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Post by jo on Dec 10, 2013 18:07:26 GMT -5
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Post by jo on Dec 10, 2013 18:29:12 GMT -5
It was also reported on the TV Guide site -- www.tvguide.com/News/NBC-Live-Musical-Next-Year-1074438.aspxbut what was the interesting were the suggestions of musicals and their casting from the feedback section. Hugh suggestions included the ff: *King and I - with Hugh as the King and Audra M as Anna *Man of La Mancha - with Hugh as Don Quijote and Samantha Barks as Dulcinea *Reprise of Oklahoma! *The Boy from Oz On BWW, there is a suggestion for Kiss Me Kate, with Hugh and Audra. And elsewhere - My Fair Lady, with Hugh and Anne Hathaway. Hugh is a popular choice because of his musical theatre skills and drawing power. I have always thought that he could portray the lead in any of the big Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals ( including The King and I, and of course we know that he has already done Oklahoma! and Carousel). But it seems his future plans will include another movie musical and maybe Houdini if it ever gets to Broadway. Plus there is always the possibility of his taking his one-man show elsewhere ( I wonder if he is already planning an Australian run?)...so he may not want to get involved in another musicals project, lest he gets typecast once again. Although, if he does Man of La Mancha, with Sammy or maybe even Audra -- I am in! That is one of my top three favorites ( Les Miserables, Camelot, and MLM) and the very first musical I saw where I cried my heart out. I saw the original with Richard Kiley...But is it considered family-friendly enough for TV? Maybe not? Although it would be saccharine-sweet if all the NBC musicals are simply of the same genre as SOUND OF MUSIC... What about Camelot - another personal favorite, although I would hate to see Guinevere prefer Lancelot to his King Arthur  King and I is exotic, has a beautiful musical score, has plenty of children ( from the King's large family), has comedic and dramatic elements...and Hugh in makeup as an Oriental king would be quite a change! He would even get a chance to dance ( but what a dance - LOL!). Pourquoi pas?...Except of course the King does not get to sing much  Maybe another one -- how about The Music Man?? Er...not too many familiar tunes for the general public. This is harder than I thought. Jo |
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Post by mamaleh on Dec 11, 2013 0:29:05 GMT -5
At first I was buoyed by America's positive reaction and great numbers for THE SOUND OF MUSIC. But now I think it's not so much a re-embrace of what was once the country's dominant form of popular music as it is an affinity for the very familiar and a major country star. There's a reason PASSION and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE were both shown on PBS, not the commercial networks. Well, if any follow-up (preferably starring Hugh) must be a tried-and-true property that most people are familiar with, then I hope it's either SOUTH PACIFIC or MY FAIR LADY. He'd be perfect in both, and he wouldn't have to work extra hard to project period Americana.
Ellen
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Post by jo on Dec 11, 2013 2:38:53 GMT -5
SOUTH PACIFIC has been done in the recent past at Lincoln Center ( and did they record that one?) and wasn't there a recent Glenn Close TV musical? The story is closer to home with American audiences because it is about the American forces and their island friends during the second world war. And it has great songs! Bali Hai, Some Enchanted Evening, Younger than Springtime, There is nothing like a Dame, Cockeyed Optimist, Happy Talk, etc...Who could be Nellie to Hugh's Emile? Anne Hathaway ( short hairstyle already in place)? Aaron Tveit as Joe Cable? Although of course Matt Morrison fans may want to see him reprise his Joe Cable stage stint. I do not know how they can uglify her, but I would love to hear Lea Salonga sing Bali Hai! MY FAIR LADY can be a good bet, too! And Hugh was Prof Higgins when he did his obligatory high school musical  He has English forebears ( and his Mum still lives in England) and maybe he can sound more British than we thought, if he tried. As for Eliza, would Anne be the right actress, too, for the role? That would be a lot of drawing power. But Anne needs to polish her British accent because people thought she did not do well in a previous Austen adaptation. Sam Barks is a bit young for the pairing, althought Harrison and Hepburn may have had the same age gap then? How about Keira Knightley - wasn't she supposed to have been considered for a new film adaptation of the musical? What about Eddie Redmayne as Freddy Eynsford Hill? The musical score is also great! On the Street where You Live, I Could Have Danced All Night, Wouldn't it be Loverly, I've Grown Accustomed to Har Face, Take me to the Church on time, The Rain in Spain, etc... Just so long as they consider Hugh in any of their future plans Jo |
