#cats original broadway cast

[zachbiller]

#cats musical #cats broadway #cats original broadway cast

[meowstoffelees]

BETTY BUCKLEY WAS IN CARRIE????? AND NO ONE TOLD ME????? OMFG

#carrie 1976 #carrie white #carrie #betty buckley #cats musical #grizabella #original broadway production #cats original broadway cast #Carrie 1976 cast #cats the musical

[yourfavealbumisgender]

Cats: Complete Original Broadway Cast Recording is AlloAro!

requested by anon

#request #soundtrack #cats complete original broadway cast recording #alloaro #aromantic allosexual #cats the musical #andrew lloyd webber #show tunes #1983

[lorillee]

lorillee??? drawing warrior cats in 2023????? its more likely than you think . also if you remember the dumbest po3 au you receive a veteran lorillee follower award

#warriors #heathertail #cinderheart #mothwing #hawkfrost #hollyleaf #leafpool #crowfeather #ivypool #dovewing #mistystar #lorillee.png #i guess 😭 #i disappear and come back onto my one piece blog with warrior cats. well thats just how it goes i guess #anyways to be very honest im drawing wc again bc cats are on the brain #since ive been listening to the original broadway cast recording of cats the musical #its actually so funny because my mom HATEDDDD it whenever my dad played it in the car #she said it gave her a headache bc the ensemble is really high pitched or something #but honestly i think it was probably because we would sing scream half the songs (in the car) #very annoyingly. because we were six very. very annoying children. #also for any of the warrior cats fans out there. which are none of you. listen to growltiger's last stand and tell me that would not make #an absolutely SLAY tigerstar map. youd have to tweak it obviously but ever since i was like. i dont know. 8 or something. i dreamed of it

[acadjonne]

a heartfelt “what the fuck” to the original broadway cast version of mr. mistoffelees for having the titular mr. mistoffelees joining in during the middle of the song, i thought this was tugger’s “simping for my magical boyfriend” song

#cats #cats the musical #rum tum tugger #mr. mistoffelees #listen i am just so lost #mistoffelees doesn’t sing in the original london cast recordings #he doesn’t sing in the 1998 movie #he sure as heck didn’t join in when i saw the live show in november #why only this one version? the world may never know #also everyone in the original broadway cast recording seems to be in a rush but that’s neither here nor there

[newts-frogs-toads]

Ride the cyclone movie concept, by me

Cast: off Broadway 2016 cast

Type: regularly 2d animated, but every Choir song has a different animation style.

What the world needs: A video game-ish style animation showing how Ocean views life as a game, it has pixel art, she goes to the next level every time she insults another choir member.

Noels lament: A classical old time-y 1930s animation style, in black and white. Sorta like these:

(Betty boop)

(Classic cartoon by BIO675 on devienart , keep in mind I did not research so idk if they drew this or just posted it)

Mishcas songs: I genuinely don't know about TSIA (maybe like a clone high type animation)

Talia would be in a sort of Disney style, maybe 2d like Cinderella or the hunchback of Notre dame (One of my favorite Disney movies) or the other 2d Disney movies, or CGI like Tangled.

Space age bachelor man: Obviously an 80s cartoon style animation. Cat ladies will almost look like the original She-ra girls.

The ballad of Jane doe: Sort of (wow im saying this a lot) like an animatic, but a little more polished. It would be in black and white. It would start out with the OG porcelain doll Jane, but over the course of the song, will show different Jane dolls (that way everyone wins). It would end back with the porcelain doll look.

The new birthday song: Would be like TBOJD at first, but then slowly turn back into regular 2d animation like before.

Sugar cloud: STOP MOTION BABYYYYY!!!!! And everyone wold be on clouds for half the song!!!

Other things I would add/ leave out:

Ricky keeps his disability, and he's on a wheelchair/ has crutches for the whole thing.

Since we want this movie to be longer, it's only fair if we learn more about the kids families, father Marcus, Karnak, cut characters (THEY ARE CANON TO ME) etc.

