Musicals: with good and bad books

I love Pygmalion.

And almost every song in My Fair Lady is a killer.

I have seen only 2 productions of MFL but I was counting the minutes. I am by far in the minority but I felt like the play said everything and the songs in the musical were like unnecessary padding.

It may not be the book, but it was... something.

One of my favourite things about George Bernard Shaw is that he got so fed up of the public shipping Eliza and Higgins (they probably didn't call it shipping back then, but that's what it was) that he wrote a postscript that explicitly spells out that Eliza did marry Freddy and they did have a flower shop though it wasn't a rousing success and they did have to rely on the kindness of Colonel Pickering to help them somewhat.

I still hold out hope that someone will sort out the unholy mess that is Chess because under it all there's a brilliant musical waiting to burst out (they've been workshopping again in NY apparently)

I mean I know Cats isn't supposed to make sense really but yes. Wasn't ALW talking about that on EP this Sunday? I only half listened but something about for him the book is key to a really successful musical and then laughed saying 'except for Cats obviously'

Chess doesn't work because its premise doesn't work. The game of chess cannot be played as a cool sport - it's just not true. Freddy's line in One Night In Bangkok... "I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine."... sums up the show's failure.

A postscript that evidently was not read by the director who did a production at my local theatre a few years ago that ended with Eliza & Higgins locked in each other's arms. The actress playing Eliza said to me afterwards that Shaw would have been turning in his grave!

Personally, having seen multiple productions of both Pygmalion & My Fair Lady, I do prefer the latter for the added scenes. When I see Pygmalion I feel there are bits missing!

I really like that line. Guess it's just me who does then!

Perhaps it's just me, but I saw the Aberystwyth Arts Centre annual summer musical production of Chess and I just couldn't make head or tail of anything.

Just to carry on boring you all to death as usual, my other Chess story is that, an hour or two before a preview of the original West End premiere production of Chess, I bought a prime stalls ticket from the box office, in person. As I walked away, I glanced at the ticket to check the details and saw, printed on it, "Gala Charity Performance - Black Tie". As I was wearing a casual short-sleeved shirt and jeans, and had been told none of these details on buying the ticket, I went straight back to the window to ask whether I'd be let in. After giving me a dirty "You are a troublemaker" look, the clerk disappeared to ask his supervisor. He returned and asked me where I was sitting. When I said Stalls, he said I was in luck because Princess Margaret was seated in the dress circle and I wouldn't have been allowed in there in my clothes. Actually, it turned out to feel very uncomfortable seeing it mid-Stalls because virtually everyone else was in Black Tie evening dress, and I sensed a general feeling that I'd dressed this way as some especially planned class protest. This occasion was one of my very first West End theatre experiences!

Surely for his musical you would have equally the same amount of people in a white tie. As nice as your story comes across, but I am not having it that a princess was there, if you said a King or Queen I would have believed you. 😜😜😜😜😜

What does everyone think of the notion that book writers get none of the credit when a show is a hit and most (if not all) of the blame when it's a flop?

Not many I think Same for ALW and virtually any show. Except when it's based on a movie and the screenwriter also does the book for the musical.

Yeah, that's so true. I spend months outlining the story and writing the scenes and then a composer swoops in and writes the score in a few weeks and takes most of the credit.