They Changed It, Now It Sucks/Theatre: Difference between revisions
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* [[Stephen Sondheim]] just ''loves'' to tinker with his musicals even after their initial productions have finished previewing, resulting in different audiences seeing different versions of each show. None of these changes are supported by all the fans, but the most controversial is the addition of "Something Just Broke" to ''Assassins''. Depending on who you listen to, it's either the master stroke that pulls the whole thing together, or a disastrous break in the dramatic arc that should never have been added and should be erased from existence. |
* [[Stephen Sondheim]] just ''loves'' to tinker with his musicals even after their initial productions have finished previewing, resulting in different audiences seeing different versions of each show. None of these changes are supported by all the fans, but the most controversial is the addition of "Something Just Broke" to ''Assassins''. Depending on who you listen to, it's either the master stroke that pulls the whole thing together, or a disastrous break in the dramatic arc that should never have been added and should be erased from existence. |
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** Even more controversial were the changes made to the 2002 revival of ''Into The Woods''. ''Assassins'', at least, has always divided both fans and audiences and has widely been regarded as a problem show; ''Into The Woods'', on the other hand, is one of Sondheim's most successful, popular and beloved works as a composer-lyricist. The decision, then, to reintroduce a totally unnecessary (and not very interesting) sub-plot about the Three Little Pigs, as well as replace several existent and already excellent lyrics with new (and, according to some tastes, inferior) ones, seems baffling. |
** Even more controversial were the changes made to the 2002 revival of ''Into The Woods''. ''Assassins'', at least, has always divided both fans and audiences and has widely been regarded as a problem show; ''Into The Woods'', on the other hand, is one of Sondheim's most successful, popular and beloved works as a composer-lyricist. The decision, then, to reintroduce a totally unnecessary (and not very interesting) sub-plot about the Three Little Pigs, as well as replace several existent and already excellent lyrics with new (and, according to some tastes, inferior) ones, seems baffling. |
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** Sticking with [[Stephen Sondheim|Sondheim]], John Doyle's actor-musician revival of ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street ( |
** Sticking with [[Stephen Sondheim|Sondheim]], John Doyle's actor-musician revival of ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (theatre)|Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]]'' has enjoyed huge success and popularity with fans and critics alike, but its minimalism continues to rub some fans the wrong way. Some say that the score suffers in reduction from a full orchestra and ensemble choir to just eight actor-musicians; others found that Doyle's alienating production style prevented them from identifying with the characters. |
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*** This take was lampooned by the ''Forbidden Broadway'' cast, by the way, as "Teeny Todd." |
*** This take was lampooned by the ''Forbidden Broadway'' cast, by the way, as "Teeny Todd." |
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** There's also the matter of the London version of ''Follies'', which made several baffling changes. Ben's solo "The Road You Didn't Take" was cut. "Live, Laugh, Love", was replaced with "Make the Most of Your Music" (a song which changes Ben's part from baritone to tenor). The lyrics to "In Buddy's Eyes" were altered. |
** There's also the matter of the London version of ''Follies'', which made several baffling changes. Ben's solo "The Road You Didn't Take" was cut. "Live, Laugh, Love", was replaced with "Make the Most of Your Music" (a song which changes Ben's part from baritone to tenor). The lyrics to "In Buddy's Eyes" were altered. |
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* ''[[Wicked ( |
* ''[[Wicked (theatre)|Wicked]]''. Sweet Oz, ''[[Wicked (theatre)|Wicked]]''. Though it should be said that while the purists of [[Wicked (novel)|the book]] are infuriated with [[In Name Only|the many changes]] made to the musical, [[Word of God|Gregory Maguire himself]] still likes it, and in fact stated that as long as the ''themes'' of the book were kept intact, the plot could change in any way necessary. After all, the book itself made changes to [[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz|Baum's Oz]]... |
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* An attempt was made to update iconic anti-Vietnam war musical ''[[Hair]]'' to reflect modern wars. Not only did making that change disrupt the entire show, since amongs other things the hippie culture is not prevalent and there is no draft to rage against. Not only did these changes not sit well with fans, it flopped critically, and the 2010 revival was much more faithful to the original |
* An attempt was made to update iconic anti-Vietnam war musical ''[[Hair]]'' to reflect modern wars. Not only did making that change disrupt the entire show, since amongs other things the hippie culture is not prevalent and there is no draft to rage against. Not only did these changes not sit well with fans, it flopped critically, and the 2010 revival was much more faithful to the original |
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** Of course the 2010 one bombed too, but that had different reasons. |
** Of course the 2010 one bombed too, but that had different reasons. |
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