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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2018 17:07:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2018 17:12:00 GMT
Andy Karl and Samantha Barks to lead on Broadway!  |
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Post by ali973 on May 23, 2018 17:37:47 GMT
What. Happened.
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Post by 49thand8th on May 23, 2018 18:04:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2018 18:08:57 GMT
Oh I'm really sad to hear that about Steve- I had no idea that was why he dropped out. That's so sad.
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Post by david on May 23, 2018 18:09:20 GMT
Absolutely devastating. Your heart goes out to him and his family in these situations. Thank god everyone is safe. |
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Post by 49thand8th on May 23, 2018 18:11:55 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2018 18:17:20 GMT
Oh god, so sorry for Steve and his family.
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Post by ali973 on May 23, 2018 19:02:30 GMT
That's too bad. I was actually surprised at how economically challenged he is to begin with. That's tough and I didn't expect it.
I of course respect his personal choices and decision, but would have thought that having a job would be a good start to help him rebuild.
I always thought Steve had this air of melancholy around him.
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2018 19:14:37 GMT
A job 1000s of miles from where his family needs help, and one where he'll be paying out a good portion of his salary on rent and living expenses isn't going to help him much right now. Also it might just be more important to him being with the family who have just lost everything, never mind the stress and pressure of opening a musical on Broadway.
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Post by 49thand8th on May 23, 2018 19:35:27 GMT
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Post by Phantom of London on May 23, 2018 19:37:04 GMT
Sad to hear about his house and especially sad about the family dog, that didn’t make it.
However reviews for Steve were poor in Chicago, so in reality he was let go by the producers. His co-star is testament to keep your chin up, as Samantha Barks was fired by Amiele and is now starring in this Broadway musical, so every cloud can have a silver lining.
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2018 19:40:46 GMT
I haven't been following the show so no idea about timeline of events. But whatever I hope that he can take some time to help his family rebuild things (literally and figuratively) and then concentrate on his career again.
I had no idea about his Mum either. That's a tough time of it all round for him then.
But once again the theatre community is showing it really does rally in times of crisis, in the support he's being given.
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Post by squidward on May 24, 2018 11:20:12 GMT
Even at a time when the barrel is being well and truly scraped for movie musical spin-offs, I can’t get my head around the choice of this one in a post-Weinstein/Me Too era.
I would imagine there’s a strong chance despite his unfortunate personal problems, that the former leading man may have been replaced due to his reviews in Chicago.
Personally I find Andy Karl totally unappealing. Every time I’ve seen him there seems to be a rather smug element to his performance which I thought was particularly problematic in Groundhog Day in London, where he had zero connection with his love interest or any chemistry with the rest of the cast.
Even when playing a conceited character, if there isn’t a moment when you feel anything at all for them, particularly when they soften and see the error of their ways, it’s a big problem.
I’m mystified by the casting of Samantha Barks given this is an American story opening on Broadway, but I disagree with others who thinks she’s not up to the job. I think she might surprise the doubters.
I have heard some of the music and to me, it’s bland and forgettable soft rock that for me, doesn’t make for a great musical score ( same syndrome with ‘Ghost’).
Maybe if they’d had a really interesting director on the show ( of the calibre of Alex Timbers, Tina Landau or Michael Meyer) it might be worth a look, but I would imagine that there’s unlikely to be a ground breaking take on the story from Jerry Mitchell who for me, peaked with Legally Blonde and hasn’t done anything of interest since (I struggled to see what all the fuss was about with Kinky Boots).
Who knows though, it might be a masterpiece, but not one that I’ll be shelling out to see next time I visit NYC.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2018 13:08:58 GMT
I mean if we're arguing this shouldn't be on stage we should probably have a word with the Lincoln centre for staging 'My Fair Lady'....
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Post by 49thand8th on May 24, 2018 14:15:16 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2018 15:07:21 GMT
To be fair the inherent sarcasm of my reply might not have been completely obvious. And MFL irritates me as a musical (in music/style more than content if I'm perfectly honest) so I hadn't really paid it any attention. I love Pretty Woman as a film, and I do in fact defend it in terms of the woman not being a 'victim' and it being a pretty decent portrayl of some of those themes (if we consider also that it is coming up on 30 years old). That said, does it need to be a musical? or need to be remade in any way? Does any version of Pygmalion? Probably not... |
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Post by squidward on May 24, 2018 15:27:53 GMT
Maybe they could flip genders and have the hooker be a man and the Richard Gere part played by a woman?
Wesley Taylor & Alice Ripley perhaps?
