tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post2164894625297533339..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Dear (departed) Evan HansenBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-80814656074438439472021-10-01T20:54:39.389-07:002021-10-01T20:54:39.389-07:00I have never understood why there has ever been a ...I have never understood why there has ever been a national broadcast of the Tony Awards. Why does the New York-central network HQ people think there is a legitimate national interest in each year's new Broadway productions? Nearly the entire country (a) doesn't live in the New York area where those Broadway shows exist and (b), even then, hasn't ever been to see any of those shows. It would make as much sense for CBS to air for the American public the equivalent of the Emmy Awards for programs that are shown on German television.David G.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55771110773198902852021-09-28T14:57:51.454-07:002021-09-28T14:57:51.454-07:00@D. McEwan: "Wow, did you ever get that backw...@D. McEwan: "Wow, did you ever get that backwards. Live theater IS 3-D. Movies are a 2-D medium, except for 3-D movies."<br /><br />Still, I think there's something to the notion of a different dimensionality between live theater and films. Maybe a better way to think of it is like this:<br /><br />In live theater, the performance is generally directed in one basic direction--outward, through the fourth wall and toward the audience, and the audience cannot and does not change the physical viewpoint from which to take in the story. In a movie, a camera can move in way that a theater audience cannot, thus providing viewing experiences and physical perspectives that allow filmmakers to present the story in ways unavailable to a live theater audience. <br /><br />(I vaguely recall a review of THE PRODUCERS musical movie that made this point to describe how the movie didn't succeed where the theatrical musical did.)<br /><br />With regard to DEAR EVAN HANSEN that started this whole thing, I do note that the filmmakers did tweak the ending of the movie to address criticism of the story--that Evan doesn't face nearly enough consequences for his actions. Those changes may be subtle, any may not be ultimately successful (and doesn't make the overall story much less of a downer) but it at least shows the filmmakers were aware and made some attempts to mediate the story's "ickiness."Tommy Raikonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-76202420873780388242021-09-28T12:04:04.788-07:002021-09-28T12:04:04.788-07:00Watching the Tony Awards my girlfriend quipped,&qu...Watching the Tony Awards my girlfriend quipped,"if they really wanted to make Broadway more inclusive, they could lower ticket prices. $700 to see Hugh Jackman in The Music Man?!"<br /><br />I hate that she came up with a funnier line than me.Jack Westnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12942268322876367532021-09-28T11:05:28.245-07:002021-09-28T11:05:28.245-07:00"DyHrdMET said...
I would think it's fair...<i>"DyHrdMET said...<br />I would think it's fairly difficult to take a play (which you can think of as being in 2-dimensional space in that it's on something closed to a fixed or limited set, and to some extent, the audience uses their imagination to put together where they really are supposed to be) and put it into 3-dimensional space (where you can film anywhere and there's nothing left to imagine)."</i><br /><br />Wow, did you ever get that backwards. Live theater <b>IS</b> 3-D. Movies are a 2-D medium, except for 3-D movies.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61606522232698707722021-09-28T10:52:30.591-07:002021-09-28T10:52:30.591-07:00"Paul W said...
Also Ken, if you have not see...<i>"Paul W said...<br />Also Ken, if you have not seen Come From Away yet, please watch it on Apple+. I promise you will like it. My wife and I vouch for it so much, I'll send you $10 if you don't like it!"</i><br /><br />I saw <i>Come From Away</i> live on stage, and <i><b>LOVED</b></i> it! Bought the CD.D. mcewannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-83610529132222402582021-09-28T09:32:44.781-07:002021-09-28T09:32:44.781-07:00@Jenmoon "I suspect this kind of has similar ...@Jenmoon "I suspect this kind of has similar issues to Rent: people love the music, but the plot is bad. (Okay, so Rent is more like, "all the characters are self-absorbed jerks who are too pretentious to pay their rent.")"<br />AGREED! Same reason I HATED La La Land. Self absorbed jerks who were too pretentious to suck up their day jobs.<br />And the DEH movie cut my favorite song, "Anybody Have a Map", aka the Single Parent's Theme Song.<br />Like several others said, the live DEH show got away with Evan's appalling behavior just by virtue of the energy of the live performance. On film - yeccch.McTomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61540885756775851572021-09-28T09:30:14.305-07:002021-09-28T09:30:14.305-07:00And She Loves Me is most enjoyable. Zachary Levi w...And <i>She Loves Me</i> is most enjoyable. Zachary Levi was a revelation. Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10564740611042378518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-67977845717021787812021-09-28T08:27:44.119-07:002021-09-28T08:27:44.119-07:00Evan Hansen's early reviews were terrible. and...Evan Hansen's early reviews were terrible. and yes, it's morally uncomfortable, but isn't much of life?<br />There's a touring production of it coming to my area, which I would have already seen if it weren't for COVID. I'll see it in early 2022. <br />Yes, as a big fan of Broadway, I'm always watching the Tonys. But this year's I only heard about two days before.Roger Owen Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05298172138307632062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49000828724891267702021-09-28T08:06:37.655-07:002021-09-28T08:06:37.655-07:00The review at RogerEbert.com does a good job of ex...The review at RogerEbert.com does a good job of explaining why the movie is a failure.