Archive for Musicals.Net Musicals.Net |
| treblemaker32 |
amazing music!I haven't seen it yet but I'm planning to this summer. I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of the soundtrack from my coworker at UMGD and it's getting me even more excited to go see it live! Phil Collins did a great job on the music and lyrics, the songs are sooo beautiful. Paired with the live stage production, I can't even imagine how great it is! I've been checking out www.tarzanthemusical.com and the cast seems pretty promising. Anyone seen it already or heard the songs? |
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| Baker |
Just saw the show yesterday and the music seemed really weak. The actors and actresses had great voices and the orchestrations were good enough, but the songs just felt boring... nothing overly memorable other than the two songs from the movie and I enjoyed "Different" somewhat more than the rest of the show. It definitely got better towards the end, though, but it just felt poorly put together. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tiny-Tot |
I agree the cast recording is amazing. Phil Collins wrote some great additional songs from the Disney Movie. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Luc |
I have the OBCR which is pretty good. My favorite songs on it are the original ones from the movie. I don't like any of the new songs, except for "Different" and "For the First Time". Although sometimes in FTFT I actually cringe and Tarzan's voice, no jokes.
I think Disney on Broadway's time is just about up (although I really enjoyed the OLCR for Mary Poppins). |
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| MsDivaKate |
I agree that Disney really stretched it a bit with this one. However I also enjoyed Mary Poppins. |
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| zeppy1223 |
I thought the cast was brilliant. Even though the musical was very simple... like how they let all the wires and harnesses show and kept a basic set... I loved it. It sounds silly.. but I was amazed watching all the monkeys that were constantly swinging around the stage. What can I say? I'm a kid at heart and I love the movie.
The music is amazing... but I'd have to say Different and Strangers Like Me are my favorite songs. |
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| angellwings |
I thought Disney could have done better. But I loved the music.
I loved "Who better than me" had it stuck in my head for days after I saw the show. and I can't remember the name of it, but I liked the song between Kala and Kerchak. All the music from the movie was still just as amazing as I remember. "Son of man", "Two Worlds", "Strangers like me" were all great. Everyone's voices were really great IMO. |
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| HortonDoody |
Who Better Than Me was one of my favorites too. I loved all the songs though, especially Son of Man and Trashin' the Camp. However, does anyone else think that Josh Strickland (Tarzan on the cd and in the show) sound a tad too feminine. When I first got the cd, I wasn't paying attention to who was singing at the time, and I thought Tarzan was actually Jane during Different. I don't know. I honestly think Tarzan's understudy (Kevin Massey, who I saw when i went to New York) is much better. Oh well | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Luc |
Yeeeeesss!!! I totally think that! |
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| choochoo |
When I listened to the soundtrack I didn't like the music, but to me it sounded better live. A lot better. Like I really liked the music when I saw the show! I like some of the new songs a lot more than the old ones such as "Who Better Than Me" and I also enjoyed young tarzan's song as well as jane and tarzan's duet...and the surprising one was jane's solo at end of act one or the beginning of act two- I actually loathed the song when I heard the cast recording...but when I saw it onstage it sounded different I don't even know why. It was more enjoyable. I think they brought up some of the tempos or something? | ||||||||||||||||||||
| DONT.LOOK.BACK |
Re: amazing music!
i've seen itr heard it lOVE IT! |
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| Derekmckean |
Disney should NOT try to make stage musicals when it comes to their animated films except when mosty humans are the characters.