Noel still makes out with Mishca, obviously.

After the movie has been out for a while, we get an animated short (like 5 minutes) explaining the plot of legoland.

This one is probably just me but ld like a little blush with Nishca and/or Spacedolls

Thank you for listening to my longer than usual rant. If anyone makes this happen, I love you, I don't care who you are, lets get married.

#ride the cyclone #rtc #mischa bachinski #noel gruber #ocean o'connell rosenberg #constance blackwood #rtc musical #jane doe rtc #ricky potts rtc #save mml #Rtc movie #Movie idea #movie concept #Ricky potts #Spacedolls #nischa #Rant #mischa rtc #Noel rtc #Ocean rtc #Constance rtc #Penny lamb #Penny rtc #penny ride the cyclone #Early rtc #astrid rosenberg #Corey Ross #hank johnson #Trishna jiwa #Please reblog

[hezuart]

What do you think of the newly revealed casting in Hazbin Hotel?

So right off the bat, just gonna say replacing all the indie VA's with bigger name broadway stars is a very Vivzie thing to do. It's not Chris Pratt as Mario levels of upsetting, but its still very unfortunate, especially considering that most of the new VA's sound... extremely close to what the previous VA's were going for in the pilot. So the replacement seems a bit sore or unnecessary. I've been told several times by my voice acting friend that this isn't an issue of Union Contracts, but an issue of replacements in favor of more famous talents and burned bridges amongst staff with Viv. Which, you know, if the VAs did undergo unfair treatment of any kind and didn't care leaving the project then kudos to them, but if its not the case for all of them and they were booted off without warning, I'd probably be hurt too.

But I'll be honest in saying Erika, Charlie's new VA is a better singer than the pilot singer. The pilot singer's voice was a little too high pitched, but it could have also been the fast high key song that made it difficult.

Vaggie's VA Stephanie voiced Mirabel from Encanto. Again sounds pretty close to the original VA, just maybe a pinch deeper.

Angel's VA is a bit more nasally and croaky? But only by a little.

Alastor's VA doesn't have as thick of an accent as Bosco gave him, but again, its very subtle. Husk's new VA on the other hand is straight up Keith David. Cat from Coraline and the Witch Doctor from Princess and the Frog. Husk sounded like a deeper more dead inside Rick Sanchez in the pilot but now he's gonna sound like a... suave jazz singer???? which is a very different take on his character.

Niffty's VA Kimiko is straight up Peni from Spiderverse. I think Viv said she imagined Niffty was half Japanese and from the 50s (Japanese Concentration camps ended in 1946??? I feel like that should effect Niffty's history) Her original VA wasn't Japanese, but she was bilingual and was an Japanese exchange student. So one could make the argument, that is to say if Niffty's Japanese heritage is actually going to be legitimately utilized, that Niffty got a new VA to prevent white washing. But I'm not one to representatively speak on a topic like that.

Alex Brightman is already the VA for Fizzarolli from Helluva Boss, so him as Sir Pentious makes sense. But I think Stamper the original VA already had a really good voice for that character. Perfectly quirky and evil.

So really I feel like maybe one or two characters have significant voice changes while the rest sound almost exactly as they did in the pilot. They are indeed very good VA's and singers, I'm excited they got this opportunity and I'm excited to see what they bring to Hazbin. On the other hand I just feel so awful for the indie VA's that got replaced because they're not famous broadway singers.

Like that's kind of the whole point of being Indie? Not being a big, major, famous company? Not having big major famous people?

But well, Hazbin Hotel was sold to A24 so... they're certainly not indie anymore.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel critical #its just that viv with her indie studio is still trying to hire big names #she tried to hire Norman Reedus and Kesha and both didn't end very well #norman being too expensive and too busy to bring back on #and Kesha ended in a whole year long legal battle #like girl just hire indie!!! make something of the unknown folk! #i think the original VAs for Angel Alastor and Husk were the best #they were really good and fitting of those characters #the others i werent as attached to i suppose i also liked vaggies #so yeah its a little sad #text post #ask

[d-criss-news]

Darren Criss and Cat Cohen Will Lend Voices to GWYNETH GOES SKIING in Edinburgh and Utah

Gwyneth Goes Skiing is headed to Edinburgh Fringe this August, and will also make its international premiere in Utah.