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Post by 49thand8th on May 24, 2018 16:17:10 GMT
To be fair the inherent sarcasm of my reply might not have been completely obvious. And MFL irritates me as a musical (in music/style more than content if I'm perfectly honest) so I hadn't really paid it any attention. I love Pretty Woman as a film, and I do in fact defend it in terms of the woman not being a 'victim' and it being a pretty decent portrayl of some of those themes (if we consider also that it is coming up on 30 years old). That said, does it need to be a musical? or need to be remade in any way? Does any version of Pygmalion? Probably not... I think it's ok to create art and/or adapt an existing work out of desire/fun rather than necessity, but man, read the room! |
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2018 16:22:33 GMT
To be fair the inherent sarcasm of my reply might not have been completely obvious. And MFL irritates me as a musical (in music/style more than content if I'm perfectly honest) so I hadn't really paid it any attention. I love Pretty Woman as a film, and I do in fact defend it in terms of the woman not being a 'victim' and it being a pretty decent portrayl of some of those themes (if we consider also that it is coming up on 30 years old). That said, does it need to be a musical? or need to be remade in any way? Does any version of Pygmalion? Probably not... I think it's ok to create art and/or adapt an existing work out of desire/fun rather than necessity, but man, read the room! Again, perhaps the sarcasm humour isn't reading in this room. Of course it's ok to create work just for the sake of it *cough Spongebob cough* And personally, I love the film, I'd go and see it for fun and enjoyment if it wouldn't cost me $200. But rightly or wrongly so the erm timing for either of these is perhaps not the best. |
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Post by 49thand8th on May 24, 2018 17:26:34 GMT
Fair enough! But I do hear enough people asking, "Did that NEED to be a musical?" about all sorts of shows when the answer is no, but who cares if it wasn't needed? There's plenty of enjoyable stuff out there that was only wanted, not needed.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2018 18:09:24 GMT
Fair enough! But I do hear enough people asking, "Did that NEED to be a musical?" about all sorts of shows when the answer is no, but who cares if it wasn't needed? There's plenty of enjoyable stuff out there that was only wanted, not needed. Oh hell no that's not what I think (again picture me saying that with a humourous demeanor!) I spent a LOT of time talking about Bat Out Of Hell this past weekend, and while admittedly it was never my first choice of music to base a musical on (just not my era/style generally) I ADORE how much fun it is as a musical. It's the same way I feel about Mama Mia (or indeed the film squeal) I personally might not need it in my life, but hell if people enjoy it crack on. Another example is probably Spongebob. Did the world need a musical of that, I think we can safely say no, is the bit of the world that's seen it entertained and happy because of it? so I hear...so crack on lads. Though likewise...those who don't want Pretty Woman could also let people like myself and @theatremonkey who DO adore it have our fun (and in my case our Andy Karl) |
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Post by viserys on May 24, 2018 19:48:00 GMT
Guilty as charged  I think the question shouldn't be "Does this need to be a musical?" but "How can a musical version add something new to something well-known?" With cartoon adaptations from Frozen to Spongebob it's easy: Can their animated world convincingly come alive in the real world, especially when animals or fantasy creatures are involved? Sometimes it works well such as Lion King and apparently Spongebob, sometimes it's rather dire as in Little Mermaid. With normal movies, you just need to find a fresh approach. Billy Elliot, for example, worked wonderfully IMO because they did not only convincingly bring the dancing to the live stage but strengthened the backstory of the miners' strike and gave other characters like Billy's friend Michael more room. So the musical became its own thing next to the movie. Tim Minchin managed this pretty well with Groundhog Day, too, adding depth and characterization to the story and characters. Ned for example is just an annoying weirdo in the movie, but in the musical he suddenly shines with "The night will come" which is my favorite song in the show. An adaptation that completely failed for me on the other hand was "Ghost" - to me it seemed just really lacklustre, the movie slapped on stage 1:1 with a bunch of rather mediocre songs thrown at it. Same with the awful "Rocky" which I saw here in Germany. yea, they had the big spectacle of the boxing ring in the theatre, but there was nothing new, interesting or creative about the show itself. Again just the movie slapped 1:1 on stage with all the iconic scenes included like Rocky up and down the stairs in Philly, boxing frozen pigs and drinking raw eggs, plus some bland forgettable tunes. So... I'm fairly neutral about Pretty Woman, but it goes for this too: Can it add a new fresh dimension/perspective, perhaps even give it some fresh twists for our modern #metoo world? Or is it once more just a lame 1:1 adaptation with mediocre songs? And yea, of course I know that it's different for each person and some might find a gem where others see a turd, but that's anyway how I feel about it. I just try to be open about almost every show and give the writers a chance to see me what they've done with the material. Okay, I've ignored a few completely because I didn't need their existance, but that's my personal choice and only in one instance had something to do with it being a movie adaptation) |
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Post by alece10 on Jun 2, 2018 10:44:15 GMT
Mods please move if in the wrong place or if already a thread.
Friend of mine went to Bryan Adams concert at O2 this week and sent me this clip from concert.
Samantha Barks singing a number from upcoming musical of Pretty Woman.
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Post by Penny on Aug 11, 2018 15:58:30 GMT
Saw this last night and thought it was great , it’s a couple of hours of
easy to watch entertainment , much like the film . The cast were really good , I mean Andy Karl , come on what’s not to like ! Samantha Barks has a lovely voice and Eric Anderson as the hotel manger was fab . The songs are soft rock and you can tell Bryan Adams has written them as you can imagine him singing them .
Some of it was a bit cheesy - some of the dance numbers but the audience lapped it all up .
I had my 13 yr old with me who had not seen the movie , he really enjoyed it and is now watching the film before we go out to see another show this afternoon . I know people think this is not an appropriate show for these times and I think there can be a certain snobbery about theatre , but if you go and want pure entertainment then that’s what you get !
My son didn’t come out of this and think ,
Hey , I’d like to be a multi millionaire and find myself a hooker ( well I hope not anyway ) he just enjoyed a show on Broadway !
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