Bonus Post Valentines Day Special : The Band's Visit

While I am working on the next batch of posts for Flopsurary I decided to slightly diverge for a valentines day special and talk about one of the shows that is perfect for Valentines Day  whether you are single or in a relationship. " The /Band's Visit" is a perfect for the occasion. The plot diverges on some very heavy subjects, but it also mostly revolves around love. Whether it is relationship past or present. The theme of love resonates in every character from the leads to the extra who refuses to step away from the phone hoping to get a phone call from his girlfriend. The show has themes of self worth, identity, and your place in life, but among the other themes, love is woven in thought the performance. If you can not see this wonderful show in person, like myself who is waiting for a tour cast. I highly recommend reading the plot synopsis to get what is going on in the show and seeing where the songs fit in to the story, it does add more trust me. But back to why this album is perfect for Valentines Day, simply the entire album infuses love and relationships so well into it's music and lyrics, it shows relationships from all angles. It shows having a crush, failed relationships, nervous jitters when wanting to step pout in love, the wonders of romance, some of the low points, and hope. This show has at least one song to cover you no matter your relationship status. It infuses heart, drama, and comedy into the music and plot incredibly well. If you have the opportunity to see it before it closes in mid April, but there is an upcoming tour for those like me, who are not close enough to Broadway.  I highly recommend at least listening to the cast album, the love songs will set the mood, are relatable, well written with great lyrics, and wonderfully performed. One song that I absolutely love and relate to is " The Beat Of Your Heart", all of us have someone you only saw briefly but never will forget, and can be powerful memories. "Papi Hears The Ocean" is super relatable to anyone who has ever had nerves when wanting to ask someone out, and " Haled's Song About Love" is simply beautiful,  there are some songs that are not directly about love also some incredible instrumental pieces for some of the tracks. Even if the song is not directly about love, all of the songs are stil. are simply wonderful and set the stage for the songs that are about the main theme incredibly well, the soundtrack is varied. Here are some of my favorites in the theme of love, but I will say I love the entire soundtrack, these are only about love:

It Is What It Is

The Beat Of You Heart ( L) 

Papi Hears The Ocean ( L) 

Haled's Song About Love

Something Different

Something Different Reprise

Answer Me 

( Songs With An ( L) Marked Next To Them Have Language Or Adult Themes In Case You Have Young One's Around) 

That is all for today, maybe check out this album for some Broadway based fun on Valentines Day, speaking of which....  I'll see you again soon ad I hope your day is a showstopper .

Flopsuary: Thoughts On Flops. What Makes Them, And Why We Need Them

Welcome back to Flopsuary  and today I wanted to explore the idea behind flops in general. Is it the lack of financial success that makes a show a flop, or how about how the show s received by critics and the public? Does a shorter run make a show a flop? A flop in Broadway is defined by many things, but what interests me is that flopping on the great white way does not mean it is necessarily curtains for your show. Some go on to become staples in civic or high school theaters, others are revived and see some greater success, some are given rewrites and given changes that they may need. Some unfortunately just fade away. Non of the ways to keep the show alive that were just listed apply to certain productions. The just come to an end . In my opinion a show that truly flops is one that is dropped and never performed again, such as " Spiderman Turn Off The Dark". I also think there are many forms of flops, such as some shows may be flops in the eyes of critics, yet  they live on. Others are financial flops, and some shows end for a combination of multiple reasons. I look back on "Natasha and Pierre, And The Great Comet of 1812" or " The Great Comet" for short,  and how much protentional it had, it was a critical and financial darling,  general audiences loved it too, even after losing so many Tony Awards to " Dear Evan Hansen" the show looked like it would continue to live on much like the similar show in the same season " Come From Away". Yet due to behind the scenes tampering, the show ended long before it was due, and as of this post, no efforts to stage the show or a tour announced, this wonderful show burned out in the heights of its prime. Sometimes a show flops even when it is having a solid run. So as this series continues I do plan on looking at flops of all backgrounds, critical, financial, bad word of mouth, ones that ended in their prime, and everything in between. It's important to look at flops, not only to maybe bring them back, but to learn from them. I think of some flops that didn't even get cast albums like the musical about the making of " Shuffle Along" . But that is a topic for another day, until then I hope your day is a showstopper

Flopsurary

For the month of February, or at least the rest of it as we are nine days in, I have the idea of look at the biggest flops old and new. Thus naming the month Flopsurary, I will be looking at cast albums, discussing certain flops old and new, and also sharing some of my favorite shows and how to be flops, also diving into the ideas of flops and flops in general. so let's all dive into Flopsurary, see you soon and I hope your day is a showstopper

NBC Cancels Hair Live

I don't normally delve into the news, but I felt that this was a topic I needed to discuss Amidst all the talk of " Rent" live being the lowest viewed live production, many believe it is tied to NBC's recent announcement to cancel  " Hair" which was their live production slated for spring. This leaves many, including myself wondering where the future of live performances lies, I hope they get rejuvenated and that we can keep putting on shows both classic and modern. I am only hoping that this is temporary, these live shows were fun events, and we need more fun events centered around the theater. Until  next time, I hope your day is a showstopper

Skittles The Musical Review

(image source Time Square.Com)


