theatre
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Tell Me On A Sunday (1977)
Wow, this was disappointing, and it’s all in the execution, because this – read the extremely interesting backstory here on Wikipedia – is a very good concept for a show. There’s a great story to be told about a transatlantic relocation, of moving to a new world, and finding how that new world treats you,… Continue reading
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The 3 Musketeers (2010)
(its official title appears to use the digit… not sure I like that) Sometimes you just cringe, don’t you? You hear of an adaptation from one form to another of something you like, and you think “Oh god, please, no”, or sometimes you advance straight to “Just don’t fuck it up”, or you can’t stand… Continue reading
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The Threepenny Opera (1928)
Laurie Anderson has a song called “Difficult Listening Hour”. That phrase kept surfacing in my mind like a bad (three)penny while I was listening to this. This show dates from 1928 and was written by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, lifting the plot from an 18th century English show called “The Beggar’s Opera”. It’s about… Continue reading
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Titanic (1997)
In which yet again Maury Yeston proves that he can write moderately good music but doesn’t know what to do with it… oops, spoilers. And on the subject of spoilers: IT SINKS, so don’t get your hopes up: the only drama in this show is whether the actor playing the helmsman will announce “Fuck me,… Continue reading
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Urinetown (2001)
This musical was apparently inspired by the author’s encounter with a pay-toilet in Europe. (There are also, you may wish to know before you travel, pay-turnstiles at London train station toilets.) How to describe “Urinetown”? It somewhat reminds me of “Evil Dead – The Musical” and also of “The Threepenny Opera”. At the start a… Continue reading
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Lists and Recommendations
I originally listened to 260 musicals in 2009/2010. Here are some lists and recommendations: Twenty shows which I think are just great, although some are unlikely to be performed anytime soon, so you might as well listen to the score and use your imagination: 1776AmourBombay DreamsBright Lights, Big CityThe CapemanCurtainsDirty Rotten ScoundrelsIn The HeightsJane EyreKristinaLittle… Continue reading
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Bonnie & Clyde (2009)
Gil Hates Musicals reviews “Bonnie & Clyde” (2009), music by Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Don Black, book by Ivan Menchell. Everyone’s familiar with the famous quote “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a musical in possession of a good soundtrack must be by someone other than Frank Wildhorn”. But it’s easy to forget that… Continue reading
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The Bridges of Madison County (2014)
You’d think this would be promising; it’s a straightforward love story, backed by a popular movie, and the occasionally problematic but essentially very talented Jason Robert Brown supplies music and lyrics. Unfortunately, and let me not beat about the bush on this one, it’s shit, and it’s his fault. There are 20 songs and the… Continue reading