i think i'm becoming a cranky old lady.

[swingchickie]

i used to be such a theater geek, and i'm finding lately that i'm not connecting to any musical-type stuff i'm seeing. i watched the DVD of "rent" last night, and i'm sorry, but am i missing something? i was bored. i fast-forwarded through scenes, i found many of the songs to be tedious, i didn't care about any of the characters. there were one or two touching moments, and i really liked rosario dawson's number in the strip club, but besides that i was just "eh". so many people are geeked out on that show, and i'm not getting it.

i also watched part of an episode of "you're the one that i want" the other night. this is the "reality performance" show where they're casting the roles of danny and sandy for a broadway production of "grease". first of all, why??? it was just on broadway with brooke shields as rizzo like 5 years ago, wasn't it? and to watch these guys and girls on tv, singing their hearts out and doing the whole broadway "acting" thing (one girl sang, as sandy, "suddenly i see" by kt tunstall, all wide-eyed and over-act-y)... well, i was so completely uncomfortable i had to change the channel. blecch.

seriously, am i missing something?

Comments

[xtingu]

If you're missing something, I'm missing the same thing.

I used to do a lot of theater, both in Arizona, and then also here in Delaware. It would really get me excited, to the point that the post-show crash was almost like a bad breakup.

But lately I just have no time for theater... whenever I go see a show, I find myself unimpressed and noting all the things wrong with it. The acting annoys me, the bad singing and uninformed phrasing, the shouty teens, the one chorus guy in the background who doesn't quite know how to dance and was only cast because he can sing the weird baritone harmony parts. The "theater-ness" of it all gives me douche-chills, and I have no tolerance for everyone trying to out-"deep" each other both on and off stage.

My old theater peeps ask when I'm going to audition for the next show, and I sincerely would rather just sit home and contemplate my navel.

People have given me copies of Rent and Godspell, and I just don't think it's physically possible for me to care less.

I've been much more into watching improv. And Cirque du Soleil hasn't lost its magic. (Once that happens, it'll be time for me to cut my head off.)

OK, I'm off my soapbox now. :-)

[swingchickie.livejournal.com]

you are my theater soulmate. :) i'm glad i'm not the only one who feels like that!!!

[mghicks.livejournal.com]

In general, I agree musicals suck.

I had a similar discussion recently with theater-folk and was told Rent was interesting during the 90's, when AIDS paranoia was still big.

I have always thought most musicals have lousy music and worse lyrics. I recommend "Into the Woods" if you haven't seen it. I've previously blogged (http://popcornsongs.blogspot.com/2005/12/not-all-west-side-stories-are-same.html) about West Side Story.

But I like most non-musical theater, even if a production isn't top-notch.

[notshakespeare.livejournal.com]

Not only is Rent AIDS related, on stage it broke the 4th wall in a way that musicals didn't tend to back then. In a movie, we couldn't care less about this technique, it is all over the place.

[mghicks.livejournal.com]

Several well-known musicals broke the fourth wall before Rent, see Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_theatre_that_breaks_the_fourth_wall), though Rent was pioneering in that it challenged the audience, rather than giving them the proverbial wink.

[swingchickie.livejournal.com]

into the woods is phenomenal... actually, i like all sondheim stuff. but cats, phantom, sunset boulevard... they all make me want to barf.

of course, i have yet to see a bad production of a sondheim show... perhaps some day i'll see one, and i'll be turned off to his work as well.

[xtingu]

This oughtta restore your faith in musicals, though:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdwlG05InAY

[swingchickie.livejournal.com]

yes yes YES!!! i saw that a month or two ago, and fell madly in love. THAT is worth watching. :)

[dontcallmemolly.livejournal.com]

I recently saw Hairspray on Broadway, and it totally restored my faith in modern musicals. Even as a second run, the cast was so on, the production was amazing, and the soundtrack is totally singable (rarely happens anymore). Check it out if you can. We got tickets day of at the Tix booth.

[Don't know if you remember me, but you were one of the few people on LJ who would admit to being at Villanova in the early 90s. We knew each other a little. I used to manage the box office at Vasey. Sorry I missed you when you lived in Mass, but I friended you now :) - Kelly]

[swingchickie.livejournal.com]

hey, wow!!!! how the heck are you??? the blogosphere is just WAY too small a world. i'm glad you found me! *hug*

Rent

[katehaney.livejournal.com]

Didn't do it for me, though I saw it when it first came out and it seemed... timely. The other one that left me cold in recent years was Aida. I didn't see the first cast though, and the replacement Aida was, I think, Nina Simone's daughter (?). She sang as if it were an intimate nightclub, which was utterly and completely inappropriate to the role and the venue.

I hate AL Webber and thought Sunset Blvd not only sucked, but also was a huge ripoff -- they repeat the big song (which I have blessedly forgotten entirely) THIRTEEN times, if I recall correctly (it was definitely over 10). The only one of his shows I can stand is the one with the rollerskating, the name of which I've also apparently forgotten.

I'm not a huge Sondheim fan, though companies seem sufficiently intimidated that they rarely do a completely shitty version. Like xtingu, I'm very, very critical of performances.

But I do loves me some classic musicals and lyric operas (G&S! w00t!). Mebbe it's a nostalgia thing. Dunno.

Re: Rent

[swingchickie.livejournal.com]

sunset boulevard: my hatred for it was fully cemented when i heard, in one of the songs, "oh golly gee" rhymed with the line before it. "oh golly gee?" that's all they could come up with to rhyme with an "e" sound? *gag*

starlight express was the rollerskating one. never saw it.