Here are the exceptions to this rule. Beauty and the Beast. That was the BEST disney stage adaptation. It was more than just a beast head. The staging was magnificent. I even like the storyline better than the movie. And the new songs were awesome. Good job. I saw it at the Schuebert in Century City quite some time ago. Even the dance with wolves was done very well. This musical should have been a musical before a movie. When I saw the movie as a little kid, I could even imagine the first number being from a musical. NO tacky costumes or staging. Eveerything was brilliant. Disney's the Lion king. Great adaptation to stage. It was not just dudes in a lion costume. I felt it like it was an artistic piece--having actors telling the story as if they were telling the story from a African stoytelling standpoint using tribal garments yet a head to signify which character they are such as Mufasa, scar, or whomever. I could see it both as actors (humans) interacting with other humans. And I could also see it as Simba(a cute little lion cub) talking to his father Mufasa. I think Disney would done much better dealing with Mulan as stage musical rather than Tarzan. Mulan as more human characteristics. You could even add ethnic dances and even dances with spears. Why not add a fire breather? Yeah, some of the backdrops would have to change. Instead of having "I'll Turn a Man out of YOu" in a camp, that number could easily be done at the court of the imperial palace. Man, this totally could be a musical. Other than that, Disney should stop making stage versions out of animated musicals. And the live action Film, Mary Poppins was almost basically a musical to start with. It sort of had that old musical feeling like "Showboat." Well, not that old. I really am not into old musicals except Guys and Dolls. But you get the picture. I have not seen Little Mermaid. I would imagine it would have great numbers, but not a great adaptation. Again, Mulan should have been the Movie to turn into musical. Now, the new Movie by Disney is "The Princess and The Frog." DISNEY--DO NOT RUIN YOUR MOVIE BUT ADAPTING THIS STORY INTO A STAGE VERSION. but then again, I do not even want to see the movie. The Emperors New Groove--DO NOT MAKE THIS A MUSICAL. I love it as a film and it is SUPER FUNNY. Leave it this way. I could see one song being for the stage. But this movie is not meant to be a musical. The next movie that might actually work would be Newsies. In fact, if Disney wants to make a real stage adaptation, do NEWSIES. Yeah, there would have to be like 10 more songs added, but this musical would have potential. Plus, if it had a broadway debut, you can hire people that really do have that "bronx/queens" acccent. But I think it would be better if they hire 18 to look youngers (18-27) rather than real minors who are under 18. Chances are they might already be Equity and would not have to get all that Coogan account junk done. |
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| RainbowJude |
TARZAN - Amazing Music / Disney Adaptations
The score is one of mixed accomplishments rather than being weak outright. Besides the five songs from the film, all of which work well within the conventions set up for the score of the stage show, except for "Trashin' the Camp", which didn't work in the film and doesn't work here either, there are some stong additions, such as "Who Better Than Me?" (made can be made attractive by its performance as much as anything else); "Sure As Sun Turns to Moon" (which gets perectly what it's trying to do dramatically in the music, even if the lyrics don't get there effectively); "Waiting for this Moment" (an audacious opening, let down in the song proper somewhat by its lyrics); "Different" (which is a great bit of scoring that ties the rhythmic feel of certain 'relationship' songs in the score together); and, of course, "For the First Time" (which is just a super love song). In general, the music is certainly more successful than the lyrics, but the total effect of the score is not something that's a complete failure, but one that certainly gets the job done.
Yout must not have been paying attention at all. Even when the score pushes Josh Strickland's voice into a register that I feel sounds more androgynous than feminine, he doesn't sound like Jenn Gambatese at all. Their timbres are completely different!
But none of the Disney stage musicals that has appeared on Broadway that is based on an animated film has involved a set of mainly human characters. Aida never made it that far in its development as a film; Mary Poppins is mixed medium film that is not considered to be one of the animated classics; The Hunchback of Notre Dame hasn't made it to the Great White Way yet; and the others are theme park and junior shows that don't really count in the same way. So I'm not certain about the principles on which your argument is based.
It is arguably the best adaptation that's played Broadway, but I don't think that's saying all that much. The staging of the original production was magnificent, but the adaptation is mixed at best. Most of the additions, pleasant though many of them may be, are little more than padding rather than being material that enriches what what was already on the table. Basically, Disney took one of their richest films and watered it down to create a stage show that is only somewhat engaging, although in terms of spectacle it certainly delivers the goods.
It was a musical when it was a movie. Uncanny, isn't it?
You seem to be getting the concepts of "adaptation" and "staging" rather confused. Certainly - in terms of its staging - The Lion King represents a high standard of artistry, but - in terms of its adaptation - the book leaves much to be desired and the Elton John-Tim Rice additions to the score are deplorable, although a great deal of the additional material contributed by Lebo M and others are invaluable complements to the score.
However, in comparison with Tarzan, Mulan does have a more derivative score and screenplay. If the team behind the film had focused on telling the story and serving its needs instead of forcing it to fit the formula derived from The Little Mermaid and set in stone by Beauty and the Beast, it would have been a much better film. There is a school's version available, with many additions to the score, but if it ever makes the jump to a mainstream musical theatre stage then - man - I hope you're not in charge of the adaptation, at least not with what you seem to think would make it work...
Which bits of it weren't a musical? I must have missed those.
Newsies needs a lot more than a couple of new songs to become a great stage musical. The screenplay would need a great deal of fleshing out in order to become a decent book for a stage musical - and since Disney seems to be unable to get top notch work done in regard to book-writing for their stage musicals, that's probably the biggest challenge such a project would face. |
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| Hans |
Re: TARZAN - Amazing Music / Disney Adaptations
HAHAHA |