Darren Criss will provide the singing voice of Terry Sanderson alongisde Edinburgh Comedy Award Winning comedian, actress and singer Cat Cohen, who will lend her voice  as Gwyneth Paltrow on the vocal track with hits including I Wish You Well and See You In Court. 

Darren Criss is best known for playing the role of Blaine Anderson in Glee (alongside the real  Gwyneth Paltrow!). In 2018, he was awarded Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his  leading role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Criss has also starred  on Broadway in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Hedwig and the Angry  Inch. 

Edinburgh Comedy Award-winner Cat Cohen’s live comedy performances combine stand-up  comedy with cabaret-style songs. The comedian, actress, and singer’s first Netflix comedy  special, The Twist...? She's Gorgeous, was released in 2022. As an actress, she has appeared on  comedy series such as High Maintenance, Broad City, Search Party, and What We Do in the  Shadows.

Criss and Cohen digitally join Trixie Mattel who makes a special on-screen appearance as  Gwyneth Paltrow’s mother, Blythe Danner. They are seen alongside the original Gwyneth Goes  Skiing cast - Linus Karp as the Goop-founding, Door-Sliding, Shakespeare-In-Loving, consciously uncoupling Hollywood superstar Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Martin as her nemesis, Terry  Sanderson, a retired Optometrist from Utah.  

The world debut of Darren and Cat’s voices will be back where it all began, Park City, Utah. The  now-infamous location of Terry Sanderson and Gwyneth Paltrow’s collision in 2016 will play  host to the US transfer of Awkward Productions and Pleasance Theatre’s runaway hit. Gwyneth  Goes Skiing’s transfer to The Egyptian Theatre marks the first international transfer for Awkward  Productions’ work. 

Gwyneth Goes Skiing, which is a co-production between Awkward Productions  and the Pleasance Theatre, returns to the slopes after two sold-out and critically-acclaimed runs  in London. This silly play-with-music marks Awkward Productions’ return to the Fringe  after Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story had a sold-out run in 2023. 

Gwyneth Goes Skiing recounts the collision in 2016 on the slopes of Deer Valley and the court  case seven years later that enthralled the world. This very silly story of justice, betrayal and  optometry makes the audience the jury, asking them to decide who's guilty and who's gooped.  Gwyneth Goes Skiing features a whole lot of fiction, a sprinkling of verbatim lines from court  transcripts and delightfully catchy original music by Leland (RuPaul’s Drag Race; Cher’s  Christmas; Troye Sivan’s Something To Give Each Other). 

Performance Information The Egyptian Theatre, Utah  Thursday 16th – Sunday 26th May 2024  328 Main Street, Park City, Utah 84060 https://parkcityshows.com

#darren criss #broadway world #gwyneth goes skiing #upcoming events #feb 2024

[badlydrawndrawnings]

Drawing sketches Gus from Cats, original London and original Broadway casting.

Original London Gus gives off a more sickly, fragile look of an elder. The lack of facial hair to me contributes to it, at least going by photos use for references (thanks Cats fandom wiki). Stephen Tate's narrow face shape (unless it's the photo angles) helps also.

Original Broadway Gus has a fuller, wider face. So to me, he appears more of an elder whose old age is getting to him slowly with each passing day. Stephen Hanan having facial hair (unless this Gus has it for his costume design) I think contributes to said thinking.

