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Post by humanbelly on Jan 27, 2011 20:21:21 GMT -5
Heya First-Nighters-- Maybe we should politely move this enthralling (well, to me & Shar & Bong & a couple of others, at least. . .  ) discussion over to its own thread here? I feel terribly guilty about just clobbering the Introduce Yourself thread with such a lengthy & wide-ranging tangential discussion. I am, obviously, quite into the topic- but I don't want it to ward off any casual potential joiners, y'know? I did check out the Spiderman: TOTD youtube videos, and. . . it looks better than I'd imagined. Non-realistic, flexible unit set, adapted for the acrobatic effects. The bit of choreography I could see looked quite cool. And there was a short feature focusing on Stan's reaction during a visit to rehearsals-- which was absolutely charming! The man's delight and enthusiasm just never, never fades despite how many scores of years go by! As much as I give aspects of his work a hard time on this board sometimes, there is never EVER any questioning the sincerity and the depth of the love he has for these characters he created. And lordy, what a charming & engaging fellow! You see him talking to cast members who may not even have been born by the end of the 80's, and you know that they're unknowingly falling right under the spell he's been casting for a half-century now. Fame, money, artistic process aside-- if I were in that rehearsal hall, I would suddenly find that my truest motivation was that I wanted to do it. . .for STAN! HB |
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Post by spiderwasp on Jan 27, 2011 21:48:30 GMT -5
I for one am very excited about Spider-man TOTD and am hoping to see it this summer. Of course, as I've said before, I am an actor and Theatre Arts teacher so this is a blending of two of my greatest loves that I just can't resist. The concept can be a little scary but having Julie Taymor at the helm is encouraging. I just saw Lion King for the second time yesterday and the brilliance is still overwhelming. In an interview, I did hear her say that the singing would be done by Peter Parker, Mary Jane, etc. It won't be Spidey swinging in singing "Here I come to to save the day!" There are about 2 dozen major flying sequences including a battle (I think with the Goblin) that takes place over the heads of the audience. There are aspects that leave me a little concerned such as the addition of a new character called Arachne (Not Julia Carpenter) but I'm still optimistic and dying to see it.
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Post by humanbelly on Jan 31, 2011 16:54:21 GMT -5
I for one am very excited about Spider-man TOTD and am hoping to see it this summer. Of course, as I've said before, I am an actor and Theatre Arts teacher so this is a blending of two of my greatest loves that I just can't resist. The concept can be a little scary but having Julie Taymor at the helm is encouraging. I just saw Lion King for the second time yesterday and the brilliance is still overwhelming. In an interview, I did hear her say that the singing would be done by Peter Parker, Mary Jane, etc. It won't be Spidey swinging in singing "Here I come to to save the day!" There are about 2 dozen major flying sequences including a battle (I think with the Goblin) that takes place over the heads of the audience. There are aspects that leave me a little concerned such as the addition of a new character called Arachne (Not Julia Carpenter) but I'm still optimistic and dying to see it. In one of the promo clips Julie T does speak to the fact that the production is part Broadway show, part circus, part. . . something I can't recall. VERY ambitious trying to integrate the pure-thrill flying events of circus with a legitimate story-- but there's no real reason it can't work. I imagine they said similar things about Peter Pan, and Miss Saigon (the blasted onstage helicopter!), and Phantom and Barnum and even Will Rogers Follies and any other number of shows that have historically pushed the spectacle envelope. In a way-- it's almost like it's treading into the realm that opera normally inhabits. In fact-- would opera be a more suitable venue for superhero stories??? Wow--- HB |
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Doctor Bong
Young Avenger
Master of belly dancing! (No, really...)
