My very, very, very belated review of the Music Man's most recent Broadway revival
I suppose it is long past time that I sat down and wrote out my thoughts about the 2021 Broadway revival of The Music Man. Especially as I saw it all the way back in August. As I get older, I'm finding that my capacity to recall the finer details of a book, movie, or show is beginning to elude me, so I better post this entry before all memory of ( Read more... )
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I apparently still get LJ notifications, and I'm so glad 'cause it send me your review! We saw the revival in April - I'm glad you eventually got to see it, but what a pain with all the rescheduling! Totally agree 100% re: not paying that much money for an understudy.
I had a similar mixed review - I loved Hugh Jackman, and didn't really mind it being the Hugh show, or the singing since Harold's always been a weak singer. And I liked Sutton's acting as Marian (you're right on about the comedic timing - she definitely found the humor, and especially the physical comedy--and she is a great actress. I was watching her face really closely when Winthrop was singing his part during "Wells Fargo Wagon" and she made me cry...though to be fair that is one of my favorite parts and I always cry) but I hated her singing, especially on My White Knight. Well, hated is strong - I think I would have liked it if I hadn't heard/known/loved the original, if that makes sense?
I actually really liked the changes to Shipoopi - I definitely see where ( ... )
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Hey, great to hear from you! Glad you got to see the show, too. :)
Regarding Sutton Foster's acting - I read an interview where she talked about Winthrop's transformation and the way it really touched her on a personal level and affected her acting choices, and how it was something she didn't entirely grasp before she became a parent. (Not that people without children wouldn't understand - this was just her personal experience. I myself fell in love with the Music Man because of Winthrop's transformation, and this was years before I had my daughter! I always thought, parent or not, that Winthrop's transformation was truly the emotional core of the show - if you can't buy that, and how that subsequently influenced Harold's transformation, the musical just doesn't work.)
I'm unfortunately not able to be as active in the fandom as I once was, due to working full time and getting back into community theater (today I've got a show where I'm playing Fred's wife in A Christmas Carol), but I've got an epic series planned that's going to knit ( ... )
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Of course you have already read all my thoughts in great detail, twice, but yep, I agree with very much of what you said here! It is not at ALL a definitive version of the show and I wouldn't want it to be regarded as a new standard, but still absolutely delightful to see it on Broadway and I'm very glad that they didn't change anything about it to be cynical or edgy despite what many critics seemed to want.
They DID change Shipoopi, of course, and our thoughts on THAT are exactly the same. "Those who find the original lyrics offensive are likely to find the whole show problematic and probably not bother seeing it, anyway." EXACTLY.
I was also a little baffled by Hugh Jackman's singing because he has an undeniably great voice but it was... not well-utilized here. Perhaps the baritone-intended songs are just not in his range? But I mean, they could move the keys for him like they did for Sutton, and they probably did, soo ???? Yeah, Robert Preston is known as "not a technically great singer" but he sang the role about 500x smoother ( ... )
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Argh, I figured I was probably going to get something wrong. Remember what I said about my memory going? XD I probably messed up in my recollection of the details surrounding Gary, Indiana.
What I remember from this iteration of the show is that Harold dropped Winthrop off from a fishing trip for the Gary Indiana Reprise, which I think is new? Either way, it was a nice touch. I don't remember Harold singing Gary, Indiana with Mrs. Paroo in this version, though perhaps that's another thing that disappeared down the memory hole. If he didn't, was that just something he did in the movie?
Anyway, this is why I really wish they would film this performance for streaming. I find that I need to watch things multiple times for the details to stick in my memory, and even then, I cannot recall things with the crystal clarity that I could in the late 90s/early 00s. I blame aging, stress, trauma, and Covid for making mincemeat of my brain. XD
Also, I am meaning to review your latest fic by the end of the year, which I have sadly been very remiss ( ... )
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You're right, that was the difference! Gary, Indiana is usually/originally sung only by Winthrop in act II, BUT Harold is normally not present for it, so that was a change they made. The scene with Mrs. Paroo is only in the movie (though it's entirely possible that some stage versions have added it in, too, but it's not in the original stage script.)
Awww I'm so glad you haven't forgotten about the fic! No rush, of course. It's ridiculous, I have one new fic that has been basically one paragraph away from completion since September (it's always the ending, with me!) and a short second chapter for Something Special that has been left at about 75% complete for months, too. Hopefully my brain is working well enough to get these out in the next couple months and do even more writing!
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Yay, my brain is not entirely mush! XD
I'm hoping things will quiet down a bit after the holidays so I have some time to catch up on reviewing and writing projects - as I mentioned in a comment to Araminta (and as you've no doubt seen on FB), I've been getting back into community theater. Got a show today, and then again on December 17, where I play Fred's wife (Scrooge's niece-in-law) in a reenactment of A Christmas Carol. We're doing this in a historic house museum, where groups of 4-6 people are ferried from room to room. They watch our scene, then go to the next room. We could potentially do our scene up to 15 times an event - it's close-quarters "immersive" theater, much like Nightmare on Main was, though on a smaller scale.
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