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Post by jo on Dec 11, 2013 6:43:52 GMT -5
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Post by jo on Dec 11, 2013 19:37:22 GMT -5
Everyone's into the casting game -- tvline.com/2013/12/11/live-tv-musical-remakes-sound-of-music/#!1/1-live-tv-musical-remakes-_my_fair_lady/ The first suggestion is the pairing of Hugh Jackman and Lea Michele in MY FAIR LADY.  Er...not too sure if I can imagine Lea M as the refined lady at the Ascot and how she can cope with the British accent. Maybe I am wrong, but maybe another musical might be more suitable for this pairing? Jo |
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Post by Jamie on Dec 11, 2013 20:51:11 GMT -5
These three would work for so many musicals. Love the idea of Singing In The Rain but works as well for Guys and Dolls, Brigadoon, Kiss Me Kate etc. Any show that has two strong male leads (Hero and Comedic pal) would be great vehicles for a Jackman/Harris teaming. |
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Post by jo on Dec 11, 2013 21:51:53 GMT -5
According to Michael Riedel, the buzz on the likely next NBC musical is strong for OLIVER, KING AND I, GREASE, and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF! nypost.com/2013/12/11/how-do-you-follow-a-smash-like-maria-broadcast-another/I can see Hugh as Tevye ( with Amanda and Aaron as the young lovers)...as the King ( not a "puzzlement" )...and as Fagin ( with Sam Barks and Daniel "Gavroche" Huttlestone reprising their stage roles)...and as Danny Zuko, but twenty five years ago Jo |
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Post by mamaleh on Dec 12, 2013 13:29:53 GMT -5
My money, if not my preference, is on OLIVER!. If it's pegged for the year-end holiday period, then prominently featured kids (as in SOM) is a plus, and of course OLIVER!'s got lots of them. Maybe they'll even bring back Carrie Underwood, this time as Nancy (assuming she can do a lower-class British accent).
Ellen
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Post by jo on Dec 12, 2013 18:08:05 GMT -5
When I saw OLIVER in London in the mid-90's with Jonathan Pryce, I wasn't completely charmed. It's got lots of children, but this is a bit on the dark side - as they are mostly raised as pickpockets by shady characters ( like Fagin). But there are some nice songs - Food,Glorious Food, Where is Love, What I Did for Love, Consider Yourself...
The setting is of course Dickensian London ( reminds me of the dark setting for the Sweeney Todd tale). Will this go over well with American audiences? Unlike Sound of Music and Les Miserables, there is not enough memorable characters ( and a memorable score) to overlook the rather dark theme.
But will the fact that Cameron Mackintosh owns ( or at least 50% of it) the rights mean that NBC will have to court him out of his own plans for a film remake ?
I would rather see KING AND I ( if one talks about children, lots of 'em), strong lead characters, great songs with more variety in appeal ( Whistle a Happy Tune, Getting to Know You, Hello Young Lovers, Something Wonderful, Shall We Dance, etc), more exotic setting ( the Orient, which has become more relevant in the news these days - not just a distant land from the pen of Anna Leonowens and the music sheets of Rodgers and Hammerstein), visually more spectacular, and it has more dramatic elements that can appeal to the more adult audience. There is one element that touches on American culture - the classic "Uncle Tom's Cabin" as told by Lady Thiang) and that may resonate with the NBC audiences...I think one objection is that color-blind casting may not be acceptable for the role of the King, as it is doubtful there is any Asian musical theatre actor or even a big movie star with the drawing power with such a background who can sing, who can be tapped. Hmm...if not for Yul Brynner ( who is half-Russian and not Southeast Asian at all), I think our memories of the musical story of the King of Siam would not have endured so much! Maybe the real problem is -- could anyone top Yul and Deborah Kerr's takes on the King and Anna?