<br /><br />https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dear-evan-hansen-movie-review-2021<br />Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00466932184113943306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-72079127700227188462021-09-28T04:29:16.814-07:002021-09-28T04:29:16.814-07:00Much of the Great Performances is available via P...Much of the <i>Great Performances </i> is available via PBS Passport, which cost $5 a month and is a much worthier recipient of your support than Prime.Michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14728078771690348042021-09-28T04:24:20.488-07:002021-09-28T04:24:20.488-07:00Exactly. Streetcar Named Desire and Julius Caesar ...Exactly. <i>Streetcar Named Desire</i> and <i>Julius Caesar</i> (among others. The NT Live production of <i>War Horse</i> is amazing and blows away the movie) use minimal, creative staging and preserve some of the feel of a live event.Michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-45386396362179391842021-09-28T04:18:38.581-07:002021-09-28T04:18:38.581-07:00The distancing effect of the camera is very real. ...The distancing effect of the camera is very real. A problematic plot or silly premise can be swept away by the proximity of live performance, but the distancing effect just brings those issues to the fore. Rent is a prime example.Michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8602083322186718212021-09-28T02:41:31.954-07:002021-09-28T02:41:31.954-07:00@gottacook Years before Woody Allen did that joke...@gottacook Years before Woody Allen did that joke, James Thurber was asked to illustrate Alice in Wonderland. His reply, "Keep the Tenniel drawings. I'll rewrite the story."Breadbakernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63244328965731910412021-09-27T19:39:46.177-07:002021-09-27T19:39:46.177-07:00I would think it's fairly difficult to take a ...I would think it's fairly difficult to take a play (which you can think of as being in 2-dimensional space in that it's on something closed to a fixed or limited set, and to some extent, the audience uses their imagination to put together where they really are supposed to be) and put it into 3-dimensional space (where you can film anywhere and there's nothing left to imagine). You've written for both mediums. How different would one of your 1 act plays taking place on a single stage/set look if produced as a 10-minute motion picture filmed in the real world? Part of the beauty of the stage is that limitation, and that gets lost as that extra dimension to the look gets added.<br /><br />Same idea if you were to take a TV show filmed in front of a live studio audience and then had it filmed as a movie on a movie set that's supposed to be same place, but filmed with a single camera. It wouldn't look right.DyHrdMEThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621011643939597497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63945378963030925672021-09-27T17:46:52.306-07:002021-09-27T17:46:52.306-07:00RichRocker: Your remark about superheroes reminded...RichRocker: Your remark about superheroes reminded me of <i>It's a Bird... It's a Plane.. It's Superman,</i> a 1966 attempt to merge a superhero story and a musical comedy that lasted about 4 months on Broadway. (I thought it was pretty good, but I was only 9 at the time.) Probably the producers lost a lot less money than the people who backed the famous, doomed Spider-Man musical of more recent times ... which might have worked if it too had been a comedy.<br /><br />DanMnz: "even if they take out the music" brought to mind a joke on my Woody Allen 1960s stand-up LPs, about the guys who got hold of <i>My Fair Lady</i> and were erasing the music and "turning it back into <i>Pygmalion.</i>"gottacooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54334324050606989702021-09-27T17:08:26.251-07:002021-09-27T17:08:26.251-07:00I'll answer for the side of 'not a fan of ...I'll answer for the side of 'not a fan of broadway'<br />I have ZERO interest in plays, and when adapted to the screen, the same. I don't like musicals, not my cup of tea at all. I avoid them at all costs. If I hear that something was a play, even if they take out the music or it had barely any in it, I still don't bother, I know I will not like it. <br />If you enjoy plays, go to the play. I enjoy the movie theater for movies, so I watch movies I enjoy. Cross overs are not for me, never will be no matter what it is.DanMnzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14793250372495588926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35111641347726532932021-09-27T16:53:43.747-07:002021-09-27T16:53:43.747-07:00When I used to go to B'way musicals (1950s and...When I used to go to B'way musicals (1950s and 60s) when the overture played snippets of tunes that were also pop hits (The Party's Over, I Didn't know What Time It Was and I Enjoy Being A Girl) the audience would cheer. Today ... it never happens. Instead (as some wag once commented) you come out humming the scenery ... or kvetching over what the ticket cost you!Rick Whelanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08219189631582800383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13466201795607328692021-09-27T15:23:42.046-07:002021-09-27T15:23:42.046-07:00I saw a ticket stub for the music man. 8 dollars f...I saw a ticket stub for the music man. 8 dollars for an orchestra seat. 78 dollars in today's Monday. I am sure it costs a ton to put on a Broadway musical today. sanfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580867647162091670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55337736205816224802021-09-27T15:00:06.688-07:002021-09-27T15:00:06.688-07:00Something uncanny.
