I still find myself listening to the soundtrack. I thoroughly enjoyed Brooklyn and think it closed way too early. I know it didn't get the best reviews, but am I the only one who misses this show? The CD's aren't sold in stores anymore, its ITUNE rating is so low, and it has always been so under appreciated.
"I never had theatre producers run after me. Some people want to make more Broadway shows out of movies. But Elliot and I aren't going to do Batman: The Musical." - Julie Taymor 1999
"There's nothing good on. The media hates Christmas. The media loves vampires, though. Maybe they will show a Twilight Christmas." -Danmeg's 10 year old son.
"There's nothing good on. The media hates Christmas. The media loves vampires, though. Maybe they will show a Twilight Christmas." -Danmeg's 10 year old son.
I can honestly say that I do not miss Brooklyn. The show was garbage. Literally.
"You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" - Betty Parris to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible
I remember sitting front row center for that show and feeling like my head was going to EXPLODE and being PISSED I couldn't just get up and walk out. I'd never gotten such a headache from such sh*t music before. It was that show that made me hate Eden Espinosa and every role she's screeched her way through afterwards. I just can't forgive her for that migraine.
Miss it? No. What I miss is the peacefulness I had BEFORE you brought it up again. Now I miss the serenity.
BKLYN = Horrors.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
Swiftynifty, I'm 100% with you. I loved this show with all my heart and still do. I miss it terribly. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, and each opinion on its own is certainly valid, but the collective hatred (not dislike, hatred) this show has received not only confounds me, it disgusts me. In a small way, it also wounds me. Lower-case 'w'.
If I may borrow from a very recent PM I wrote:
It was highly unusual, and it was not high theater, but I will always love Brooklyn the Musical. I can see why others did not, however. What I can't understand is why people didn't at least cite that Ramona Keller was outstanding.
A portion of the singing had the voice but lacked the soul (mostly Eden Espinosa, but even she impressed because the actor/role dynamic happened to work - she was playing a very young woman who was rather naive), but the story was allegorical and spoke to something larger than simply its characters. It was about idealism clashing with the real world, and the multifacted portrayal of the antagonist (Paradice) was so wonderfully handled by Keller. Paradice's actions were downright evil, but she was thoroughly humanized ("Raven") to the point that one could not wish for her downfall and had to concede she had overcome a great deal to make it to the top. That's more emotionally complex than it sounds, but either people were not prepared to dig that deeply or, more likely, came in with set expectations/decided 15 minutes into the show that it was too offbeat or lowbrow.
Many of the songs had bite, spark and verve, and in the end, while the protagonist did end up reunited with her father, her idealism did not win out. That is how life usually is, even though we would love for that not to be so.
I'll never understand why people did not rave about the opening number, "Heart Behind These Hands." What a melding together of terrific signing over a rapturous, tremendous melody with soul-searching lyrics. Ka-boom!
The show may not have told us anything we did not already know, but it expressed its ideas in a profoundly beautiful way. Cleavant Derricks - what a singer. If I stay away from the cast recording for a while and let it play he and Ramona Keller give me consistent chills. I must specifically cite Cleavant's voice as it rings out from backstage before "Streetsinger" - "you can change the world by changing someone/and maybe that's what we're put on earth for/I know that's what I'm on earth for..." Absolute chills. The show dug very bravely and deeply into the depths of the soul ("Sometimes," "Brooklyn In the Blood") without losing entertainment value ("Love Me Where I Live"). A sociologist could have a field day with this show.
I think perhaps many did not fancy it because it was chiefly driven by soul/R&B numbers, and this genre has always driven my senses wild when the singing is top-notch.
Yes, more than one person was profoundly touched by this show. Perhaps it wasn't groundbreaking or Earth-shattering, but it was earnest, sincere and brilliantly performed. And it was not formulaic or emotionally vacant or vapid, which a great deal of productions more lauded certainly are.