Jo
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Post by JH4HJ on Dec 13, 2013 11:32:00 GMT -5
But there are some nice songs - Food,Glorious Food, Where is Love, What I Did for Love, Consider Yourself... Jo, I think you mean As Long As He Needs Me. (What I Did For Love is from A Chorus Line, if I remember correctly.) I'm just glad someone/anyone is producing musical theater for network TV. Even though I was not thrilled with The Sound Of Music and could nit-pick a number of artistic and casting choices, I hope they keep doing it. . . and I hope that at some point Hugh is involved in one of the productions. Please!!! smiley-hug006 |
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Post by njr on Dec 13, 2013 18:51:20 GMT -5
But there are some nice songs - Food,Glorious Food, Where is Love, What I Did for Love, Consider Yourself... Jo, I think you mean As Long As He Needs Me. (What I Did For Love is from A Chorus Line, if I remember correctly.) I'm just glad someone/anyone is producing musical theater for network TV. Even though I was not thrilled with The Sound Of Music and could nit-pick a number of artistic and casting choices, I hope they keep doing it. . . and I hope that at some point Hugh is involved in one of the productions. Please!!! smiley-hug006 I watched the new "The Sound Of Music" and I loved Stephen Moyer! (Love him in True Blood as "Vampire Bill!") My only objection was that Carrie Underwood seemed too young for him. Otherwise, I enjoyed it. Nancy |
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Post by JH4HJ on Dec 13, 2013 20:45:15 GMT -5
I watched the new "The Sound Of Music" and I loved Stephen Moyer! (Love him in True Blood as "Vampire Bill!") My only objection was that Carrie Underwood seemed too young for him. Otherwise, I enjoyed it. Artistic license - and LOTS of it... Actually, the Baron was 20-25 yrs older than Maria. I thought Carrie was OK (age-wise, at least) good voice for country, should not be doing Show Tunes, and is not much of an actress. The actors playing the Baron and Max were much too young IMHO. [BTW: Max is a complete fabrication. The local Reverend was their Musical Director.] After the marriage they lived in Austria (had more children) , and sang throughout Europe for over a decade before the advent of WWII. There was no dramatic "escape" - they merely left on a singing tour and didn't go back. (Pretty sure the Reverend went with them.) The youngest son still manages the family "boarding house" (now, an impressive Ski Resort) in Vermont. There were about 25 rooms when I saw it (while living in NH in the '70s). The family still toured as a singing group, but would return to Vermont and perform at the lodge during the holiday season. It burned down in the 1980s. The new version is MUCH more impressive (and expensive). The family doesn't perform any more. Some of them are buried on the grounds at the lodge.  Search for some news articles if you're interested. Apparently the remaining family watched the show and were not impressed. One said their father was "rolling over in his grave" and another said that they would have preferred seeing (hearing) Anne Hathaway in the lead. Maria wrote an autobiography which is a good read but nothing like the play/movie. She freely admits to being willful and having quite a temper - nowhere near as demure (or pretty) as her fictional counterpart. Find a more factual account here |
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Post by jo on Dec 14, 2013 5:44:13 GMT -5
Thanks, Val, for giving us the right song ( It is indeed "As He Long As He Needs Me"!)  Thanks, too, for the update on the Von Trapps -- I do have a CD of the group singing Christmas carols together! Except for some in English, most of them are sung in the language from their original country of origin, including two of my favorites ( Weihnachttslied from Germany, aka Silent Night, and Il Est Ne, Le Divin Enfant from France) Jo |
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Post by suefb on Dec 14, 2013 9:11:42 GMT -5
The Von Trapp lodge is located 20 minutes from my house. I've skied at "Trapp's" often; it's a cross-country ski resort, not downhill. Besides the lodge, Von Trapp descendants are sprinkled around various communities in the surrounding area. Vermont is very proud that they chose to live here after leaving Europe. BTW, there are some Von Trapp great-grandchildren who still do singing performances: www.vontrappchildren.com/ |
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Post by njr on Dec 14, 2013 17:30:53 GMT -5
I watched the new "The Sound Of Music" and I loved Stephen Moyer! (Love him in True Blood as "Vampire Bill!") My only objection was that Carrie Underwood seemed too young for him. Otherwise, I enjoyed it. Artistic license - and LOTS of it... Actually, the Baron was 20-25 yrs older than Maria. I thought Carrie was OK (age-wise, at least) good voice for country, should not be doing Show Tunes, and is not much of an actress. The actors playing the Baron and Max were much too young IMHO. [BTW: Max is a complete fabrication. The local Reverend was their Musical Director.] After the marriage they lived in Austria (had more children) , and sang throughout Europe for over a decade before the advent of WWII. There was no dramatic "escape" - they merely left on a singing tour and didn't go back. (Pretty sure the Reverend went with them.) The youngest son still manages the family "boarding house" (now, an impressive Ski Resort) in Vermont. There were about 25 rooms when I saw it (while living in NH in the '70s). The family still toured as a singing group, but would return to Vermont and perform at the lodge during the holiday season. It burned down in the 1980s. The new version is MUCH more impressive (and expensive). The family doesn't perform any more. Some of them are buried on the grounds at the lodge. Search for some news articles if you're interested. Apparently the remaining family watched the show and were not impressed. One said their father was "rolling over in his grave" and another said that they would have preferred seeing (hearing) Anne Hathaway in the lead. Maria wrote an autobiography which is a good read but nothing like the play/movie. She freely admits to being willful and having quite a temper - nowhere near as demure (or pretty) as her fictional counterpart. Find a more factual account hereYes, after the show I googled the Von Trapps and read the real story. I didn't realize the Baron was that much older than Maria! <oops> Nancy |