Posts: 73
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Post by Doctor Bong on Feb 1, 2011 5:17:19 GMT -5
I for one am very excited about Spider-man TOTD and am hoping to see it this summer. Of course, as I've said before, I am an actor and Theatre Arts teacher so this is a blending of two of my greatest loves that I just can't resist. The concept can be a little scary but having Julie Taymor at the helm is encouraging. I just saw Lion King for the second time yesterday and the brilliance is still overwhelming. In an interview, I did hear her say that the singing would be done by Peter Parker, Mary Jane, etc. It won't be Spidey swinging in singing "Here I come to to save the day!" There are about 2 dozen major flying sequences including a battle (I think with the Goblin) that takes place over the heads of the audience. There are aspects that leave me a little concerned such as the addition of a new character called Arachne (Not Julia Carpenter) but I'm still optimistic and dying to see it. In one of the promo clips Julie T does speak to the fact that the production is part Broadway show, part circus, part. . . something I can't recall. VERY ambitious trying to integrate the pure-thrill flying events of circus with a legitimate story-- but there's no real reason it can't work. I imagine they said similar things about Peter Pan, and Miss Saigon (the blasted onstage helicopter!), and Phantom and Barnum and even Will Rogers Follies and any other number of shows that have historically pushed the spectacle envelope. In a way-- it's almost like it's treading into the realm that opera normally inhabits. In fact-- would opera be a more suitable venue for superhero stories??? Wow--- HB Especially the Mighty Thor, but I suspect in said opera the character of Volstagg would become of the big ones (bad pun intended...)! ;D |
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Post by humanbelly on Feb 1, 2011 6:21:35 GMT -5
[Especially the Mighty Thor, but I suspect in said opera the character of Volstagg would become of the big ones (bad pun intended...)! ;D . . . aaaaaaaand we shall all take a moment now to collectively wipe the results of the collective (fatal-pun-induced) spit-takes off of our collective screens. . .  . . . Have you no shame, Bong? Think of the children! And the puppies-!  HB |
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Post by humanbelly on Feb 8, 2011 17:58:29 GMT -5
Hoooooo-boy. . .
Peter Marks from the Washington Post simply LAMBASTED Spidey:TOTD in the paper this morning. I mean, in historic proportions. I have to say, though, that the ENTIRE Washington theater community (3rd largest in the nation!) wishes he would just pack up and go ANYWHERE else for the rest of his life. He is nearly universally reviled here, as he is a living cliche' of a reviewer whose main claim to fame is his clever ability to turn a withering, snide phrase. His goal is to elevate his own standing and rep by doing so. He is by no means (stretched as far as they might) a legitimate reviewer, and hasn't at all earned the power he wields over the lifeblood of the theaters in our region and their productions. He aspires to be a top tier New York reviewer (no secret about that), and therefore goes up and reviews lots of Broadway stuff that no one around here will ever see--- claiming that, of course, New York theater is local to us. But, the more he's up there, the less he's down here killing our shows, so there's a sort of regional foxhole mentality at work (sorry Sharkar-- you'll have to deal w/ him!).
HOWEVER-
I was going to chalk his review up to his usual agenda, until I heard on NPR (!) this afternoon that, after post-poning the "opening" yet again (while charging exorbitant $$ for "previews"), many reviewers said the heck with this, and went and saw the show on Feb 7th. Eleven NY reviewers & other national/regional ones. And NPR reports that the reviews were unanimously bad, I'm heartbroken to say. It certainly does sound like a work-in-progress (2 hours & 40 minutes!)-- but I fear that there's a tipping point past which an extravaganza can't be fixed. Much of what I've caught makes me think "too much, too big, too complicated, too much spectacle!". That kind of thing is always a danger to the heart of any show-- especially a musical. It was a HUGE problem w/ CHESS. The attention and energy that needs to be spent on perfecting the story and scene work is necessarily spent on getting the !@#% automated scene changes to function.
Wow-- two theatrical rants in one post! I'm the man!
