Cinderella will almost certainly be considered a revival based on the classics rule.
Pippin will probably do well, and they were smart to opt for the smaller Music Box as opposed to a larger theatre. Wasn't there a rumor that they were looking at The Neil Simon at one point?
paulus' creative team actually uses the term "revisioned" ... i assumed you were just repeating their appalling formulation.
as for verbing nouns, i'm rarely accused of being too subtle, but that was an intentional (mis)construction -- it was supposed to be irony. it worked for edwin newman, anyway.
For those who have seen it, how "different" does it sound? My major issue with Pippin is that the score itself is a chestnut, and not a good one. Even when played simply on a piano it seems to ooze this 70s aroma of macrame and patchouli oil (Love Song is maybe the worst and most cringeworthy in this regard). I like the production photos and I think the story will be especially resonant with the Millenial Generation, but the score could hold it back for me.
I saw Pippin last week and though I had some quibbles, it should do well on Broadway. I think Drood is just as good a production but because Pippin opens later it will be fresher in Tony voters' minds. But if Cinderella is also ruled a revival, then I could see that winning, too. Interesting race. I'm really looking forward to Cinderella for the music and cast and costumes.
As for the score of Pippin, that turns out to be a strong point in the show because the book gets annoying at times, as it did in the original. But the work of 7 Doights is amazing and Chet Walker has done a fine job with the Fosse recreation.
It sounds updated - that's about the only way I can describe it. The arrangements sound different but the songs are pretty much the same. I grew up listening to it but then I'm used to the 70's pop sound. I do agree "Love Song" is one of the cheesiest of the bunch.
I always thought it was suppose to be cheesey. The idea that love is just simple and uncomplicated -- or at least that it should be simple and uncomplicated.
R&H will push to get Cinderella into the Best Musical category. That American Theatre Wing chair Ted Chapin is also prez of R&H is not insignificant. They lobbied for and received an original score nomination for State Fair, whose score is a decade older than Cinderella's (although voters were instructed to ignore the songs from the film and only consider the trunk material). And DCB is everyone's darling so folks will be pulling for his book to be recognized as well.
"I always thought it was suppose to be cheesey. The idea that love is just simple and uncomplicated -- or at least that it should be simple and uncomplicated.
Maybe I think too much. Or not enough."
dramamama, I am sure you think just fine. But I thought the cheesiness of the music was part of the rift with Fosse? Fosse wanted it dark, Schwartz not so much. So then wasn't the whole "play within a play" the compromise to make it work? I'm speculating based on what I vaguely remember reading about the show. I do like how some of those songs take on a darker tone because of that.
I wish I was gifted and could see into the future (and come off sounding so damned sure about it) like the rest of you on this board. What do you guys utilize? Crystal balls? Tarot Cards? Santeria? Inquiring minds want to know...
Pippin's gonna have the same trouble Godspell did last year. It's too cheap by design to maintain the interest of a Broadway crowd. Plus it's no damn good as a show. No matter how well directed.
No matter its placement I would imagine Douglas Carter Beane would be eligible for best book, just like David Henry Hwang was for the work he did on the revival of Flower Drum Song.
dramamama -- i was not aware of the archaic (?) sense of vision as a verb -- good to know. however, my objection was -- is -- to the use of "revision" as a verb. the creatives imho are being just a bit too, well, creative.
(btw, i checked, and didn't see any archaic verbings of revision!!!)
When STATE FAIR was nominated, the "classics" rule wasn't put into place yet. I think it will probably depend on how much of the Cinderella book is new and how much trunk material they use. But it will more than likely be Revival.
The cast album for Pippin decidedly does not represent how the show plays or feels in ANY incarnation.
"With You" is one of the prime examples- possibly the cheesiest "ode to love" of all time on album, but played deliberately for comedy in most stagings, complete with an awkward falsetto moment in the new revival. The music is intentionally at odds with the show.
The youngins on the board have no clue that Ben Vereen, John Rubinstein and Jill Clayburgh were virtual unknowns when they did PIPPIN. The only really "famous" person in the original cast was Irene Ryan, who played "Granny Clampett" on The Beverly Hillbillies.
Nor should they. Those of us that saw it could tell you. it really was not that good of a show. It has been improved by the many school and community productions.
"The music is intentionally at odds with the show."
Although it depends on whose intention--that was one of the issues Schwartz had with Fosse (but seems to have gotten over)--he seemed to see it as much more earnest.
I admit, I love the original cast album--and kinda dig the 70s groove, but a lot of the cast album didn't reflect the original staging, and may have been done that way to appease Schwartz, but also because it was recorded on Motown, and was one of the first cast albums to record the orchestra first, the way a pop album would be done (also its use of pop song fade outs, etc).
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joined:11/21/11
Posted: 1/5/13 at 08:42am