FELA! on Broadway

Posted on June 11, 2009 by David Fick

Fela! will be opening on Broadway later this year. I must admit I haven’t particularly followed the show’s journey prior to this announcement, but it looks as though Fela! might become one of the major musicals of this season – hopefully not only because of the lack of much else that’s exciting, but also because it ends up being a great show within itself. The press release for the show describes it as follows:

Audiences are welcomed into the extravagant, decadent and rebellious world of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Using his pioneering music (a blend of jazz, funk and African rhythm and harmonies), [Fela!] explores Kuti’s controversial life as artist, political activist and revolutionary musician.”

The show has a book by Jim Lewis, who also provided additional lyrics for the show) and Bill T. Jones (who also serves as the show’s director-choreographer). Following a limited engagement Off-Broadway last year, which received incredibly positive reactions from critics and the public, Fela! is aiming to make it’s official Broadway bow on 23 November, with previews starting October 19th.

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DREAMGIRLS =/= Best Picture

Posted on June 9, 2009 by David Fick

Having revisited Dreamgirls this weekend, I’ve been browsing around the ‘net a little and saw a few comments from people who were surprised that the film was passed over for a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. I know this is a little after the fact, but since I never keep my mouth shut and this is, after all, my blog – here goes.

Let’s face it – the Academy doesn’t always get it right. Let’s look back a couple of years where Crash took home the award that really belonged to Brokeback Mountain. That’s just one instance.

But…

I wasn’t surprised that Dreamgirls didn’t get a “Best Picture” nomination at the Academy Awards. At the end of the day, I think the film has a couple of fundamental flaws that denied it from the privilege of being nominated as “Best Picture”. One of these is that director Bill Condon didn’t quite manage to get the non-diagetic singing to work as it should have – there’s stuff in “Stepping to the Bad Side” and “Family” that ultimately just doesn’t work. Sometimes the screenplay doesn’t quite seem to know where it sits stylistically. I certainly wasn’t distracted by the changes made to the play, but the film wants to have its cake and eat it in terms of what it chooses to use or discard. And although the film has some amazing moments and although it is an immensely emotional experience, these aren’t don’t make up for the gaps left by other elements of the production.

Insofar as comparing Dreamgirls to the most recent musical Best Picture winner, Chicago, I think that Chicago is a far more successful film in the way it is executed as a film production. You can, I suppose, debate the adaptation but I think that the transition from stage to screen is excellently conceptualized. Within reason, a film adaptation shouldn’t be about how literally faithful or not the movie is to a stage production of a show. Chicago, for me, hit the nail on the head in capturing the metaphor that is inherent in the text of the show and adapting that to the medium of film. Sure, it isn’t the emotional experience that Dreamgirls is. But it isn’t meant to be. Chicago itself is a colder, more intellectual musical that, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, that is presented in a form that appears more comfortable and appeasing. But Dreamgirls is intended to be an emotional rollercoaster, which it certainly is – just not one where every part of the equation adds up to equal “Best Picture”.

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Jennifer Hudson: THE Dreamgirl

Posted on June 9, 2009 by David Fick

Over the weekend, I watched Dreamgirls on DVD with some friends. It’s been a while since I saw it and I think part of me had forgotten how much I enjoy the film. At one point, we were all discussing how glad we were that Jennifer Hudson won the Oscar for playing Effie White. As my friend Jacqui says, there are bits (like “And I Am Telling You (I’m Not Going)”) that are even better than Barbra Streisand on the steamboat in Funny Girl. Personally, I don’t think la Streisand even comes close.

(Digression: I also remember how annoyed I was when not one of the three nominated songs – “Love You I Do”, “Patience” and “Listen” – won the Academy Award for Best Song. The performance of those three songs was the highlight of the Oscars. But political correctness won out when the song from An Inconvenient Truth took home the trophy. I’m all for green issues but, when it comes to music, motown-inspired showtunes beat out rock-styled message songs any day.)

One of the things we chatted about was whether she was nominated in the wrong category. After all, Effie is a lead role. Personally, I would even go so far as to say that it’s the lead role. The plot revolves around her: everything else in the show from the Dreams, to Deena, to Curtis is related through her experience. And even the subplot involving Lorelle and Jimmy is, in some ways, a mirror of what’s going on in the main plot. One of my friends mentioned that maybe it’s because the film is called Dreamgirls and not Effie – but even the title highlights the role because ultimately, as the action of the play unfolds, Effie is pushed out and excluded from the Dreams. She is conspicuous because of her absence.

The balance is thrown out a little in the film with the addition of “Listen” in an attempt (I assume) to give Deena a moment that is as dramatic as “And I Am Telling You (I’m Not Going)” but of course it doesn’t come close to having the dramatic impact that the earlier number has.