#cats musical #cats the musical #cats olc #cats obc #gus the theater cat #gus the theatre cat #badlydrawndrawning art #traditional art #pencil drawing #floating heads #rough sketches #also: it's hard to tell for obc gus but he has the same forehead wrinkles olc gus has just more faint

[broadwaydivastournament]

Broadway Divas Tournament: Round 2A

Brenda Braxton (1956) "BRENDA BRAXTON (Velma Kelly) was last seen on Broadway in Smokey Joe's Cafe for which she received a 1995 Tony Award nomination, NAACP Theatre Award, the city of Chicago's Jefferson Award and a Grammy Award for Best Cast Album. Other Broadway credits include: Jelly's Last Jam, Cats, Legs Diamond, and the original production of Dreamgirls. She received the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "Living the Dream" Award given by New York Gov. Pataki and the Josephine Baker Award from the National Council of Negro Women for her work as founder of Leading Ladies Just for Teens, seminars geared to empowering teenage girls. Last fall she added entrepreneur to her resume with the launching of BBRAXTON Exceptional Grooming for Exceptional Men, a gentleman-only grooming parlor in Harlem." - Playbill bio from Chicago, March 2007.

Paula Leggett Chase (1961) “PAULA LEGGETT CHASE (Betty/Meg Boyd Understudy) tap-danced en pointe in the original cast of Crazy for You, and on occasion played Iren Roth. B’way debut: A Chorus Line (the final cast). Nat’l tours: Cabaret, featured with Joel Grey, A Chorus Line (Judy Turner). Regional: Annie 2 (Amanda Beekman). Favorite Role: Mrs. David Chase.” – Playbill bio from Damn Yankees, March 2, 1994

PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA UNDER CUT: ALL POLLS HERE

"Impressed and surprised Brenda managed to topple Janet McTeer. She runs a damn good cabaret show too."

"Watching this woman dance, it's easy to fall in love with her. Once again, I implore you to look up her antics on instagram because each video is a wild ride from start to finish."

#broadwaydivastournament #broadway #broadway divas #tournament poll #brenda braxton #paula leggett chase #round 2a

[erediaproductions]

Tick Tick Boom: Translating from stage to screen

Rating: 10/10

Synopsis: A film based on the autobiographical musical of the same name written by Johnothan Larson. Starring Andrew Garfield as Johnothan Larson, it covers his story of trying to make it to Broadway, his failing relationship with his girlfriend, and his friends aids diagnosis.

As a fan of musicals and of Andrew Garfield I was excited when this film was coming out. I had listened to rent and knew who Johnathon Larson was however not much about his life. This film is very emotional at points and is all lead by its music however, I imagine they had their problems.

The original stage musical was written as a one man show which Larson started preforming in 1990 and was originally called "Boho Days" named after the second track. It covers his doubts about entering the musical theater industry as he is going on 30 without a big break.

After dying in 1996, the play was rejigged to a three person show, and got its name changed to Tick Tick Boom. This revised version however was only ever played off Broadway in the year 2001.

The film does an excellent job at converting the story and songs to ones for film. Whilst they keep the stage preforming elements cutting to Andrew Garfield playing a piano every once and a while, they don't rely on this to tell the entire story and instead are able to make visually interesting ways to convey the story along side the music. They use a few montages, which include choreography, again tying the film back to its original routes in musical theatre.

There is also a stereotype of musical films casting big stars for their name and acting talent and not so much their musical skills. Recent examples of this is the Cats Musical film, Beauty and the Beast and Les Miserables. All of which casted actors whom are famous, and put them through intense singing courses to teach them how to sing in a number of weeks, which reflects poorly in the films soundtracks.

Whilst Andrew Garfield is a big name actor, he also has a history in musical theatre and did an amazing job at being able to portray Larson. The film decided to put the music and the soundtrack first which I think is very considerate of what Larson himself would have wanted.

The film is also a good watch for those whom aren't hugely into musicals and don't have any prior knowledge, as it has some good themeing, interesting visuals and fun characters which you grow to care about.

