Love this recording! Jordan is way better on this than on the Newsies recording which I found hugely disappointing. Sounds like the music direction was better. I can't stand that trademark Cher WHAYL thing he does with his voice. Sounds like he should be the featured wailer in "Gloom Despair" on Hee Haw.
Somewhat related, Jason Robert Brown, of whom I'm a fan, discussed the lack of recognition for orchestrators with this year's nominations. Though I agree with his overall points, he made some blunt assessments about his fellow composers. Possibly true to some extent based on hearsay - I think he should have used better words (e.g., no musical language to communicate to an orchestra, no vocabulary to build a cohesive musical universe), especially when he's basing them on “the best of his knowledge.” Nonetheless, congrats to both John McDaniel and Frank Wildhorn for a job well done with B&C and the album.
"I doubt that most non-musicians are aware of the extent to which the music directors and orchestrators shape the scores of shows. In the case of Bonnie and Clyde and Once, for example, the composers of those shows cannot (to the best of my knowledge) read or notate music. They do not have the language to communicate with an orchestra how to play their songs. They don't have any vocabulary about building a cohesive musical universe on stage. There is a vast reservoir of technical and theatrical information that the music staff brings to bear on the songs those composers write in order to make a 'score' out of them."
Whatever the case, JRB later states in a comment at the end of the blog that his information is anecdotal, but it's his understanding that Wildhorn's "music notation and reading skills are rudimentary at best."
JRB could have made his points just as clearly without mentioning specific composers by name. To me, it comes off as a pompous, irrelevant dig, in an otherwise agreeable though not fluid post.
^It comes off slightly resentful to me. I'm not sure why exactly. It's not like Wildhorn has had fantastic success on Broadway and JRB has arguably received much nicer notices from the critics so I'm not sure why he feels the need to take a swing at Frank. I'm not 100% sure that Frank reads music, but neither is JRB and that IS Frank playing the piano on the bonus track so it might have been a good idea for him to check his facts before posting something so discourteous.
I agree with the frustration about the iTunes issue. We have contacted them several times and they said it would take 1 to 5 days to fix... not sure why it would take that long but there's not much we can do unfortunately.
On a more positive note, I had ordered a copy of our Bonnie & Clyde CD from Amazon to see how long it would take (super saver shipping) and it arrived today so everyone who ordered should be receiving their copies any time now, if they haven't already.
Pre-ordered on March 2, paid for 1-day shipping, and yet mine still hasn't been shipped. Estimated delivery on Tuesday. But it seems I would have been better off not pre-ordering or paying extra for quicker shipping, since it seems new orders have already been delivered.
Got the CD yesterday. Great score amd the booklet that came with it was a class act all the way
Say what you will, nothing beats the actual CD. I am hoping against hope but would love to see Tony nods for it including score, leads & dare I say it musical
Mr Roxy - I know the critic reviews were not great but I have read worse. (exp. Leap of Faith). That being said, remember reading reviews of people who actually saw the show in the NY Times and it was pretty positive. Do you think this show might have had a chance to build a audience if it had opened in April instead of December?
If Wildhorn wrote under another name yes. As long as a critic hears Wildhorn, like Pavlov's dog the bad reviews will come out.Seems like NY critics do not like many shows from others as well but Wildhorn holds a favorite spot in their little collective hearts.
Liked Ghost & Leap but the set from Leap was hideous. Almost as bad the one for Porgy & Bess
The booklet alludes to the fact it will have a regional & international life. The producers on B/C were inept . Had this been promoted properly it had a decent shot. The producers were like a woman who has a child & leaves it on someones doorstep and runs away. What a shame.
^I think the producers are partly to blame as well. There wasn't much of an ad campaign outside of the television commercial. The wanted ads didn't really seem to advertise the actual show, and I'm not sure how the money was spent, but it also seems like most shows come in with enough of a cushion to stay open for at least three months to allow for a bit of an advance and for positive word of mouth to spread from people who actually see the show and enjoy it. Both Wonderland and Bonnie and Clyde seemed to have just enough money to make it to opening night and that's just asinine.
Bea Arthur Nude Sells For Nearly $2 Million At Auction
Drama Desk Award Winners - MATILDA, VANYA AND SONIA, PIPPIN, VIRGINIA WOOLF & More!
John Bantay Talks to Richard Jay-Alexander About Musical Mondays Farewell
STAGE TUBE: Join Them! Watch the PIPPIN Cast on Letterman!
CHUCK Star Zachary Levi and Krysta Rodriguez Set to Lead FIRST DATE
Photo Flash: First Look - Kelly Rowland & Paulina Rubio on THE X FACTOR!
Photo Flash: New Poster for THE BLING RING Released
Gwyneth Paltrow Returns as the Face of Hugo Boss' Latest Scent
VAMPIRE WEEKEND Tops Chart with Second No. 1 Album
EA Announces Battlefield 4 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4
BWW Blog: Leah Edwards - Practice. Perform. Repeat
BWW Reviews: Pauline Koner, American Original
VIDEO: Must Watch - Mel Brooks AMERICAN MASTERS on PBS May 20!
joined:11/27/04
Posted: 4/27/12 at 11:42am