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 Brandon29
Registered User
Registered:
6/13/2003
From:
Brooklyn, NY | posted: 10/13/2003 at 11:30:38 PM ET
Anyone here a hardcore MACK & MABEL fan? It is my all-time favorite musical. Partly, of course, because of Bernadette's role in creating this musical, but also because Jerry Herman is my favorite composer. I think it is such a well-done show (or was before David Merrick toured it) and wish I could have seen it. What do you guys think?
*~When will it be Brandon's Turn?~*
|  Broadwaybaby17
Registered User
Registered:
3/18/2003
From:
Alabama | posted: 10/14/2003 at 12:02:44 AM ET
I've read the script several times because my community theatre director wants me to play Mabel(much excitement there) and I really don't see what the big deal about the book was. I love it, I think it's a wonderful show. Maybe the previewed script was a little different and I think that the huge age difference between Bernadette and Robert Preston hurt it. The show is suppose to happen in a ten year span and that doesn't really work too well with women's roles. To jump from 20 to 30 in a play is a little difficult. I think my director wants to do it more like a five year span. But anyways, it's one of my favorite shows and I love, love, love Mabel Normand. What's your favorite song from the show? Mine is I Won't Send Roses, but I think my favorite to perform is Wherever He Aint.
Bump it with a trumpet!
| Brandon29
Registered User
Registered:
6/13/2003
From:
Brooklyn, NY | posted: 10/14/2003 at 2:46:48 AM ET
I love the whole score to pieces, but my favorite is probably LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO MABEL... though TAP YOUR TROUBLES AWAY is such a great tune!!
*~When will it be Brandon's Turn?~*
| jmslsu01
Registered User
Registered:
6/9/2003
From:
northern VA | posted: 10/14/2003 at 8:46:02 PM ET
Warning-long post ahead....and these are just *opinions*,and I'm not in any way presenting this as the Final Word on Mack and Mabel.
One of the problems with the book is that it is very hard to portray film actors-especially these two particular people-and other heavily cinematic movies successfully on stage.
There's also a disparity between the quality of the score and the quality of the book. When one is much better than the other,it brings a lot more attention to the one's faults than a score/book nearer its level would do.
Biographical musicals are problematic-a major exception,however,is Gypsy. One of the major differences between Gypsy and other "biographical" shows is that Gypsy has a particular hook-if it had merely been about the life of Gypsy Rose Lee,then it's questionable whether or not the show would be as glorious as it is. The score,yes. But the book is as firm and necessary as is the score,which isn't the case for too many musicals,as everyone here knows.
However,Arthur Laurents found a particular hook to tell the story-through the mother,and made it less about a show about showbiz than a show about parents living through their children,and whatnot.
Mack and Mabel doesn't have a particularly strong hook in that way. A similar show is Funny Girl-has a great score (minus a few songs,and then the brouhaha that "People" makes absolutely no sense,which it doesn't),but a weak book. It only tells the story of Fanny Brice's career and her goodfornothin' husband. No particular hook. Now,of course,all that is pretty much forgiven and forgotten when you listen to the OCR or watch the movie (unless you're a rabid anti-Streisand fan),because Barbra Streisand is mesmerizing in this role (and has fantastic comedic timing! Wish she would remind us more often of that.).
I'm not saying the book of Mack and Mabel is exceedingly bad-but compared to the score,it's like it's a different show. That's one of the main reasons why people pick at the book. The score deserves a better book. If the score hadn't been as great,I doubt people would focus so much on the book (and the show probably wouldn't have become such a cult favorite). It's definitely not as bad as the books for the Gershwin and Jerome Kern shows.
The book has been revised several times (the London one had a "happy" ending with the "return" of Mabel),but in the end,the main characters are too firmly tied to their cinematic qualities to transfer successfully to the stage. These two people were such physical actors who depended on the essence of film that their characteristics-what made them so memorable- don't transfer too well on the stage. The only other actor I can imagine that would make an even more difficult show would be Charlie Chaplin.