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Post by carouselkathy on Dec 15, 2013 15:30:59 GMT -5
I must say that even though Carrie took most of the flack, I feel that Stephen Moyer was the weakest link in the cast. His pitch was often flat, and he was too young for the part. Captain Von Trapp was commander of the Austrian submarine fleet, but Moyer came across with no sense of authority and no chemistry with Maria. Their scenes together were disappointing. Carrie sang well, but her dialogue was expressionless. Her best scene was with Audra McDonald during "Climb Every Mountain". Audra's great performance lifted Carrie's momentarily out of the doldrums. After several viewings, I believe that a Captain with more charisma would have lifted Carrie's performance unto the hills from which she could have found strength. Ultimately, I believe that both leads were miscast. It's not the actors' fault that they were miscast.
The decision was made by RNH and/or NBC to go with popularity instead of quality. Too bad.
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Post by birchie on Dec 15, 2013 18:36:06 GMT -5
I must say that even though Carrie took most of the flack, I feel that Stephen Moyer was the weakest link in the cast. His pitch was often flat, and he was too young for the part. Captain Von Trapp was commander of the Austrian submarine fleet, but Moyer came across with no sense of authority and no chemistry with Maria. Their scenes together were disappointing. Carrie sang well, but her dialogue was expressionless. Her best scene was with Audra McDonald during "Climb Every Mountain". Audra's great performance lifted Carrie's momentarily out of the doldrums. After several viewings, I believe that a Captain with more charisma would have lifted Carrie's performance unto the hills from which she could have found strength. Ultimately, I believe that both leads were miscast. It's not the actors' fault that they were miscast. The decision was made by RNH and/or NBC to go with popularity instead of quality. Too bad. Couldn't agree more, Kathy! I was very disappointed with the 2 leads. Although Moyer is supposed to have done musical theater (West End I think) he still seemed way out of his element. I thought he was very nervous (in the first scene he was in especially) and the chemistry between him & Carrie was non-existant! Carrie has a nice voice but can't act. I did love Audra and I enjoyed revisiting the Max/Elsa numbers that were not in the movie. Another thing I thought was odd was that they put everything back to the way it was in the original musical, but at the end they used Something Good, from the movie, instead of the original An Ordinary Couple. Just odd. I fell in love with the story first when I read Maria's first two books as a girl. I was about 10 and when the musical opened a couple years later I wore out my OBC album. Then I loved the movie when it came out even though they changed and/or rearranged a lot of the numbers. The movie was so well done & Julie was so fabulous that I couldn't help but love it. I have the 40th Anniversary set which I still enjoy watching. One of the Von Trapp descendants was a Dentist in the town next to me, not sure if he's still there and the oldest original son practiced medicine in a nearby town many years ago. I'm a couple hours from the Trapp Lodge and made a pilgrimage there many years ago. TSoM is one of my top 5 musicals. Needless to say, I was looking forward to the new live broadcast and really expected something better. I certainly hope that NBC and the show runners for the future shows that they are promising, will use people who can sing AND act. Even if Hugh doesn't get to do one, there are a lot of other multi-talented people they could use...of course if they want the best they should use Hugh!! giggle They say that NBC owns the rights to many musicals...I wish I could find a list of the ones they have the rights to. It's hard to speculate on what they might do next without knowing what they have to choose from. Guess we'll have to wait & see. Of course if they really are going to do one in time for Christmas next year, we should hear about it pretty soon. Sue |
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Post by jo on Dec 15, 2013 19:22:27 GMT -5
Hmmm... wouldn't it be the film studios who might own the rights to musicals, esp if they have been adapted for film? In some cases, the studios might even own the original non-musical rights ( such as Billy Wilders' Sunset Boulevard owned by Paramount), which has stymied the adaptation to film of the stage musical, according to composer ALWebber. MGM and maybe Fox might own quite a few of the musicals ( if Hugh's Back on Broadway drumroll scene for the movie musicals medley is accurate - LOL). Universal is the one who now has taken a forefront for movie musicals. They financed Mamma Mia! and Les Miserables. They are also financed that movie with a musical theme, with Anna Kendrick( sorry, I can't remember the title)...They own both the stage rights and the film rights to WICKED.
