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Post by inthenose on May 3, 2022 21:21:38 GMT
O’Connor won’t be directing for him again. Usually directors /designers survive for 2/3 shows and then they are binned and blamed for a show failing (instead of a terrible score/book/storyline) and he’s done his 2 shows now. I think Connor has succeeded the 2 show mark as he directed Joseph and the concert version of Jesus Christ Superstar alongside Phantom, School of Rock and Cinderella. Not being funny but the shows you mentioned direct themselves. Say you have a huge hit you want to revive, it will recoup from box office advance based on name alone. The acid tests are longevity, commercial success and critical success. Triple no. If you handed me the keys to Phantom or Les Mis I would run for a few years on tour too. |
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Post by inthenose on May 3, 2022 21:26:10 GMT
I wouldn't mind but we've been through all this for years on this forum alone in other threads. And those in the know have been proven right.
I want to look on the good side of people and assume people aren't paid PR employees of individuals. But how many times do we have to be right? It's getting very tiresome.
There are people here who actively work in areas of showbusiness who are exposed to ALW, Cameron, Kenwright, "Mr Ian" and all the players. Perhaps listen to what they are saying.
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Post by scarpia on May 3, 2022 21:29:22 GMT
I think Connor has succeeded the 2 show mark as he directed Joseph and the concert version of Jesus Christ Superstar alongside Phantom, School of Rock and Cinderella. Not being funny but the shows you mentioned direct themselves. Say you have a huge hit you want to revive, it will recoup from box office advance based on name alone. The acid tests are longevity, commercial success and critical success. Triple no. If you handed me the keys to Phantom or Les Mis I would run for a few years on tour too. I mean, they sell themselves but they certainly don't direct themselves. I've lost count of the number of people who expressed horror to me (not just theatre fans but casual attendees who go maybe once a year at most) at what they saw at Connor's Phantom and Joseph. His Superstar looked awful too...and that Unmasked thing at the Other Palace was dreadfully staged. No idea what School of Rock was like, but as you say, it's hardly an acid test given there wasn't a lot of new material. The fact that ALW didn't even tell Laurence Connor the show was shuttering confirms everything we thought about why Connor gets hired...he's a nobody who will take diktats. Can you imagine ALW trying to pull one like this on Hal Prince, Richard Eyre or Trevor Nunn? |
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Post by stagebyte on May 3, 2022 21:31:29 GMT
I wouldn't mind but we've been through all this for years on this forum alone in other threads. And those in the know have been proven right. I want to look on the good side of people and assume people aren't paid PR employees of individuals. But how many times do we have to be right? It's getting very tiresome. There are people here who actively work in areas of showbusiness who are exposed to ALW, Cameron, Kenwright, "Mr Ian" and all the players. Perhaps listen to what they are saying. Please tell me his employees don’t have to call him ‘Mr Ian’ 😳 |
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Post by Jon on May 3, 2022 21:32:44 GMT
There are people here who actively work in areas of showbusiness who are exposed to ALW, Cameron, Kenwright, "Mr Ian" and all the players. Perhaps listen to what they are saying. I find it interesting no one usually has a bad word to say about the likes of Sonia Friedman or Nica Burns but I guess neither are megalomaniacs like Cameron and ALW. |
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Post by inthenose on May 3, 2022 21:35:57 GMT
There are people here who actively work in areas of showbusiness who are exposed to ALW, Cameron, Kenwright, "Mr Ian" and all the players. Perhaps listen to what they are saying. I find it interesting no one usually has a bad word to say about the likes of Sonia Friedman or Nica Burns but I guess neither are megalomaniacs like Cameron and ALW. Sonia is a sweetheart. Never met Nica. I don't know anyone who has a bad word to say about Sonia Friedman. She is firm of course! But very fair. |
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Post by mrbarnaby on May 3, 2022 21:59:07 GMT
I find it interesting no one usually has a bad word to say about the likes of Sonia Friedman or Nica Burns but I guess neither are megalomaniacs like Cameron and ALW. Sonia is a sweetheart. Never met Nica. I don't know anyone who has a bad word to say about Sonia Friedman. She is firm of course! But very fair. Sonia trusts the creatives she employs. There’s the difference. She wants the best directors and designers in the business. She’s formidable and is hugely respected. She also focuses on producing the highest quality productions, not desperately trying to find ways to cut back on everything. |
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Post by inthenose on May 3, 2022 22:15:09 GMT
Sonia is a sweetheart. Never met Nica. I don't know anyone who has a bad word to say about Sonia Friedman. She is firm of course! But very fair. Sonia trusts the creatives she employs. There’s the difference. She wants the best directors and designers in the business. She’s formidable and is hugely respected. She also focuses on producing the highest quality productions, not desperately trying to find ways to cut back on everything. Have to agree. |
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Post by mrbarnaby on May 3, 2022 22:21:06 GMT
Oh and she
DOES’NT
INTERFERE!