So why was Hudson nominated as a supporting actress? Who actually knows? Marketing? Fancy footwork? Her billing? The fact that the producers knew there was no way she would win in the “Best Actress” category? Whatever the reason, it all boils down to movie-making politics rather than anything to do with the film itself. But what a super film it is to revisit!

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West Side Story

Posted on June 8, 2009 by David Fick

West Side Story: I won’t lie. West Side Story was the revival I was most excited about this season. Not only do we get to revisit one of the great Broadway musicals of all time, we get to explore it in a new way because of a bilingual approach to the material conceived by Arthur Laurents. Now West Side Story has a lot going for it: a fantastic score by Leonard Bernstein, some great lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and some fantastic Jerome Robbins choreography that really pulls everything together. Oh yes, it also has a book by Arthur Laurents – but it’s really the contribution to the show that is least touched by genius and I guess to compensate for that Laurents has fiddled with the show here and there – cutting a good portion of the “Somewhere” ballet along the way. Tut, tut, tut, Mr Laurents – the “Somewhere” ballet was a beautifully conceived piece of choreographic storytelling and your staging with the cutesy little boy just doesn’t measure up. Fortunately, we were spared that bastardization at the Tony Awards and were treated to a magnificent “Dance at the Gym”. What a pity Robbins could not have supervised the final edit of this for the film – the thematic and storytelling motifs in the choreography come through on stage in a way that they never do in the movie and here every second is fantastic – not only because it’s entertaining but also because it manages to keep the narrative and its themes in the foreground. The “Dance at the Gym” is no simple diversion here; it’s an essential piece of storytelling in a show where – apologies to Mr Laurents – the score and choreography do far more than words alone ever could.

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Guys and Dolls

Posted on June 8, 2009 by David Fick

Guys and Dolls: I’ve been in two minds about this revival. I really wanted it to work, but nothing I’ve heard about it has indicated that it does. Watching this clip, the first thing that hits me – besides the sound problems – is that the projections just don’t work. It makes the whole thing look like something out of a (rather cheap) revue. I’m also reminded what a great number this is. But this arrangement doesn’t work as well for me as the one used in the 1992 revival. Sure, Tituss Burgess can sing crazy high, as they say, and Mary Testa cuts loose (in a way that I don’t think works for the period or the character). But I don’t think this really makes the number – or the show, for that matter – any better. Oh well..

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Rock of Ages

Posted on June 8, 2009 by David Fick

Rock of Ages: It took me a while to find this clip. At first, all there was to see was a multitude of clips showing how Bret Michaels walked upstage into a descending piece of scenery. As for the show itself…. hmmm… it’s fun! But it looks more like a rock concert transposed to Broadway than a musical and I don’t know how a narrative finds the space to fit in with such big numbers. Still, looking at the synopsis of the show, it seems like it might work much better than We Will Rock You – probably the most similar jukebox musical in terms of the musical material used. Of course, that’s no big chore: We Will Rock You is one of the most poorly conceived shows I’ve ever seen – even by jukebox musical standards…. Getting back to Rock of Ages, I did like the guy who narrated the segment – his bit with Liza is really the best bit of the performance – and it’s so easy to be seduced by the energy of it all, so I guess I can understand the nomination better than I did this morning. Until I saw the clip, I was wondering how this show got nominated instead of 9 to 5. The part of me that still does is the bit that just isn’t all that interested in a jukebox musical built around rock hits from the 1980s – but which loves a bit of Dolly anytime!

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Shrek: the Musical

Posted on June 8, 2009 by David Fick

Shrek the Musical: Shrek is a show that really doesn’t interest me. I guess its pleasant enough, but for me it’s one to file with the Mel Brooks musicals (OK, haha, we get it, ooh silly rude puns, put it on the shelf and never listen to it again). Surely Jeanine Tesori can get commissioned for better properties than this?

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Next to Normal

Posted on June 8, 2009 by David Fick

Next to Normal: This was a great choice for the broadcast, showcasing some great performances and really encapsulating a show that musically picks up where RENT left off and takes what that Pulitzer Prize-winning show gave us a step further in terms of form, narrative clarity and character.

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Billy Elliot

Posted on June 8, 2009 by David Fick

Billy Elliot: Perhaps an odd choice as a showcase piece, but I suppose it involves more of the adult cast than a more typical choice (like “Electricity”, “Shine” or “Expressing Yourself”) might have. But I don’t know that it sells someone who’s experiencing the musical cold, as it were, on the show. I wasn’t sold on this show when I first experienced it, but later on something just clicked and I really enjoy it now. Elton John’s work is leagues ahead of what he did in Aida!

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Tony Awards 2009

Posted on June 8, 2009 by David Fick

So the Tony Awards for 2009 have come and gone. I’m also super stoked that Angela Lansbury now has her fifth Tony under her belt. The woman is truly astounding! I’m all right with who won what – no really big surprises, I don’t think. Ok… Time to do some YouTube for the performances.

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