Andrew Lloyd Webber
Wed, 18 Aug 2004, 09:04 pmmifanarellanazeena32 posts in thread
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Wed, 18 Aug 2004, 09:04 pmHi there people! I have just been involved in a very successful production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and I would find it very interesting to know what everyone's favourite character or song is from this wonderful musical. However if you aren't familiar with Jesus Christ Superstar, what is your favourite Andrew Lloyd Webber musical?
OK! I'll start off.....My favourite character is Judas and my favourite song is "Gethsemane". Apart from Jesus Christ Superstar, I also like Cats!
Now its your turn!
OK! I'll start off.....My favourite character is Judas and my favourite song is "Gethsemane". Apart from Jesus Christ Superstar, I also like Cats!
Now its your turn!
Re: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Wed, 25 Aug 2004, 01:52 pmWalter Plinge
Paul Treasure droned on:
:o)~
> Oh I don't deny Aspects is a great score, all half an hour of
> it, which is then repeated ad infinitum...
Evita. Phantom.
> my beloved Assassins has that REALLY bad Something Just Broke!
Written as an afterthought for the London production; totally out of context with the major theme of the show as a whole; BUT... (*sigh of relief*)... eminently cut-able.
> It really seems that they are incapable of sustaining more
> than one theatre composer of any lasting note at any one time.
> Purcell, Sullivan, Britten, ALW.
Savvy choice of words there, PT... "of any lasting note". I, for one, regard Purcell and Britten as the only two names mentioned above that are worth including in a list of notable British composers. It has nothing to do with the boring old opera vs musicals chestnut - I'm not _that_ much of a snob; but rather to do with overall quality. I personally find ALW derivative and overly repetitive (Cats and JCS excepted), and Sullivan deathly dull.
(The longevity of G&S I find utterly incomprehensible.)
> I think the reason that Sunday isn't performed here is bcause
> people are 1, afraid of the complexity of the score and 2,
> afraid of the complexity of the staging. But this is people
> afraid to put it on, not people afraid to see it!
> This is also I think why Sondheim is not done that often, it
> is a major challenge to perform.
Amen. I wish producers would start being a little more honest with themselves about what they stage, not to mention a little more respectful of the audience. I often wonder how legitimate it is to respond to declining attendances by running with proven chestnuts. I think an obscure piece - any piece! - staged with love and a genuine desire to communicate and entertain, with committed performers sourced specifically for a commitment to the aforementioned, will always trounce a by-the-numbers rehash of a war-horse. People will always - always - respond to quality.
This is one of the problems with programming by committee... you're more often than not forced to consort with persons incapable of recognising that box office is not the only marker of success.
> Assassins at the moment is one of the most frequently
> performed Sondheims in Perth, once at the Quarry, once at
> Playlovers and once at WAAPA, and thats within the last ten
> years. It has actually developed quite a following in the
> rest of the world. In many ways its the Michael Moore of
> musicals :-)
Which goes to the heart of my point. A musical that delves into the mind-set of murderers and psychopaths, attempting to extract a moral justification for acts of regicide, is a sure thing for commercial failure, right? Wrong.
There's no telling what people might find appealing this week. If it's made with love, and that love shines through, audiences will respond. You might lose some of your more conservative audiences who don't want to hear Lee Harvey Oswald sing (not that he sings much - it's only one line), but hey, who might you attract in their stead?
> In most recent surveys
> there is only one new musical that pops up in the top twenty
> most loved musicals of all time... Once More with Feeling,
> the Buffy Musical. I kid you not. And it is a truly great
> piece of musical writing.
As opposed to the Highlander opera, which is so bad that - to my knowledge - it has yet to be produced on the stage.
>> I must confess that I cringed
> > when "I just can't wait to be King" started. BRING BACK THE
> > AFRICAN MUSIC! Anyhoo....
Though in the Australian production, Simon, that had a lot to do with the quality of the singing. The lady who played Rafiiki was a knock-out, and the boy who played Young Simba (the night I attended) was very weak vocally.
> Oh come on, Chess is a bit of a sleeper hit...
But it's been dated, thematically speaking, for a very long time. The music is solid, IMHO, but it couldn't be staged today, unless it was re-written to a Middle-Eastern context, perhaps.
