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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Amph The Magic of Musicals - for lovers of shows on stage or screen: Revival of Sweeney Todd

Discussion in 'Archive: The Amphitheatre' started by SithLordDarthRichie, Oct 8, 2010.

  1. Manisphere

    Manisphere Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 25, 2007
    I'm sure there are good shows popping up here and there. I'd love to see Trey Parker and Matt Stone's The Book of Mormon. I've heard fantastic things about it. And there will never be a lack of talent in performers. There are great performers still out there. Just as good as there ever were. It's the shows. And to be fair, they've been saying Broadway's dead since before I was born. And I think mostly they were talking about drama. Heck, I'd be surprised if they weren't talking about the marginalization of Broadway as new Tennessee Williams plays were still being produced. The golden age of Broadway drama is certainly long gone.

    Things really did change for the way musicals were made from the 60's and 70's to the 80's. There are still great and entertaining shows. I think many tend to use adaptations and camp to their advantage. Hairspray and even Xanadu are examples. Broadway used to be nearly completely supported by the upper middle class. That changed. After shows like Chicago and A Chorus Line were gone it became more about out-of-towners. Heck, A Chorus Line, my personal favorite musical ushered in the new era of HUGE SHOWS and not just great shows. I mostly believe that songwriters like Billy Joel, Elton John, Tom Waits etc. were attracted to rock and roll/pop music and not the theater. Had McCartney not met Lennon I really think he'd have made quite a career in London's West End.

    ETA: And the list missed Showboat? It was only the most influential musical in EVER! Seriously, in EVER!
     
  2. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    Journalist Piers Morgan did an interview with Andrew Lloyd Webber on his show at the weekend. He visited the Lord at his villa in Majorca and was stunned by its simplicity and the fact ALW didn't have a fancy car but in fact had to navigate the narrow dirt road up to his house in a golf buggy. Opulence is not something ALW is big on despite his vast amount of money. He also said he didn't believe in inherited wealth and would only be leaving the rights of his music to his kids.

    It was a fascinating show, because many interesting things were learnt about Lloyd-Webber.

    He is a luddite in the truest sense of the word, he has no mobile phone or email & he doesn't drive :eek:
    He also apparently cries very easily. He cries when looking at architecture he likes and his wife said she refuses to see Gilbert & Sullivan anymore with him as he cries during the overture :p



    He was asked about his apparent womanising ability (having had 3 wives and married the person he cheated on each wife with) and said it was probably down to his confidence and strange interest in talking to women about girly things (and he has more money than God, as John Barrowman said) :p

    His current wife had a few choice words about his previous wives, so they clearly don't get along.
    She seems to have brought stability in his life, she said ALW has a habit of finding drama wherever he goes. His music matters most to him

    He denied being a ruthless businessman and getting mad at people, but all his colleagues seemed to disagree when asked directly. His brother Julian seems to get on well with him and both men recognise the other's talents.
     
  3. Rogue1-and-a-half

    Rogue1-and-a-half Manager Emeritus who is writing his masterpiece star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2000
    Many of the great 'artists' were also ruthless businessmen. That's as necessary as talent to success, it seems. Webber probably is ruthless; he would probably call it uncompromising. :p
     
  4. Nevermind

    Nevermind Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 2001
    Generally in order to be a successful artist, a large ego is required.
     
  5. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    Looks like the troubled Spider-Man musical has undergone some big reworking and is now getting more positive feedback.

    Still not optimistic about an U2 musical though :p
     
  6. Nevermind

    Nevermind Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 2001
    13 Funniest Musicals

    13. Urinetown (Broadway debut: 2001)

    "What's Urinetown like? To quote the show, ''let's just say it's filled with symbolism and things like that.'' A decades-long drought has made privately owned toilets a no-no, and people must do their business in pay-per-use potties. If you go on your own, you'll be banished to Urinetown ? a fate that is, well, actually death. Thus, it's up to Bobby Strong (originally played by Hunter Foster) to lead a pee-for-free revolution. With one of the most provocative titles this side of The Motherf---er With the Hat and songs like ''It's a Privilege to Pee,'' Urinetown had audiences wetting their pants."

    This sounds...different.
     
  7. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2004
    Hmmmm.....the real life equivalent of Springtime for Hitler? :p
     
  8. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    Never seen it, but I wish I had :p
     
  9. Todd the Jedi

    Todd the Jedi Mod and Loving Tyrant of SWTV, Lit, & Collecting star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2008
    Lol, that plot description sorta ruins a twist in the play.:oops: Urinetown is really a great show with lots of tongue-in-cheek humor. My school put it on and our Bobby was really good, which helped since only one other person could really sing.:p It's also not a straight up comedy either, containing some really dark bits. That said, though, the Little Sally character makes the whole show worth it.[face_laugh]
     
  10. Nevermind

    Nevermind Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 2001
    12. Hairspray (Broadway debut: 2002)

    "Good morning, New York City! Meet Tracy Turnblad, a chubby, Kennedy-era Baltimore teen who dreams of twisting and shouting on the local bandstand show, and Edna, her mountain-size agoraphobic mother (traditionally played by a man, like Harvey Fierstein) who must learn to strut her stuff outside. Their wacky hairdos and ecstatic shimmies are made for giggling."
     
  11. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    It has a couple of catchy numbers, but it's too much like Grease for my tastes, and I hate Grease. Credit to the creators for turning the original movie into a very popular musical version and showing people still have an appetite for the genre on screen these days, but I can't sit through the movie.
     
  12. Nevermind

    Nevermind Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 2001
    11. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Broadway debut: 1961)

    What isn't funny about ''The Man'' getting brought down a peg?