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Post by musicbox on May 3, 2022 22:45:30 GMT
I wouldn't mind but we've been through all this for years on this forum alone in other threads. And those in the know have been proven right. I want to look on the good side of people and assume people aren't paid PR employees of individuals. But how many times do we have to be right? It's getting very tiresome. There are people here who actively work in areas of showbusiness who are exposed to ALW, Cameron, Kenwright, "Mr Ian" and all the players. Perhaps listen to what they are saying.Very well said, I think it's important not to let your admiration for someone's work cloud your judgement of how they are as a person. ALW is obviously a genius, no one would ever deny that but...I'll leave it there. |
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Post by inthenose on May 4, 2022 0:38:17 GMT
Oh and she DOES’NT INTERFERE! I've had a bollocking or two "on the ground", but never when it isn't deserved. |
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Post by chernjam on May 4, 2022 3:17:03 GMT
Wonder if he’s started writing part 2 of Unmasked: A memoir. The first part only took us up to Phantom. Think Cinderella needs a volume all on its own. Honestly I wanted Unmasked 2 to get him on the record about EVERYTHING with Sunset finally, which honestly makes this whole "controversy" pale in comparison. I feel badly for everyone who's affected, but honestly the hysteria about "how" they found out? Would it have mattered all that much? They'd all still be in the same position. I suppose it's a way of channeling their energy and all, but it's just beyond tired at this point. Sunset - now you had a leading lady contracted to open in NY - with a rival production opening to far better reviews and the whole stage was set for a blowout, which came as you expected, but you were still shocked. And in the pre-Internet days this truly became an international incident that only grew more dramatic with the faye dunaway debacle (you know that somewhere there has to be a video of her singing With One Look, which almost 30 years later I'm still beyond curious to see) |
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Post by Oliver on May 4, 2022 8:58:43 GMT
I'd like him to write a beautiful score, hand it over to a world class director, orchestrator and MD and be locked out of rehearsals with absolutely no creative input or producing responsibility whatsoever. That is exactly what I want. I'm interested in this comment you made a while ago on the forum. Do you mean that once a story is chosen, you would like ALW to write a complete score and then hand the finished score over to a production team who take it from there? Presumably he would have to have some involvement during the rehearsal stage even then, since decisions over the production will often necessitate structural changes in the music, unless the production team must treat the score as a done deal? It's an interesting idea, do you know of any other musical theatre composers who work in this way? It also raises a couple of other questions in my mind. With Cinderella, for example, do you think it would have been a better musical had the same creative team been left to their own devices in the way you suggest (once the score had been finished by ALW)? How do you think ALW's involvement in rehearsals negatively impacted the musical? |
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Post by danb on May 4, 2022 9:07:08 GMT
That would be great. Know your limitations, what YOU are fantastic at AND LET THEM GET ON WITH IT.