Overall, the film puts its soundtrack first and I believe this makes it one of the most successful musical films of the genre in the last decade. It manages to incorporate the fun and most emotional parts of the original musical into the film whilst adding in new ideas and things for both fans of the original and new watchers to enjoy. What could have been difficult to translate to the screen the film makers appeared to do so effortlessly.

#filmmaking #film #drama #musicals #musical theatre #movie musical #tick tick boom #andrew garfield #rent #Johnathan Larson

[zachbiller]

#cats musical #rum tum tugger #tumblebrutus #cats original broadway cast #cats obc

[holdmytesseract]

How about:

"Dancing through life Skimming the surface Gliding where turf is smooth Life's more painless For the brainless Why think too hard? When it's so soothing Dancing through life No need to tough it When you can slough it off as I do Nothing matters But knowing nothing matters It's just life So keep dancing through"

Dancing Through Life" from Wicked

Kinda gives off some fun chaotic!Loki vibes for something a bit more lighthearted?

a/n: There we are... The last Lyric-Drabble... 😱 What a hell of an ride it has been! I had so much fun doing these! 🥰 I hope y'all had just as much fun reading them! Thanks to everyone who send in a request! 😁

@ijuststareatstuffhereok89 ... It's an honour for me to finish this special with your wonderful request. 🥰 I hope you like it, my friend. ☺️

Warnings: nothing? Fluff

Word Count: 868

Tagging: @lulubelle814 @km-ffluv @lokisgoodgirl @eleniblue @muddyorbs @loz-3 @vbecker10 @jennyggggrrr @lokisninerealms @mochie85 @chantsdemarins @peaches1958 @multifandom-worlds @fictive-sl0th @loki-laufeyson-1054 @theaudacitytowrite @lovingchoices14 @simping-for-marvel @stupidthoughtsinwriting @vanilla-daydreaming @lou12346789 @kimanne723 @linaax @coldnique @lady-rose-moon @evelyn-kingsley @the-princess-of-loki @acefeather2002 @aagn360 @ijuststareatstuffhereok89 @iamlokisgloriouspurpose

Based on this song:

Be Right Now

Since that day Loki just sauntered into your life, seemingly out of nowhere, everything started to feel brighter somehow. Better. Lighter. He was positively lightening up your life. Turning it from a rather boring, barren grey, into a bright and shining yellow. While the lot of the other Avengers were somewhat pissed at 'babysitting' Thor's younger, mischievous, pain-in-the-ass brother, you were delighted. The chemistry between you and him was snap just there. Never before had you clicked with somebody so quick. It was friendship at first sight. You spent a lot of time together, just hanging out, reading and pranking Thor. Of course, you would go out with him as well, showing Loki some fascinating Midgardian things like shopping centres, cinemas and amusement parks. The god learned to trust you and to open up to you. You and him were the best buddies. A friendship, deeper than the earth's core. You were certain, that this friendship was going to last forever; for eternity...

"You did what?" Loki looked at you quite a bit incredulously, blinking. "You are going to take me where?" You grinned like a Cheshire cat, clapping your hands excitedly. "To Lapland! Well... to Finland. Rovaniemi, to be precisely." Loki was still blinking. His birthday was coming up and you decided to surprise your best friend with a nice holiday. He took you to Oslo, Norway before, so you decided to take him to Finland. "A-Alright and, um, when are we leaving?" You smiled at how overwhelmed he was, taking a quick look at your watch. "Our flight goes in precisely 12 hours, so... Hurry up and pack your things!"

The moment you and his feet landed on Finnish ground, a bright smirk graced the God's lips. "Y/N... We barely left the airport and I am already enchanted by this beautiful city... Where's our hotel?" You shook your head, smiling and lacing your fingers through his. "We are not going to stay at a hotel... I got something better for us. C'mon." Without hesitation, you dragged him to the next taxi stand. The taxi drove you and him through the city, which was almost a sightseeing tour for the both of you. It was great and the snow just made everything even better.