2010
Feb. 28 - Looped, Feb. 28 - Next to Normal, March 4 - Hair, March 11 - A Little Night Music, March 24 - Time Stands Still, April 6 - La Cage Aux Folles, April 10 - Anyone Can Whistle (City Center), April 10 - Looped, May 9 - Enron, May 15 - A Little Night Music, May 15 - A Behanding In Spokane, May 30 - A Behanding In Spokane, May 30 - A Little Night Music, June 20 - A Little Night Music, June 23 - Red, June 23 - Sondheim on Sondheim, July 13 - A Little Night Music, July 18 - The Grand Manner (Lincoln Center)
Great cast, odd material. I do kind of miss it, though.
http://www.beintheheights.com/katnicole1 (Please click and help me win!)
I chose, and my world was shaken- So what? The choice may have been mistaken,
The choosing was not...
"Every day has the potential to be the greatest day of your life." - Lin-Manuel Miranda
"And when Idina Menzel is singing, I'm always slightly worried that her teeth are going to jump out of her mouth and chase me." - Schmerg_the_Impaler
I was comped tickets and want my money back tenfold! What a steaming pile of dog sh*t! I saw it there were about thirty people in the orchestra and everyone felt too self conscious to get up and leave. They were smart to not have an intermission. Painfully horrid show!
Those Blocked: SueStorm. N2N Nate. Good riddence to stupid! Rad-Z, shill begone!
I remember sitting there thinking: "OMG - if anyone is seeing this as their first Broadway show, they will never want to see another!"
Everytime I see bubble wrap, I wonder if it was one of the costumes.
2016 These Paper Bullets (1/02) Our Mother's Brief Affair (1/06), Dragon Boat Racing (1/08), Howard - reading (1/28), Shear Madness (2/10), Fun Home (2/17), Women Without Men (2/18), Trip Of Love (2/21), The First Gentleman -reading (2/22), Southern Comfort (2/23), The Robber Bridegroom (2/24), She Loves Me (3/11), Shuffle Along (4/12), Shear Madness (4/14), Dear Evan Hansen (4/16), American Psycho (4/23), Tuck Everlasting (5/10), Indian Summer (5/15), Peer Gynt (5/18), Broadway's Rising Stars (7/11), Trip of Love (7/27), CATS (7/31), The Layover (8/17), An Act Of God (8/31), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (8/24), Heisenberg (10/12), Fiddler On The Roof (11/02), Othello (11/23), Dear Evan Hansen (11/26), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (12/21) 2017 In Transit (2/01), Groundhog Day (4/04), Ring Twice For Miranda (4/07), Church And State (4/10), The Lucky One (4/19), Ernest Shackleton Loves Me (5/16), Building The Wall (5/19), Indecent (6/01), Six Degrees of Separation (6/09), Marvin's Room (6/28), A Doll's House Pt 2 (7/25) Curvy Widow (8/01)
To the original poster...it is not a "soundtrack" it is an "Original Broadway Cast Recording".
I saw Brooklyn's world premiere in Denver twice. What got me about the show were the songs and the voices. What ruined it for me was the Cast Recording. It should have been done in a studio without the "audience response".
^ I know what you mean, but in a way, the audience is part of the show. Their applause is acknowledged at least once that I can recall. You become the audience at Madison Square Garden during the big showdown. It's just hard for me to imagine those particular scenes coming off right without claps and audience cheering. I would certainly have been interested in a typical recording done without an audience, however. It is a bit distracting and gives it a sometimes-unpleasant bootleg aura.
2010
Feb. 28 - Looped, Feb. 28 - Next to Normal, March 4 - Hair, March 11 - A Little Night Music, March 24 - Time Stands Still, April 6 - La Cage Aux Folles, April 10 - Anyone Can Whistle (City Center), April 10 - Looped, May 9 - Enron, May 15 - A Little Night Music, May 15 - A Behanding In Spokane, May 30 - A Behanding In Spokane, May 30 - A Little Night Music, June 20 - A Little Night Music, June 23 - Red, June 23 - Sondheim on Sondheim, July 13 - A Little Night Music, July 18 - The Grand Manner (Lincoln Center)
I saw it on Kids Night on Broadway and a little girl who was sitting next to me was asked by her mother if she liked the show.
Her response: "No, Mommy! I hate this show, it's boring! I hate it! I want to go home." This lasted for about five minutes and the actors had stopped and listened as she went on.
I liked the music, but the show was really strange! However, I must say, I've never seen trash look so good than their costumes.
"Anybody that goes to the theater, I think we’re all misfits, so we ended up on stage or in the audience.” --- Patti LuPone.