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Post by mitch on May 4, 2022 10:14:58 GMT
Not being funny but the shows you mentioned direct themselves. Say you have a huge hit you want to revive, it will recoup from box office advance based on name alone. The acid tests are longevity, commercial success and critical success. Triple no. If you handed me the keys to Phantom or Les Mis I would run for a few years on tour too. I mean, they sell themselves but they certainly don't direct themselves. I've lost count of the number of people who expressed horror to me (not just theatre fans but casual attendees who go maybe once a year at most) at what they saw at Connor's Phantom and Joseph. His Superstar looked awful too...and that Unmasked thing at the Other Palace was dreadfully staged. No idea what School of Rock was like, but as you say, it's hardly an acid test given there wasn't a lot of new material. The fact that ALW didn't even tell Laurence Connor the show was shuttering confirms everything we thought about why Connor gets hired...he's a nobody who will take diktats. Can you imagine ALW trying to pull one like this on Hal Prince, Richard Eyre or Trevor Nunn? I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. I can't really take him seriously as a director, if I'm honest -- he seems to be a journeyman who can marshal something from one end to the other (sort of) but I see no artistry, no flare, no meaningful vision in any of this work (ie nothing that I would consider the attributes of an actual director). His ubiquitous presence at the moment says far more about the parlous state of large scale musicals than anything else. |
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Post by Jon on May 4, 2022 10:58:47 GMT
I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. I can't really take him seriously as a director, if I'm honest -- he seems to be a journeyman who can marshal something from one end to the other (sort of) but I see no artistry, no flare, no meaningful vision in any of this work (ie nothing that I would consider the attributes of an actual director). His ubiquitous presence at the moment says far more about the parlous state of large scale musicals than anything else. Connor was an Associate director who got lucky IMO. The fact he's only really worked with Cameron and ALW is proof of that. |
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Post by newyorkcityboy on May 4, 2022 11:32:07 GMT
At least in the time of Sunset etc the shows were worth all the drama. Nowadays the off-stage shenanigans are more satisfying than what we pay to see!
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 4, 2022 15:42:09 GMT
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Post by cezbear on May 4, 2022 15:54:26 GMT
Funny, I also saw a comment from Gloria (godmother) saying something along the lines of being traumatised. Either some real hyperbole here or things have been worse than we know.
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Post by lolalou on May 4, 2022 16:15:55 GMT
PTSD?
TRAUMA?
not being dismissive (well I am because people who have come out the other side of WAR or serious assault or sexual abuse or any type of really serious stuff often end up with those syndromes)
But if it was really THAT bad that one of them has PTSD then their agents need sacking as that is what they are there for to act as a go between to negotiate contacts and to mediate on issues. If he’s being dramatic then he needs to choose his words a little more carefully next time otherwise how can he ever hope to be taken seriously.
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Post by abitoftap on May 4, 2022 16:53:43 GMT
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Post by oxfordsimon on May 4, 2022 16:59:52 GMT
PTSD? TRAUMA? not being dismissive (well I am because people who have come out the other side of WAR or serious assault or sexual abuse or any type of really serious stuff often end up with those syndromes) But if it was really THAT bad that one of them has PTSD then their agents need sacking as that is what they are there for to act as a go between to negotiate contacts and to mediate on issues. If he’s being dramatic then he needs to choose his words a little more carefully next time otherwise how can he ever hope to be taken seriously. There is a growing mindset that anything can be construed as an act of violence. I saw a local student complaining that she didn't get cast in a tiny production of Tick Tick Boom and calling it an act of violence. It really does diminish the suffering experienced by those who have to deal with real not imagined violence. Losing a job is never good. But it doesn't make you a victim. |
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Post by lolalou on May 4, 2022 17:29:02 GMT
It does make you reconsider sympathy towards some of these people when they troll out stuff like that. I mean I get being traumatised is a relative thing but PTSD? Unless Andy has locked him in a Guantanamo style basement at Sydmonton and has Skimbleshanks at full volume night and day while an lava hot spotlight last seen in Sunset strips the skin slowly from his broken body I really think old Rodders needs to chill.
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Post by marob on May 4, 2022 17:39:30 GMT
He’s just being flippant. 🤷🏻♂️
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Post by lolalou on May 4, 2022 17:46:03 GMT
He’s just being flippant. 🤷🏻♂️ Me too |
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