The taxi driver drove the two of you out of the city of Rovaniemi and came to an halt on the outskirts, close to a forest. "There we are. We have to walk the rest of the way." "Walk?" "Yep. Let's go! It's getting cold!" You knew of course exactly, where you had to go; having planned this surprising trip after all.

About fifteen minutes on foot later, you reached some kind of glade, on which quite a few 'hills' stuck out of the snow... Loki's eyes widened. "Are those...?" You grinned, nodding. "Igloos, yep." "By the norns... This is... breathtakingly astonishing." You led him to one of the igloo's, knowing that it would be yours and his home for the next two weeks. "Let's go inside, shall we?" Loki nodded, visibly excited. "Yes, please." You entered the igloo together and looked around in awe. The igloo consisted of two parts. The first part was some kind of little hut with a wooden table, benches and a bathroom, of course. The second part was a round 'room', which was the bedroom. The special thing about the bedroom was, that the ceiling was a glass dome. "Wow..." Loki breathed out, stunned. "This is absolutely beautiful. Thank you for taking me to such a wonderful place." "Well... Happy Birthday, Mischief."

You spent the rest of the day packing out your stuff and getting something to eat. In the evening, when it was already dark and the stars twinkled on the Finnish night sky, alongside polar lights, you and Loki were back in the igloo. Both, you and him had seen polar lights before, in Norway, but they never failed to amaze you. It was beautiful. Soft music was echoing through the small igloo, as you and Loki laid on your separate beds, staring up in the sky through the glass, watching the beauty of nature. Suddenly, Loki jumped up from the bed, soon to be looming over you. "What?" You asked with a giggle. He stretched out his hand towards you. "May I have this dance?" You giggled again, "Seriously?" getting up, "I am dead certain. " and taking his hand. So, you both danced clumsily, freely and without a worry in the world around the igloo, laughing.

At the end of the song, Loki lifted you up and spun you around, causing you to yelp and giggle even more. You felt like flying in this moment. So light-hearted and free. Loki let you down again, but kept you in his arms, close to him. His blue eyes were literally shining, just like the smile on his face. "You're perfect..." He blurted out, a little out of breath. "You're perfect, so we're perfect together, born to be forever, dancing through life." "We are, Lokes, we are..." Just in that magic moment, both, you and Loki knew, that the bond you shared was perhaps more than just a deep friendship. Perhaps, you could call it love.

#loki x reader #loki laufeyson #loki x female reader #loki x you #tom hiddleston x reader #loki x y/n #loki fanfiction #loki fluff #loki laufeyson x reader #loki laufeyson x female reader

[latenightcinephile]

Film #914: 'La La Land', dir. Damien Chazelle, 2016.

I really like old-school Hollywood musicals, and I've always been sad that it's a genre that has gotten harder and harder to find in modern Hollywood. Most of the genre has since been supplanted by Disney films and either low-budget works or jukebox musicals, produced because there is a ready audience for the songs. While there has been a shift towards film adaptations of Broadway hits in the last decade or so (Les Miserables (Tom Hooper, 2012), Into the Woods (Rob Marshall, 2014), Cats (Tom Hooper, 2019)), it's a poor sign of the genre's health that there are no longer any major actors renowned for their consistent career in musicals - no Astaires or Crosbys or Garlands. So imagine my glee on hearing that a new, original musical was being made! One that hearkened back to the Hollywood spectaculars of the 1940s and 1950s! La La Land! The promotional photos looked reminiscent of the soundstage musicals that I had fallen in love with! At long last, it was time!

So, I didn't watch it for seven years. I don't know exactly why I didn't - a combination of having a lot going on in my life that stopped me getting to theatres, and then an internal rebellion against the amount of praise the film was receiving. It certainly wasn't helped by the Oscars debacle - there's nothing that diminishes a film's prestige quite like conspicuously not winning the Best Picture award. Finally, this year, I sat down to watch it, hoping I would be wrong, and that the shine would still be there - that I would be transported.

La La Land is not bad. It's also not transcendental.