    "That's what happens when window washer J. Pierrepont Finch (played by Daniel Radcliffe in the 2011 revival, pictured) bluffs his way up the ranks at the World Wide Wicket Company. The comedy gold lives in the winks between angel-faced Pierrepont and the audience as he subtly manipulates his moneyed targets."
     
  13. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2004
    Came across this on Google. Tom Hooper+Hugh Jackman+Les Mis=yes please.
     
  14. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    A great choice, Jackman is an excellent singer and a good actor too. Les Mis needs to be done well as it is a much loved show and a movie allows it to be done on an even grander scale.

    At least Gerard Butler hasn't been cast in it :p
    I am still angry that Phantom was so badly handled, it is a huge hit show and could've been suitably gothic and depressing the way Sweeney Todd was with a specticle of the scale that this Les Mis movie is attempting. Unfortunately it seems Lloyd Webber is not as sensible as Cameron Mackintosh is.

    I would though support Emmy Rossum's inclusion in the film, seeing as Hollywood lacks a lot of decent actors who can sing well too she would be a good option.





    Also - Love Never Dies is to close less than two years after it opened. The show's failure is not very suprising really, the idea of it was not a good one and I really think it should never have been attempted as a serious stage project.
     
  15. Nevermind

    Nevermind Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 2001
    10. Kiss Me Kate (Broadway debut: 1948)

    "Two divorced theater stars (portrayed by Marin Mazzie and Brian Stokes Mitchell in the 1999 revival, pictured) reunite to mount a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew in this backstage tuner about the battle of wits and egos that is love (and good theater). He's vain. She's a diva. Their rat-a-tat verbal sparring and sidesplitting slapstick slapping (thanks to married book writers Samuel and Bella Spewack) are matched only by the fun in Cole Porter's lyrics (ex. ''He may have hair upon his chest but, Sister, so does Lassie'')."


    The 50's movie is loads of fun, too; Howard Keel is terrific. There is also Kathryn Grayson, but that's what mute buttons are for.
     
  16. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    It's fun, not great but I've seen worse.
     
  17. Thrawn1786

    Thrawn1786 Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Feb 8, 2004
    Kiss Me Kate is a pretty cute and clever show. I saw a touring version (of the 1999 revival production) and it worked pretty well. If you can find it, the recent London production was filmed and is lots of fun.

    In regard to an earlier discussion about Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, I give you "Spider-Monster":

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR1DdMeVqTw
     
  18. yankee8255

    yankee8255 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    May 31, 2005
    My wife and I went to see Kiss Me on our first wedding anniversary on Broadway. Great show with so many classic songs. "Brus up you Shakespeare" is maybe the ultimate show stealer. Only gripe would be that "It's too darn hot" was "too darn long".

    One problem with the show (and our anniversary) -- it was September 16, 2001. Not a particularly happy time to be in Manhattan.
     
  19. Nevermind

    Nevermind Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 2001
    9. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Broadway debut: 2005)

    "A meeting of the minds between two dirty, rotten dudes ? one a dapper con man, the other an uncouth drifter ? turns into an all-out war over a girl who has just as many secrets as they do in David Yazbek and Jeffrey Lane's uncouth musical adaptation of Frank Oz's 1988 movie. As one of the scoundrels says to the other, ''What you lack in grace, you certainly make up for in vulgarity.'' That's a good thing."

    Love the movie in which Michael Caine gives a terrifically soulful performance; never seen the play.
     
  20. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    Film isn't bad, never seen that show.



    Looks like Phantom of the Opera is getting the Les Mis treatment for its 25th Anniversary, with a Royal Albert Hall concert set for October.
    Damn shame that tickets are already gone, that is something I would have paid good money to see.
     
  21. Thrawn1786

    Thrawn1786 Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Feb 8, 2004
    The stage version of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is funny enough; the tunes are bouncy and some of the lyrics are well thought-out, but nothing really groundbreaking. That said, I like it a bit more than Hairspray. I haven't seen the film version, though.
     
  22. Nevermind

    Nevermind Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 2001
    8. The Drowsy Chaperone (Broadway debut: 2006)

    "Chaperone opens with a lament about the current state of Broadway (and Elton John musicals) from a Jazz Age loving theater queen, then turns into a send-up of 1920s tuners when the sad hero puts on a record of a musical called The Drowsy Chaperone and the scenes come alive in his studio apartment. We're talking full production numbers---Plate spinning! Show girls! Thugs! ? and barrels of laughs as a follies star (played by Sutton Foster in the original Broadway production, pictured) tries to quit the business to marry an oil tycoon. Aida it ain't."
     
  23. Nevermind

    Nevermind Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 2001
    7. Little Shop of Horrors (Broadway debut: 2003)

    "Very black comedy, anyone? There is a dorky, skid-row florist who crushes on his ditzy coworker. There is a leather-clad dentist who loves inflicting pain. And there's a gruff-talking, flesh-eating Venus flytrap who munches her way through most of the ensemble. ''Feed me, Seymour! Feed me all night long!''
     
  24. Nevermind

    Nevermind Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 2001
    6. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Broadway debut: 2005)

    "Six eccentric young outcasts compete for the title of spelling bee champ in this comic look at one of life's darker rights of passage: Middle School. With names like William Barfee (''It's pronounced Bar-FAY!'') and Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, you instantly feel for them. But, come on, don't those names alone make you want to guffaw?"
     
  25. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    New tickets released for the Phantom 25th Anniverary concert in October

    http://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/phantom-of-the-opera/default.aspx?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Organic&utm_campaign=Phantom_25

    Not cheap, but the seats seem OK considering.