So instead of doing a super bowl commercial, skittles decided to a thirty-minute musical written and performed by professionals., but they didn't air it on television, but rather have it performed for one performance only in new york. The album was dropped on Spotify for everyone who does not live near New York. The production spends the entire time mocking advertising while being an advertisement while making jokes about Broadway, musicals, and even a slight jab at the future movie adaptation of " Cats".  I wanted to quickly review the album that was put on Spotify, and follow some online reviews of those fortunate enough to see this outlandish concept.  After listening to this album, the songs were very well made for a very elaborate advertisement, The plot judging by the album is that a group of people complaining about advertising, complain about the musical itself, and kill the lead of the show who happens to be Michael C. Hall playing himself . Making jabs about musicals and Broadway, all while reminding the audience that this is indeed a commercial for Skittles, even remarking that the musical has caused skittles sales to increase. The album and performance have four songs and is the first super bowl commercial. I have heard of that was not televised. The songs are catchy and well performed, I was completely surprised at how numbers that had many lyrics pertaining to Skittles was so well performed and catchy. I applaud for this project for pulling off an idea so well for a commercial. The jabs at the upcoming " Cats" film was also incredible, on top of the threat of ruining Broadway, questioning the existence of the musical  and some well-placed quips, all while having well made songs about Skittles of all things was the most interesting thing to come out of a super bowl ad in who knows how long.  The songs had the Broadway-style and were well performed, I am honestly hoping a taped version is put online so people can see this, traction can spread, and more people can see this, musical fans and nonmusical fans alike. All I can say is load up Spotify and check out the four songs, they explain the plot very well and describe what is going on, seeing how it was staged would just be an added bonus. I will say that one of the tracks is just Micheal C.  Hall eating skittles, so probably skip that track, that one is not even a song it is just him dining on the fruity candy, the other three songs are well made and worth the listen for lovers of candy and musical theater fanatics alike. Until next time, I hope your day is a showstopper.

Judging A Book By Its Album Cover : Groundhog Day The Musical ( PART 2)

(Image Source: Gameost.com)

I have been meaning to review this show for quite some time and I finally got around to it, I heard of it around the time of the 2017 Tony Awards but I was so wrapped up in " Dear Evan Hansen" that I even looked over " Come From Away" initially... wait a minute.... this seems oddly familiar. What day is it? I better not give up hope, even if I had my time again I have to keep going on even if I feel stuck on day one, day two, or day three. The night may come but if I press on there will be sun.  Man this feels oddly familiar

Judging A Show By Its Cast Album: Groundhog Day The Musical

                                                          (Image Source: Gameost.com)
 Tomorrow is Groundhog Day, Now is the best time to look into cast album of this 2017 movie based musical.  The plot follows the popular 90's comedy about Phil Connors he is trapped in a never-ending loop, repeating Groundhog Day for what seems like forever in the small town of Punxsutawney, Among the antics, he engages with the locals and grows to love simplicity, and even falls in love, learning to be more content . This rendition does modernize the story, placing it in modern times, adding cell phones and social media.

The first thing that must be addressed is that this musical is very crass, this is not targeted towards families, so if you plan on looking into this album, maybe because you love the film, make sure you have some headphones.

This show tries doing something similar to " Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat" where the songs are multiple genres of music. Sometimes it fits, and sometimes not so much sometimes the genres don't mix well as some songs try changing styles mid song. The comedy of the show mixes well at some points, I found myself chuckling every now and again. Due to the nature of the plot, similar lyrics or musical themes will repeat and can prove to be effective. One thing I must commend this show on is the use of the ensemble, everyone uses them adds more to the song, and many some of the songs even more memorable. The whole cast does wonderful, it's not the performers it's sometimes the lyrics are a tad rough around the edges.  I think this musical could benefit with some edits and rewrites, also maybe toning down the crass jokes and language, then maybe high schools and civic theaters would be more open to performing it.  I try to find at least a song I like in a musical, I believe that a lot of hard work goes into creating, making and staging them in every aspect, that even the worst shows have something of quality in them. Even if it's only one scene or song.  It's interesting because the lyrics stay the same but the style of music changes, I will say that some sytles work better then others.

This is a show that I did not find myself pressing repeat on many songs, but I see some quality in it, I just think it is rough around the edges, this show also is very pessimistic in many parts, there are blips of optimism but more so later on. The music does show that Phil does have character growth, and becomes less selfish as the show continues. There were many times that I did feel taken out from a song because they tried adding a joke, so I do wish that they pulled back slightly in some points, to have some character driven moments. The character moments that are left as just character moments are some of the best lines in the show. Again I will emphasize all the performers did amazing, and the ensemble is so well used, so even though I didn't love every song.  You may enjoy some more than me, this blog has always been purely my opinion, here are the songs that I did enjoy adding to my playlist.

Day One (L)

One Day (L)

Playing Nancy (L)

If I Had My Time Again (L)

Night WIll Come

Seeing You


So even though this list is shorter then past reviews there are some parts I genuinely enjoyed, I would consider seeing this performed live at a civic theater, but it is not on the top of my list when it comes to shows I want to see. Again I think rewrites could maybe do this show some good, and maybe produce a linger run, some ideas could be cut down, and others expanded. Thank you very much for reading this. have a happy Groundhog day and I hope your day is a showstopper.



Sources:

Groundhog Day The Musical  ( Wikipedia)

Groundhog Day The Musical  Orginal Cast Album