This doesn't mean,of course,that productions of the show shouldn't be done-to the contrary-and I think it's great that your community theater is considering doing this rather than something like The Sound of Music,Annie,Fiddler,or anything else that people have seen a hundred times. Thank goodness for community theaters that do something different! Has your director thought about doing Side Show (yes,it would be a challenge to find the leads!)? ;-) Some community and regional theaters are great about doing shows that didn't quite make it the first time (Side Show has particularly caught on in community theaters and college/university drama departments),and that's how these shows are going to live on and find new fans. And if it works out that you do do the show,I'd love to hear how it turned out. :-) God bless the community theaters. There's a musical about community theater,but I can't for the life of me remember it. I might have to look through Peter Filichia's columns or his book. He's a big community theater fan-and recently gave a lovely report about your Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
http://www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm?int_news_id=3733
Jenn
| Broadwaybaby17
Registered User
Registered:
3/18/2003
From:
Alabama | posted: 10/15/2003 at 12:31:34 AM ET
OOO the Shakespear Festival! How fantastic that you even bothered! They aren't soo community as they are professional( I think they pay their actors). I saw The Piano Lesson and The Miricle Worker There and they were wonderful, unfortunately it's about three hours away from where I live so I don't get to go often. Yes Side Show would be hard to do but ohhhh so much fun! The one I work with Does a lot of musicals that everyone has seen cuz they are new, but then they do a lot that they haven't seen. They did Chicago last September and that hadn't been done in Alabama in like 10 years. And right now they are doing "Gilligan's Island" the musical! I met Dawn Wells(the origional Maryanne) and she said I should be a voice actress! I was so happy! Anyways, enough about my community theatre. Has anyone seen "Waiting for Guffman"?
Bump it with a trumpet!
| jmslsu01
Registered User
Registered:
6/9/2003
From:
northern VA | posted: 10/15/2003 at 8:09:53 AM ET
Nope-ASF is definitely not community! They're definitely a well-known rep. I just saw that you are in AL and that's what triggered my memory about the report.
Jenn
| Karen
Registered User
Registered:
5/3/2002 | posted: 10/15/2003 at 9:21:02 AM ET
Thanks. I had never heard of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and it sounds great! There are probably a lot of regional theatres out there doing good work, but this one sounds particularly intriguing. As for Waiting for Guffman, anyone who hasn't seen it should immediately rush out and rent it. It's one of the funniest comedies ever, trust me.
| jmslsu01
Registered User
Registered:
6/9/2003
From:
northern VA | posted: 10/15/2003 at 10:11:26 AM ET
Yes-there are *definitely* a lot regional theaters out there doing good work. A lot of the new and interesting shows are created and performed at regional theaters-the Goodman and Steppenwolf in Chicago, the Intiman in Seattle (where Adam Guettel's The Light in the Piazza was recently performed,and premiered The Kentucky Cycle),Oregon Shakespeare (one of the tops,and like Alabama,is truly rep),Guthrie in Minneapolis, the Academy Theatre in Atlanta (fantastic outreach work),Bloomington Playwrights in Indiana,Actors Theater in Louisville (one of the champs-their Humana Festival is internationally celebrated,their apprenticeship program is highly competitive,and they do so much it's dizzying), American Rep in Cambridge,Arena in D.C.,....to name a few of the outstanding regional theaters (big and small) in the United States,and I'm leaving out others. Regional theaters are keeping contemporary drama alive,since it's pretty much gone on Broadway. Every state has at *least* one regional theater,so support your regional theater (we have Southern Rep,which is new-ish,and has produced new plays by New Orleans playwrights. The Shakespeare Festival at Tulane is purely Shakespeare,so far.)! I'm a big believer and supporter of regional theaters,as you can tell. They are so important to the future of American theater.
Jenn
| Karen
Registered User
Registered:
5/3/2002 | posted: 10/15/2003 at 10:42:55 AM ET
Absolutely agree! What you have to say is crucial for everyone who loves theatre to remember. "Probably" was a terrible choice of words for me to make.
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