Universal may be related to NBC, in its corporate identity, but the separate stakeholders/stockholders may demand separate business goals and results and you cannot really mix them up.
Musicals are expensive to make. In this case, it is said that the SOM remake cost less than $ 10 million maybe because it was filmed in a soundstage, like a stage musical, and did not have an expensive cast. So would this limit their efforts to musicals without lots of spectacle? And/or with casting who will not command top salaries?
As for the casting -- wouldn't the producers and director have the major say and maybe NBC? Maybe the R&H Organization was consulted but maybe they did not have veto power.
I still have to see the SOM remake - not that keen, because I am too loyal to the film version (LOL!)...and what I read about what the critics and fans say of the remake is not encouraging. But maybe I will...if it ever gets shown here.
Jo
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Post by jo on Dec 15, 2013 19:33:40 GMT -5
This is the latest update from official sources -- www.deadline.com/2013/12/nbcs-robert-greenblatt-on-sound-of-musics-profitability-followup-plans-midseason-expectations-thursday-woes/If they are going to do the musical with a much lesser budget, that further limits the choices of the musical as well as the casting choices? The dilemma is if they cast with musical theatre stars - they are not known enough to attract a huge TV audience. Why not just film any current hit stage musical - like Wicked - but this still does not solve the problem of the popular appeal of the casting! It looks like film stars with a musical background can only be tapped if they are willing to work for a small production budget ( Les Miserables, already supposed to have been limited in its budget, still cost $ 61 million to make, excluding the cost of promoting it). Which may then leave the casting to other musical talent, mainly from the pop culture world, who may be interested in crossing over to other types of musical entertainment ( such as what Carrie U did) and who may look at their ability to sell the DVD release to their own fanbase to enhance their overall compensation for the role? Jo |
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Post by carouselkathy on Dec 15, 2013 20:06:49 GMT -5
Regarding the substitution of "Something Good" for "An Ordinary Couple": Richard Rodgers was not fond of "An Ordinary Couple" and replaced it with "Something Good" in the film. I've always felt that the placement of either song in that particular scene slowed down the momentum of the whole show. They were too pensive and not joyful enough. Maybe a song in that situation should be omitted completely, and move the action from the proposal right to the wedding scene. Just a thought.
P.S. I vote for either THE KING AND I or MY FAIR LADY for the next live musical.
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Post by njr on Dec 16, 2013 20:26:29 GMT -5
I received a TV Entertainment questionnaire via email and part of it asked about the remake of SOM and about future remakes of other shows.
Nancy
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Post by jo on Jan 19, 2014 18:15:43 GMT -5
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Post by mamaleh on Jan 19, 2014 20:22:22 GMT -5
Good question. I think today's TV audience might not as readily accept anyone other than a boy/young man as Peter. It has worked on stage since the days of Maude Adams 100 years ago, and it worked 60 years ago on TV because Mary Martin was so known in the role. But today? Not so sure. Whatever, PP is a great introduction to musical theater for children, and I'm looking forward to it. Now that Hugh's to play a pirate in another PAN incarnation, maybe he'll want to play evil-silly Captain Hook for Meron and Zadan. Ellen |
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Post by JH4HJ on Feb 23, 2014 14:07:24 GMT -5
Maria von Trapp, last of famous singing siblings, dies at 99 London 1937  More here
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