Comments on: Singing styles on Broadway: Too American Idol?

By: clew

clew — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 06:42:50 +0000

I just enjoyed the gahoolies out of myself at Bride and Prejudice. This is faintly embarrassing on a plot level - I don’t think it passes the Mo Movie Test; there are lots of women but they talk to each other about men - but oh boy, that was a MUSICAL.

And as far as I could tell all the camerawork was devoted to getting more dancers in every shot.

By: dave munger

dave munger — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 21:30:55 +0000

Interesting. I definitely agree that Chenoweth is better than Mendel, that Galinda is a more interesting character than Elphaba, but remember that it was Mendel who won the Tony. The tastes of the masses lean more to the AI style, by definition: the point of AI is to find the next pop star.

The problem with Broadway today is that the costs of mounting a show are so staggering that they can’t possibly be recouped without a tour, a hit CD, cross-merchandising, and a Hollywood movie either preceding or derived from it. There’s no room for the clever, experimental shows.

Or perhaps there is: after all, Avenue Q isn’t exactly mainstream, but it has been reasonably successful.

By: Samantha

Samantha — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 22:03:34 +0000

Loved the book, loved the musical, and the songs were hummed by me for days after. I’m a former NYer and a big fan of musicals who used to joke that I had to keep up with the latest in Broadway to not have my fag hag license revoked.

So many musicals have disappointed me that the return to classic Broadway form in Wicked was a delight. I get my biggest chills when Elphaba and Galinda change their bickering “I hope you’re happy” to a belted out well-wishing “I hope you’re happy”.

Portland’s musical production scene sucks. :(

By: Lizzybeth

Lizzybeth — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 16:04:50 +0000

When I hear the phrase “soaring vocals” (especially in the context of American Idol), I mentally picture an Olympic hammer-thrower, swinging that thing around in a huge arc. Just throwing your voice around is not singing. I remember hearing Christina Aguilera trying to sing Etta James’ “At Last”, which is one of my favorite songs, and it was excruciating. Girl kept drawing out all the notes with all these trills and flares and just buried the song, just drained it of all its character and power. She and the vast majority of these singers don’t understand how to sing at all. They may have impressive voices, but it’s how you play the instrument that matters. I’m sure that’s the complaint that Broadway fans have - songs that used to convey character and emotion now constitute hitting lots of notes really loudly. I watched American Idol for a few seasons and it’s amazing how they beat down these kids, some of whom have real talent, into the cookie-cutter bland belter mode. The first auditions are actually the best part, when there’s some leftover individuality there that hasn’t been stamped out yet.

By: Natalie

Natalie — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 14:36:57 +0000

Interesting that they’re complaining that Broadway is too American Idol–as someone who is an on-and-off again fan of AI, one of Simon Cowell’s pet peeves is singers that he identifies as being “too Broadway”.

That said, I saw Wicked last summer, before Idina Menzel left the show, and while I knew all my buttons were being pushed, I didn’t care. Wicked strick me as being a very traditional sort of show, so of course they’re going to have the big, bring down the house closer for Act I. How could they not? I mean, the show kind of matches up to the source material, but there are some really significant changes that were made in order to force it into the right shape for a Broadway show. So having a few musical cliches isn’t surprising at all and, in fact, is to be expected.

By: jam

jam — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 12:59:39 +0000

“and if you care to fine me, look to the western skies!”?

what, is this a song about air flight industry regulators? ;)

By: Evan

Evan — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 06:47:06 +0000

Yeah, Broadway musicals just don’t hold a candle to the good old days when we had real singers, like Ethel Merman and Carol Channing.

And you know what else I miss? Polio! Boy, those were the days, huh?

By: chaizzilla

chaizzilla — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 06:00:16 +0000

but it hits the solar plexus so much more thoroughly when there’s a palpable charachter on stage than just another vocal technician. the generic itself isn’t what interferes with the effect.