1) A family friend wrote the ...Something uncanny. <br /><br />1) A family friend wrote the Young Adult novel series "Vampire Academy", which was very well-received; unfortunately, the movie got terrible reviews and quickly tanked. <br /><br />2) I am related by marriage to a prominent cast member of the original "Dear Evan Hansen" Broadway production, which earned SRO audiences and a boatload of Tonys; however, the movie version (which this person was not in) is getting a social backlash that I don't recall the stage version getting. <br /><br />Maybe the best way for a movie adaption to work is for me to not have a personal connection to the source material? If the TV series of "Vampire Academy", set for Peacock, is also a dud, that would confirm it. Liggienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65892738935326206192021-09-27T14:23:46.919-07:002021-09-27T14:23:46.919-07:00Another example is the film of the musical version...Another example is the film of the musical version of The Producers. The show was a bigger hit on Broadway (and set Tony records) than Dear Evan Hansen. The film was terrible. One review suggested that the director must have never seen a movie. Which is odd given that of course the musical was based on not just a movie, but one that won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Breadbakernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-28802124333207365072021-09-27T12:44:53.444-07:002021-09-27T12:44:53.444-07:00Oddly, a lot of stage productions do better as tel...Oddly, a lot of stage productions do better as television presentations than movies -- especially when delivered in actual performance rather than "opened up" with the fourth wall sealed off.<br /><br />"Great Performances" on PBS has showcased impressive productions of various Broadway and West End shows. My favorite is "She Loves Me", the best adaptation of "Little Shop Around the Corner" since Lubitsch. It's available to stream on Amazon.<br /><br />Others have included a lavish non-musical adaptation of "Act One" with Tony Shalhoub as Moss Hart and other characters; British stagings of "42nd Street" and "Gypsy" (the latter with Peter Davison persuasively American); and a stage version of "White Christmas" loaded with killer dance numbers. On my DVR I've got "An American in Paris".<br /><br />There was a brief period when early content-hungry cable channels were snapping up Broadway shows that evidently despaired of getting a movie deal. Somewhere out there are "Little Johnny Jones", the George M. Cohan show revived with Donny Osmond; the original "Bullshot Crummond"; and Leonard Nimoy in William Gillette's "Sherlock Holmes".<br /><br />If you're willing to spend, there's a DVD of American Conservatory Theater's lovely "Cyrano de Bergerac", starring Peter Donat with just-before-stardom Marsha Mason and pre-Beastmaster Marc Singer. DBensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01144515471557731622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-5937151727127231422021-09-27T12:20:39.011-07:002021-09-27T12:20:39.011-07:00I find people in their teens and 20's have not...I find people in their teens and 20's have not grown up watching musicals so they are unable to buy into the central conceit of people singing on screen. For them, it is not realistic and any movie that tries it is laughably bad, hence the stupidity in their opinion of Into the Woods and Les Miserables and Cats and In the Heights and now Dear Evan Hansen. Don't get me started on the fact that they have no issue believing in superheroes who can fly and do all kinds of unrealistic things as well but they have no trouble accepting it because they grew up watching these. Musicals also, generally speaking, have an optimistic worldview that runs counter to the quite cynical inclinations of this same audience. Too bad because musicals can bring a lot of joy if the audience can open up and meet it halfway.RichRockerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16092252748765062964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43209105745309682502021-09-27T12:01:59.572-07:002021-09-27T12:01:59.572-07:00When I was in 8th grade- 1962 - tix to MY FAIR LAD...When I was in 8th grade- 1962 - tix to MY FAIR LADY on Broadway - albeit the balcony were $14. <br />Those were the days.Roseannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08393487748949411049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4693532215429636262021-09-27T11:15:16.442-07:002021-09-27T11:15:16.442-07:00I liked the way Hamilton and Come From Away musica...I liked the way Hamilton and Come From Away musical movies were shot directly from the stage. It feels so much closer to the in-theater performance and it has to be much cheaper to produce, right? So, for me, I hope this is the future of movie musicals.<br /><br />Also Ken, if you have not seen Come From Away yet, please watch it on Apple+. I promise you will like it. My wife and I vouch for it so much, I'll send you $10 if you don't like it!Paul Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00397583748600541496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-91217406192351672802021-09-27T11:13:03.702-07:002021-09-27T11:13:03.702-07:00Perhaps if Platt had been the "mystery guest&...Perhaps if Platt had been the "mystery guest" on What's My Line?...JoeyHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12710864245535772665noreply@blogger.com