their performance on that show is really the thing I like best about this show. OK, all right, I also like some of the songs that were used in the show and I suppose that Chris D’Arienzo’s book is at least a step ahead of We Will Rock You. And to be fair, it has moments where you can get lost in the funny wildness of the show.

Something I Don’t Like: It’s just not my cup of tea. Although they try to get all meta-theatrical about it, the show is just another jukebox musical in a sea of jukebox musicals. Funny wildness is all very well, but what else does this show really have to offer? Of course, none of this means that I won’t see the film the day its released. I’ll be there like a bear, ready to see whether the constant breaking of the fourth wall, that is a trademark feature of the show, has been dealt with successfully in the adaptation.

Feel free to share your “double take” on Rock of Ages in the comment box!

Posted in Fun Stuff | Tagged Chris D'Arienzo, Rock of Ages | Leave a comment

Double Take December: EVITA

Posted on December 4, 2011 by David Fick

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

Evita

Something I Like: I love how the show treats Eva Peron as, in Tim Rice’s words, “a fabulous bitch”. Duality is huge part of who she was. Even today, her reputation is obscured by the conflicting perspectives held of her by different groups of people. Add a rocking score – albeit one with some odd uses of motif – to that and you’ve got a winner of a show, one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best. Oh – and, from a performer’s perspective, it’s a great show in which to be in the ensemble. There is so much to do!

Something I Don’t Like: I’ve never much liked the “Montage” at the end of the show. I’ve always wondered whether it’s a satisfying choice dramatically. It certainly can be staged effectively as as a kind of coup de théâtre, as it was conceived in Hal Prince’s original production, and be theatrically satisfying – but that’s a slightly different thing. The film dispensed with it and – despite a number of other major flaws – did not feel incomplete without it. To me, the piece is merely a shortcut between Eva’s collapse and the “Lament”.

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

Posted in Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice | Tagged Andrew Lloyd Webber, Evita, Tim Rice | 1 Comment