Thursday, December 4, 2014

UGG. AND UGG:  In anticipation of tonight's live broadcast, can I just confirm with everyone that ... Peter Pan just isn't that good of a musical in the first place?

22 comments:

  1. Joseph Finn9:09 AM

    Agreed, which also applies to Annie.

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  2. Marsha9:47 AM

    Indeed. It's a good book, and there's a decent song or two, but the whole thing doesn't come together well in the musical, which drags a lot. That said, I'll do what I did with the Sound of Music and give it an hour or so.

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  3. sbr92910:21 AM

    Oh say it isn't so Joseph! The original Annie musical was magical - especially as a 7 year old kid watching Alison Smith (who later went on to Kate and Allie fame) in the lead roll on B'way. Nothing ever came close to it in my book.

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  4. Jordan10:22 AM

    It's fantastic. Have some fairy dust mother fuckers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lih3gyvgn0

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  5. Agreed. My niece played Peter in a local production last year, and though she was perfection (of course!) the show itself was painful to watch.



    I realize that changes have been made to the NBC show to downplay the original's racism, but still: it's just not a very good show.

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  6. Correct on every count. Both the choice of show and the casting has been perplexing here. I don't have the raw hate for Allison Williams that many seem to, but the decision to promote her as a Big Star doesn't make sense.

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  7. Joseph Finn11:32 AM

    I just feel that Peter Pan and Annie are good starter sets for kids, which is fine, but they could be much better.

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  8. Alex_Gordon11:40 AM

    No love for Peter Pan, but you can't dismiss Annie in the same sentence. I saw it as a kid and was transfixed and have been able to see two daughters independently fall under its spell. Sure it's not perfect, but you just can't deny this...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0bOH8ABpco

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  9. Alex_Gordon11:42 AM

    Bigger disaster tonight...Allison Williams or Jay Cutler. It's gotten to be the only way to get through a Bears game is to hate watch.

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  10. sconstant11:49 AM

    I didn't get at all why they picked it - I thought it was cheap rights or something - until I heard all the stuff about the prior live versions. NBC, Mary Martin, 3 times! All that. But back then, no bitching on the internet, only two or three other options on TV, a cast that had done it 239508 times on Broadway, and no one could rewind and replay the bits that went badly.

    It should be a good musical. Jules Styne. Comden/Green. But no, it isn't.

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  11. The heritage kind of makes sense, but it seems to me that they're targetting the wrong generation for the nostalgia play. Sound of Music on TV was still a big deal in the 80s/90s. Peter Pan hasn't been a big deal since the 60s.

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  12. Saray1:04 PM

    My mom disagrees with you all. She spent half of Thanksgiving watching videos of Cyril Ritchard on youtube.

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  13. Saray1:40 PM

    Also according to the NYT, next year's live musical will be The Music Man.

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  14. Which is a completely sensible choice. And either Jackman or NPH would make a fine Harold Hill.

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  15. Jordan3:10 PM

    Slightly off topic: yesterday I saw a commercial for "Into the Woods" for the first time and, if it weren't for this blog, would have had no idea that it was a musical. It looked like it had an action/adventure Snow White and the Huntsman/Maleficent type vibe. No hint of songs or singing, no mention of it being a musical.

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  16. Marsha9:50 PM

    I still maintain that the very best songs Sondheim ever wrote are in Merrily. Alas, the book doesn't really work. I have tons of affection for the show, however.

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  17. Josie Jones Thames10:16 AM

    Yes! I said the same thing to my husband yesterday when I saw the commercial. Where is the singing? This is a beautiful musical. I want to hear snippets of "Agony" and "I Know Things" or "Giants In The Sky"! I mean, why on earth aren't they at least teasing the title song? Even with Meryl Streep as the Witch, this makes me worry.

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  18. Tosy and Cosh1:09 PM

    The second trailer did a much better job of representing the singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Byk9Is3TjY

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  19. The Pathetic Earthling2:10 PM

    That 4th quarter on-side kick was pretty sweet, though.

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  20. The Pathetic Earthling2:11 PM

    I'd love to see NPH as Harold Hill.

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  21. Mr. Cosmo7:14 PM

    Bzzzttt. Sondheim wrote Forum. All downhill from there.

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  22. Josie Jones Thames1:50 PM

    Thank you for linking that. I hadn't seen it. Although, if I didn't already know this was a musical, I still wouldn't know by the trailer, with the exception of The Witch singing to Rapunzel. Although, that could be part of the marketing- let's see if we can hook the ones that aren't much for musicals.

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