Mia Dolan (Emma Stone) and Seb Wilder (Ryan Gosling) have both moved to Los Angeles to pursue their dreams. Mia wants to be an actress, but has found work in a coffee shop on the Warner Brothers studio lot. Seb hopes to revitalise jazz music in Los Angeles by refurbishing a famed jazz club. Mia encounters Seb by chance, and loves his music, but their first few interactions are filled with hostility - road rage, a thwarted introduction at the moment Seb is fired (in a cameo by J. K. Simmons, who also starred in Chazelle's Whiplash in 2014), and a terrible Hollywood pool party. Finally warming to each other, the two begin dating and encouraging each other to pursue their dreams in whatever way possible - Mia by performing a one-woman show, and Seb joining a jazz-pop band fronted by Keith (John Legend). Just before Mia's show opens, Seb returns from touring, and the two argue bitterly over their future and how to reconcile their two careers, ending with Seb spitting vitriol about how Mia cannot stand his success. The two break up, and Mia returns to her childhood home.

Shortly after this, Seb receives a message for Mia, inviting her to a casting call. He goes to retrieve her, and her audition is a success. The two talk about how, while their lives are not compatible, they'll always love each other. Five years later, Mia is a successful actress and Seb has opened his club. They once again meet by chance and, after considering what their life together could have been, they each go their separate ways once more.

You might notice that, in this description, I haven't paid much attention to the songs or music in this musical. That's because, in all honesty, not very much of it was memorable to me. The opening number 'Another Day of Sun', and 'City of Stars', the song that gets used as a motif throughout, remain catchy, but they're the only tracks that left a mark. That's a real shame, because they're not really the turning points of the film. And while Gosling and Stone show that they're relatively accomplished as singers and dancers in this film, it's also clear that they're not accustomed to doing this kind of work regularly. 'A Lovely Night' is a prime example of this - it's a couple's dance number, and the choreography is not exactly simple, but Stone and Gosling look like they've learned the dance in isolation from each other. This is a number where the easy chemistry that the two of them have temporarily gets put on hold so that they can focus on the steps.

And I'm aware that this is an incredibly pedantic thing to gripe about. I don't mean to damn with faint praise - these actors are doing something difficult, and doing it well. What really gets me is that, when you're making a musical, you have all sorts of tricks to cover over these brief weaknesses, and La La Land often doesn't use them. The score feels oddly quiet, even in its more bombastic numbers. 'Another Day of Sun' starts things off, but the opening vocalist sings, rather than belting, and by making the score supposedly diegetic to start, there's not enough there to support her. I know I ended my last write-up by expressing gratitude that films were now available to watch outside the cinema, but this is an instance where I wish that I'd seen this years ago. I just couldn't turn my speakers up far enough to get lost in the spectacle.

Talking to people about this film, there seems to be an even split on this matter: either you can lose yourself in what's going on, or you can't, and if you're in the latter camp, the musical side of La La Land is too banal. It's colourful and pretty - filmed gorgeously by Linus Sandgren - but I'm reminded of the maxim of musicals, attributed to Rob Marshall: "When movement isn't enough, you dance, or when speaking isn't enough, you sing." A few people I've asked about the film raised similar ideas - that it feels like Chazelle is trying to force an exuberance from his audience when there's not enough genuine emotion to support it.

This is what makes the second half of the film better for me, and this is where I found myself able to embrace the film more. The latter half of Mia and Seb's relationship, once they've actually fallen in love properly, is powerfully-acted, and the reprise of 'City of Stars' is beautiful. The break-up scene is absolutely stellar, and either Gosling and Stone could justifiably call this one of the best scenes of their career. In a musical, though, this height of emotion would normally call for a song or a dance, and there isn't one here. The emotional height that does get a song is Mia's audition, where she sings 'The Fools Who Dream' in what appears to be a single take. This is an excellent performance, and it alone could have been responsible for Stone winning the Best Actress Oscar that year. Then, of course, once Mia and Seb have briefly reunited, they share a fantasy sequence that is filled with a longing that's deeply affecting.

