The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues- Page 4
The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
broadwayguy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/03
#75The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/4/11 at 5:52pm
PalJoey,
"Nobody Understands Me" sounds like low rent Sondheim. It has a speak-sing slow patter that could almost be equated to the Prologue from Into the Woods in style (though certainly not in quality) and makes several mistakes in musical themes and also complete changes the texture and relationship of Dorothy to Aunt Em and Uncle Henry in a negative way...
Londonskyguy
Featured Actor Joined: 7/24/06
#76The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/4/11 at 7:14pmSaw the show last night... FABULOUS!
#77The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/4/11 at 7:47pm
I agree with many of you who have posted previously.
Hannah's performance is great ... with a song that sucks.
There's no reason for it or need for it. And it sheds no new light on anything. Its just rehashed thoughts and emotions that have been mentioned previously in the script. The added songs are entirely redundant and unnecessary. They are boring and insulting to anyone's intelligence, including children.
That's what was so innovative about the MGM film score: it did everything that modern American musicals do. And by "modern," I mean everything from "Oklahoma!" on.
The Wizard of Oz was 1939. And Oklahoma! was 1942. So, while people claim that Oklahoma! was ground-breaking, in that every song advanced the plot or defined character, etc., this MGM score did the exact same thing, but three years earlier.
It's ridiculous to see that SEVENTY-plus years later, Webber has regressed to around 1900s-era musical/comedy.
He should be ashamed of himself.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
TheatreDiva90016
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/04
#78The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/4/11 at 8:09pm
How much less could you care?
Probably some, since you responded.
I only posted that because you seemed to ignore the fact that one of the other posters actually saw it, and had the same view points as the person you were criticizing.
"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>>
“I hesitate to give this line of discussion the validation it so desperately craves by perpetuating it, but the light from logic is getting further and further away with your every successive post.” <<>>
-whatever2
#79The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/4/11 at 9:41pm
I just watched the clip.
That song is odious.
And why does Dorothy need to sing a song about nobody understanding her when 2 minutes later she sings "Over the Rainbow"?
broadwayguy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/03
#80The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/4/11 at 9:54pm
PalJoey,
Only because ALW says that musicals 'need' an opening number... and "Over the Rainbow" doesn't count.
TheatreDiva90016
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/04
#82The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/4/11 at 10:13pmAs Judy's Daughter's Husband says, "He's a moron."
"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>>
“I hesitate to give this line of discussion the validation it so desperately craves by perpetuating it, but the light from logic is getting further and further away with your every successive post.” <<>>
-whatever2
bwayguy22089
Broadway Star Joined: 12/16/06
#84The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/5/11 at 12:17amI don't know what Mr. Webber really wanted. I mean, Over the Rainbow is quite possibly the best opening number from any musical, stage or film. He's just a money hungry tool. He could care less about the story, it's characters, theme, style (webber/rice +arlen/harburg? I think not), etc. He just wants $$$
#85The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/5/11 at 1:15amOver the Rainbow is a fantastic opening number. Not to mention the fact that the Overture is completely brilliant as well.
#86The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/5/11 at 1:35amI don't get the fascination with Over The Rainbow or The Wizard of Oz in general actually. It and always has felt like just kids theatre. The only song I really like is Jitterbug and that's after sitting through 15 performances of the show.
broadwayguy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/03
#87The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/5/11 at 1:45ambecause that it is how lazy people stage the show.. it's like skipping a rock across a lake.. it looks pretty and never breaks the surface, but there is so much more to be found if you dive in. the characters are often directed broadly - since some people believe that you must play it broadly to keep children engaged - and people are often directed to mimic the original film cast. double whammy. there is a LOT of things on a lot of levels that can be mined by people willing to do it.
#88The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/5/11 at 1:49am
Unless you want to really twist the story (a la Wicked) it's still a dull as hell story. Dorothy doesn't wanna be in Kansas, you meet all the people in her life, TORNADO! Oz, all those people are now various Ozians, Dorothy meets three friends who sings what is essentially the same damn song three times. And so on and so forth. The story just bores the sh*t out me.
Updated On: 3/5/11 at 01:49 AM
broadwayguy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/03
#89The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/5/11 at 1:53amwell, i am sorry that you missed out on early childhood. lol. since oz has always been a part of my life, i can't comment on being introduced it later, but i will say that oz has grown with me and my appreciation for the story - mgm and not - has completely evolved and exists on a deeper, more intellectual level than it did as a child. and mgm's os to baum's oz as wick the musical is to wicked the novel..
#90The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/5/11 at 1:57amLet's not get all intellectual and artsy on a children's story. Taymor tried that with Spider-Man and it didn't work.
#91The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/5/11 at 2:00am^ Bingo! You're analyzing and holding something up so high when it's just a kid's story.
broadwayguy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/03
#92The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/5/11 at 2:06amtheatrefan, you may view it as "just a children's story", and perhaps a knowledge of oz can be left as such. but baum's books are quite a bit deeper, and while he wrote them to be enjoyed by children, they are just as fascinating - if not more so - when you are an adult and have a knowledge of the period in which they were written because many many times, events in the world were greatly reflected in baum's writings.. you choose to look at the surface, i choose to dig in deeper.. forgive me for using my thought process.
AEA AGMA SM
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/13/09
#93The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/5/11 at 2:37amClearly Oz is so much more than "just a children's story," otherwise it would not have lasted as it has and we would not be having this discussion. The original novel certainly has its place in the history of literature right alongside other "children's stories" as Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Charlotte's Web, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to name but a few. The thing that makes those books so wonderful is that they do have so many fascinating levels. They can be easily enjoyed simply for the stories that they are, but to deny that they contain any deeper meaning or insight is a bit ignorant.
#94The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/5/11 at 3:24amAnd Taymor wasn't smart enough in storytelling terms to pull off Spider-Man, not the other way around.
broadwayguy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/03
#96The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/5/11 at 6:55am
Dorothy doesn't wanna be in Kansas, you meet all the people in her life, TORNADO! Oz, all those people are now various Ozians, Dorothy meets three friends who sings what is essentially the same damn song three times. And so on and so forth. The story just bores the sh*t out me
Oh, TheatreFan. I feel so sorry for you. That couple who brought you up after your parents abandoned you must have been terribly, terribly cruel.
#97The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/5/11 at 7:36am
TheatreFan--I feel sorry that you can't see beyond the surface value of something like "The Wizard of Oz." Regardless of when or where you first saw the film, or even if you don't care for it yourself, you lack the perspective, even as an adult, to understand why the story strikes a chord with so many.
This article from Psychology Today is about the enormous popularity of the film primarily, but it points to the basic story as well. You may not agree with what it says, but it should show you that adults, not just children, are impacted by this American fairy tale, because it invites us to see ourselves and the world and people around us through Dorothy's incredible journey.
Why 'The Wizard of Oz' is the most popular film of all time
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
Updated On: 3/5/11 at 07:36 AM
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#98The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/5/11 at 9:18am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ6iq1a1_oU
Maybe Lloyed Webber should watch the muppets for inspiration.........
#99The Wizard of Oz: NEW SONG- Red Shoes Blues
Posted: 3/5/11 at 2:08pmYeah PJ & Besty, you don't come off as patronizing twats at all.
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