Re: New Season-Musical Theatre West

Date: Mon, 12 May 2003 00:53:57 -0400 (EDT)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.theatre.musicals
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When I said it was disappointingly safe, I wasn't referring to it not
being sexually explicit. Perhaps disappointing *and* safe would say it
better. Of course, it's a Jerry Herman musical and we weren't expecting
it to be as frank as Act One, or even Act Two of TORCH SONG. (Act Three
wasn't that far from Neil Simon.) It certainly fell short of the film in
the wit department. In the score ("Masculinity" and "Dishes"- both
moments much funnier in the film) and especially in the dialogue
Fierstein concocted for the Cagelles. (Could they be more boring?) The
story line in Act One is stretched VERY thin. I've never been a fan of
"I Am What I Am" but find "Song on the Sand" and especially "Look Over
There" to be the show's bravest and most moving moments. In fact, I
think the character of Georges is much better written than the showier
Albin. (I had my pick when I did the show in '88.) One of the most
interesting things I discovered in doing the show is just how many
actors (of any gender preference or preferences) who don't have problems
with "gay" have problems with drag. I'd also have to question the number
of people who have seen an international film hit being smaller than the
number of people who have seen a stage musical.
Re: New Season-Musical Theatre West
Group: rec.arts.theatre.musicals Date: Sun, May 11, 2003, 7:15pm (EDT-3)
From: email-address-deleted (gatsby) Do you want to see actual sex acts
on stage in a musical? He thinks that the general public thought that
they were going to see a risque "campy" kind of thing and that they were
disappointed. (Although, he says, it certainly had its "campy" parts).
Don't forget, he says, that many more people saw the musical than saw
the film. So they probably had a preconceived (wrong) notion of what a
"gay" musical was going to be. He says that is why he thinks that you
have to be "gay" in order to fully enjoy it. Ditto "TST". He says that
there was not anything offensive to him about it at all. He says that
many people probably did not understand all of it. It too had its
emotional parts as well as "funny" and "campy". You are right about the
movie, he says. It was a sell out and it sucked.