When a commercial producer tried to revive "Chess" in Melbourne in 1997, it flopped badly, and I remember that shortly afterwards I was appearing in a production of Kurt Weill's "Happy End", at which an audience member told many of us that it shat on "Chess" for political comment. Go figure.
> I once read that you should NEVER audition with a Sondheim
> song, because he may display your good points but he doesn't
> hide your bad points either.
It's also a bitch for the accompanist.
dm.
:o)~
> Oh I don't deny Aspects is a great score, all half an hour of
> it, which is then repeated ad infinitum...
Evita. Phantom.
> my beloved Assassins has that REALLY bad Something Just Broke!
Written as an afterthought for the London production; totally out of context with the major theme of the show as a whole; BUT... (*sigh of relief*)... eminently cut-able.
> It really seems that they are incapable of sustaining more
> than one theatre composer of any lasting note at any one time.
> Purcell, Sullivan, Britten, ALW.
Savvy choice of words there, PT... "of any lasting note". I, for one, regard Purcell and Britten as the only two names mentioned above that are worth including in a list of notable British composers. It has nothing to do with the boring old opera vs musicals chestnut - I'm not _that_ much of a snob; but rather to do with overall quality. I personally find ALW derivative and overly repetitive (Cats and JCS excepted), and Sullivan deathly dull.
(The longevity of G&S I find utterly incomprehensible.)
> I think the reason that Sunday isn't performed here is bcause
> people are 1, afraid of the complexity of the score and 2,
> afraid of the complexity of the staging. But this is people
> afraid to put it on, not people afraid to see it!
> This is also I think why Sondheim is not done that often, it
> is a major challenge to perform.
Amen. I wish producers would start being a little more honest with themselves about what they stage, not to mention a little more respectful of the audience. I often wonder how legitimate it is to respond to declining attendances by running with proven chestnuts. I think an obscure piece - any piece! - staged with love and a genuine desire to communicate and entertain, with committed performers sourced specifically for a commitment to the aforementioned, will always trounce a by-the-numbers rehash of a war-horse. People will always - always - respond to quality.
This is one of the problems with programming by committee... you're more often than not forced to consort with persons incapable of recognising that box office is not the only marker of success.
> Assassins at the moment is one of the most frequently
> performed Sondheims in Perth, once at the Quarry, once at
> Playlovers and once at WAAPA, and thats within the last ten
> years. It has actually developed quite a following in the
> rest of the world. In many ways its the Michael Moore of
> musicals :-)
Which goes to the heart of my point. A musical that delves into the mind-set of murderers and psychopaths, attempting to extract a moral justification for acts of regicide, is a sure thing for commercial failure, right? Wrong.
There's no telling what people might find appealing this week. If it's made with love, and that love shines through, audiences will respond. You might lose some of your more conservative audiences who don't want to hear Lee Harvey Oswald sing (not that he sings much - it's only one line), but hey, who might you attract in their stead?
> In most recent surveys
> there is only one new musical that pops up in the top twenty
> most loved musicals of all time... Once More with Feeling,
> the Buffy Musical. I kid you not. And it is a truly great
> piece of musical writing.
As opposed to the Highlander opera, which is so bad that - to my knowledge - it has yet to be produced on the stage.
>> I must confess that I cringed
> > when "I just can't wait to be King" started. BRING BACK THE
> > AFRICAN MUSIC! Anyhoo....
Though in the Australian production, Simon, that had a lot to do with the quality of the singing. The lady who played Rafiiki was a knock-out, and the boy who played Young Simba (the night I attended) was very weak vocally.
> Oh come on, Chess is a bit of a sleeper hit...
But it's been dated, thematically speaking, for a very long time. The music is solid, IMHO, but it couldn't be staged today, unless it was re-written to a Middle-Eastern context, perhaps.
When a commercial producer tried to revive "Chess" in Melbourne in 1997, it flopped badly, and I remember that shortly afterwards I was appearing in a production of Kurt Weill's "Happy End", at which an audience member told many of us that it shat on "Chess" for political comment. Go figure.
> I once read that you should NEVER audition with a Sondheim
> song, because he may display your good points but he doesn't
> hide your bad points either.
It's also a bitch for the accompanist.
dm.
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