HB
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Post by sharkar on Feb 8, 2011 20:14:37 GMT -5
Your heartfelt, passionate rants always make for great reading, hb! I admire Taymor (and Bono)--but here's something I read a few months ago in New York magazine that gave me that sinking feeling. The article in question is now available online for everyone's reading pleasure. It's a long article (loved the first paragraph on page 3 that describes the "additions" to the Spider-Man story.  ) nymag.com/arts/theater/features/69680/ |
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Post by humanbelly on Feb 10, 2011 5:57:02 GMT -5
Your heartfelt, passionate rants always make for great reading, hb! I admire Taymor (and Bono)--but here's something I read a few months ago in New York magazine that gave me that sinking feeling. The article in question is now available online for everyone's reading pleasure. It's a long article (loved the first paragraph on page 3 that describes the "additions" to the Spider-Man story. ) nymag.com/arts/theater/features/69680/That is quite an article-- I don't think I could survive working with her, however. The whole giant-steel-ring-in-the-flyspace/cut-after-two-days scenario makes me shudder. I'm. . . not a huge fan of operating on a whim level of defcon5. She's keeping a lot of theater folks employed in the short-term, yes, but she's also flat-out wasting a lot folks' money, as well, and I wonder how willing these snake-bitten angels will be to invest in another Broadway enterprise? Pursuing her artistic vision without compromise or distraction led to the fantastically successful LION KING, yes-- but artistic vision isn't at all a reliable, consistent guide. It can be ridiculously fickle. And when there's a willful disregard for practicality, cost, feasibility & possibly safety, then using the pursuit of that vision as the final trump card throughout the process strikes me as, well, self-indulgent and self-serving. I may not be the best judge, though. I do work with this personality-type not infrequently, but they're about 20 rungs down the professional ladder, and don't have the successes to back up their commitment to operating according to their own whims. . . HB |
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Post by sharkar on Mar 3, 2011 20:00:46 GMT -5
Peter Marks from the Washington Post simply LAMBASTED Spidey:TOTD in the paper this morning. I mean, in historic proportions. I have to say, though, that the ENTIRE Washington theater community (3rd largest in the nation!) wishes he would just pack up and go ANYWHERE else for the rest of his life. He is nearly universally reviled here, as he is a living cliche' of a reviewer whose main claim to fame is his clever ability to turn a withering, snide phrase. His goal is to elevate his own standing and rep by doing so. He is by no means (stretched as far as they might) a legitimate reviewer, and hasn't at all earned the power he wields over the lifeblood of the theaters in our region and their productions. He aspires to be a top tier New York reviewer (no secret about that), and therefore goes up and reviews lots of Broadway stuff that no one around here will ever see--- claiming that, of course, New York theater is local to us. But, the more he's up there, the less he's down here killing our shows, so there's a sort of regional foxhole mentality at work (sorry Sharkar-- you'll have to deal w/ him!). No thanks, HB--you can keep him! Please!  But I did read his review online (link below) and I can't say I disagree with his assessment--I see he mentioned some of the things that gave me pause, such as the inclusion of elements from Greek myths. www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/07/AR2011020704088.html?sid=ST2011020704113 |
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Post by humanbelly on Mar 4, 2011 7:46:45 GMT -5
Peter Marks from the Washington Post simply LAMBASTED Spidey:TOTD in the paper this morning. ). No thanks, HB--you can keep him! Please! But I did read his review online (link below) and I can't say I disagree with his assessment--I see he mentioned some of the things that gave me pause, such as the inclusion of elements from Greek myths. Well, and I kinda wonder if that's the Julie T factor. She's clearly (and successfully) a very artistically high-concept director-- but the danger (and again, I see this a LOT down at the levels I operate in) is that not everything can support or justify a "high-concept" treatment. In fact, I kind of think the majority of things don't, as it more often than not gets in the way of clear story-telling--- which should be the FIRST priority of any theatrical work. Greek Mythology? A Greek chorus? This ancient Arachne spider-spirit being? Honestly, I don't think this conceptual arrow could be more off-target. This is all huge and weighty and creaks under the strain of cosmic significance, etc, etc--- and it completely misses what the narrative appeal is in Pete/Spidey's saga: that this is a relatively small, focused story about one young man's personal growth. I'm sure that all of the superfluous high-concept folderol can only serve to fatally diffuse that focus, and pull our attention away from his point of view. You know why the Spiderman movies were successful? Sam R (director) had followed and loved Spidey since childhood. He "got" Spidey. Julie T was handed a stack of comic books that she'd never read before, and was approached about making a musical. Her interest in Spidey wasn't inherently there, and so her instincts led her back to her artistic comfort-zone, rather than really letting her trust the material. Hmm-- amazing that I could be so blatantly opinionated about a show I've never seen. . . HB |
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Post by sharkar on Mar 4, 2011 12:04:52 GMT -5
Well, and I kinda wonder if that's the Julie T factor... I'd say that's a pretty safe bet. |
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) discussion over to its own thread here? I feel terribly guilty about just clobbering the Introduce Yourself thread with such a lengthy & wide-ranging tangential discussion. I am, obviously, quite into the topic- but I don't want it to ward off any casual potential joiners, y'know?
!!!
HB
) 