All right, all ye who saw the Merrily screenings - some assorted thoughts: Wasnt it awkward to clap for a curtain call, at a movie theatre, having just watched a musical and seeing its bowing performers who cant hear or receive our gratitude? But gratitude, indeed - what a cool night. And have you ever seen a mens room line that long? Also: someone Ive never met has just tweeted about overhearing me correcting my friend when she said Ive never really listened to the soundtrack (sic). And I could hear a (very faint, but collective) grumble when the pre-show feature misspelled the name Charley... Or, far more egregiously, the fact that - in 2013 - there are still people (or captions) that call this a Stephen Sondheim musical. No question its one of our greatest scores. And, I really dont think Id do what I do for a living had I not worn out the LP (and a bunch of grainy bootlegs and cassette tapes and anything I could get my hands on) as a kid. But Ive always loved George Furths book, and - just getting a chance to listen to it tonight, I was floored by how smart and funny it is - and, while the art of writing the book for a musical will always have a (very) thankless element, so much of the book to Merrily is so friggin brilliant - against impossible odds - and dare I say, groundbreaking. While it might not be perfect (what is?) - its certainly paved the way for so much of what has come since. I was lucky enough to know George, so heres a glass in his honor - but lets remember that it takes a village to make a musical, and tonight Im grateful to live in the village that sold out every one of its movie palaces, to support and enjoy one of our most complicatedly beautiful stories.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 02:59:01 +0000
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