[NEohioPAL] From the New York Times; straight shows down, musical theatre up

[Christopher Fortunato]

I think I have to agree with Robert Hawkes.  Robert's ouevre is in straight shows.  I acted opposite him in the Seagull and his Dr. Dorn was marvelous to watch on stage.  Don't forget, actors in the cast are watching the show like the audience.  And I was blessed there to watch some fantastic actors in that cast.  It's still with me five years after the fact.
 
It's too bad that plays may not be as appreciated as musicals.  I've done both.  I am more in the plays category or I get cast as a non-singing person in a musical.  (But I can sing.  I just did not go to BW or similarly situated training.)  
 
It's really too bad that the audience would reject a good Tennesee Williams or Arthur Miller play for a musical.  I enjoy both and when I go to NYC occasionally, I want to see both.  I find it encouraging that local venues like Porthouse, the Cleveland Playhouse and Beck stage both for the variety.
 
I was also surprised to see the numbers so disparate between plays and musicals.  I expect the musicals people are flocking to are older and tried and true.  Newer musicals today do not get the play on radios for the songs most likely because newer composers are not writing songs that you can sing while walking out of the theatre the way R&H did.> Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2008 04:31:41 -0800> From: alitivity at yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [NEohioPAL] From the New York Times; straight shows down, musical theatre up> To: learnedhand at live.com; rhhawkes at gmail.com> CC: neohiopal at listserve.com> > I think a point is being missed here. Musicals were in their Hayday, on film and in the Theater back when the world was at war, and times were tough. I believe it is no coincidence that they are back in full force now, when we are at war and times are tough. People want to have a break from their daily troubles, and Musicals do that for people.> > Al Damond Phillips> > > > > --- On Tue, 12/16/08, Robert Hawkes <rhhawkes at gmail.com> wrote:> > > From: Robert Hawkes <rhhawkes at gmail.com>> > Subject: Re: [NEohioPAL] From the New York Times; straight shows down, musical theatre up> > To: "Christopher Fortunato" <learnedhand at live.com>> > Cc: neohiopal at listserve.com> > Date: Tuesday, December 16, 2008, 10:57 PM> > Jeez, don't get me started. No disrespect to musical> > plays of actual honesty> > and substance, but this trend (a trend with a fraternal> > twin in the> > film-going population - ask John Ewing at the> > Cinémathèque) would seem to me> > merely a symptomatic eddy of the larger tidal shift, in the> > last 50-60> > years, as pop culture moves from the juvenile periphery to> > the adult center> > of our culture as a whole. We all know that it's harder> > and harder to get> > folk to sit still at a live theatre performance, accustomed> > as they are to> > the rapid jolts of TV and garbage-y movies, and what tends> > to draw them in,> > if they do come, is...well, let's just leave it at Easy> > Access - which,> > let's be frank, is what most musicals provide.> > > > I'll stop.> > > > Ho ho ho, everybody. Stay safe on New Year's Eve.> > > > RHH> > _______________________________________> > Connect with your colleagues! Join the Cleveland Theater> > Collective. Info here: http://www.clevelandtheater.com/> > ______________________________________> > NEohioPAL is SELF-SERVE. If you need to unsubscribe, change> > from digest to one-at-a-time delivery or vice-versa, go on> > hiatus while out of town, switch from mime to plain text or> > vice-versa, etc. check out the FAQS at> > http://www.fredsternfeld.com.> > ______________________________________> > please consider a voluntary contribution to support> > Neohiopal - http://www.fredsternfeld.com/faqs.htm#support> > ______________________________________> > Disclaimer: The facts and/or opinions expressed in this> > message are solely those of the person in the 'from'> > or 'reply-to' header. The fact that this message is> > posted should in no way be taken as an endorsement by the> > administrator of this list. Subscribers should perform due> > diligence for all goods, services and activities promoted on> > NEohioPAL.> > _____________________________________> > NEohioPAL mailing list> > http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal
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