The thing that upsets me most about the film is that once you've started dissecting it, you see how underwritten parts of it are. The opening leaves its characters adrift, trying to sell you on optimism and exuberance that don't have enough of a foundation - no matter how many BMX stunt riders and parkour experts 'Another Day of Sun' crams in, it feels thin - and even the break-up scene is mostly successful because Stone and Gosling have easy chemistry and the ability to sell you on ideas by injecting them with emotion. That doesn't prevent the central conflict from seeming like a contrivance.

Seb is, admittedly, insufferable at times (I'm not going to get into whether he's a white saviour of jazz, because plenty of people have made arguments on both sides of that topic and I could easily agree with either camp). I think his biggest flaw is that he's unable to articulate his motivations, which makes the conflict a bit of an idiot-ball plot. Faced with having to explain why he's 'sold out' by joining Keith's group rather than following his passion for pure jazz, he can't do it and immediately belittles Mia. It feels like it would be easy to explain that someone could find satisfaction in playing two different subgenres of jazz, and even playing them off each other to push the boundaries of music further. That feels like something Seb would genuinely believe in (and something that Chazelle, being a musician, would also be familiar with). It would also open up opportunities for more complicated conflicts - a jazz battle! A tortured artist number! - without affecting the overall plot. I just don't think the film has the expansiveness to tackle it.

Yeah, this sounds like I'm trying to assassinate the film. I liked it, honestly. I was still humming 'City of Stars' a week later, and it made me like Stone and Gosling more as actors, which I hardly thought possible. All the breathless excitement, though, about the film resurrecting a genre, and changing the course of film history... it was overblown, without a doubt. La La Land proved that these films could still be made, and very successfully. The fact that so many modern musicals are either adaptations of things proven to work, or jukebox musicals where the plot is largely incidental, shows that crafting a fully successful musical is not just about the songs but about the plot that links them. La La Land does it better than most, but it's not what I was craving it to be.

#1001 movies #musicals #damien chazelle #la la land

[glassprism]

Do you know why they didn't record an album with the original Broadway cast of POTO? Cats has one

Well, I suppose for one thing, the London and Broadway casts of Cats are completely different (I think - there's a lot of cast members in Cats) whereas for Phantom, the three leads are all played by the same people in both productions. I can see producers thinking it's just not worth the time or the effort to get the leads back into the recording studio, even if the supporting and ensemble cast are different, nor would it generate that much interest or revenue when released, for the same reason.

But also, there's this interesting rumor that I kept hearing back in the old days and nobody has disputed it, even though I keep saying that I don't even know if it's true, and it's something like... there can be no full English-language cast recording so long as any member of the original trio (Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman, and Steve Barton) are alive. Supposedly that's why all the English-language cast recordings are highlights or a single song, with the 2004 movie getting away with it because it's a movie soundtrack and the 25th anniversary scooting by because they're a concert recording. So I don't know, maybe that's a reason!

But I think the first is probably a bigger factor.

#GP gets asks #anonymous

[renaultphile]

Thanks for the tag @carrotcakecrumble I have no idea what this means:

So I put my Walkman on random and picked the first 10:

Ruins, Cat Stevens, Catch Bull at Four

Colegiala, Rudolfo Su Tipica, Best Latino Carnival ever

I Chose Right, John Barrowman, Reflections from Broadway

Forbidden Love, Madonna, Confessions on a Dance Floor

The Click Song, Umoja cast recording

I Got You Babe, The Flying Pickets, Only you

Man of Constant Sorrow (instrumental), Tennessee River Authority, Ramblin' Roads

Gold Rush, Basia Bulat, Heart of my own

For My Lady, Moody Blues, Seventh Sojourn

I believe in Love, Hair original cast recording

Consider yourselves tagged if there is anyone left!!

#Music tag game #No point doing spotify #It's just Johnny Flynn