NYT column re: Broadway shows

[Todd S. Malicoate]

Seems like it took him a while to get the memo. This practice has been going on a VERY long time in the musical theater world now.

[The Big Ben]

Reads to me that he agreed that some productions would be fine with smaller bands (or electronics) but WSS needs the full orchestra to meet LB's intent.

Perhaps it is a little cynical on my part but I don't know that the avarage theatergoer could really know or care about the difference.

[chenderson_86]

If every musician settled for what the average listener deems 'good', then the world of live music performance would be in a very sorry state.

There has to be a sense of artistic integrity - West Side Story, like any other piece of music, is something that Bernstein worked day and night to create. To decide what concessions are acceptable is a little insulting to his memory, don't you think?

And speaking as someone from a town where 80% of theatre companies opt to reduce a show's orchestration down to a 5-piece band, simply due to budgetary and space restrictions, I can say with confidence that it's a very slippery slope. If we start making minor changes, where do we draw the line? I say that at the risk of bastardizing an excellent, that they should, as the writer suggested, 'close it with its dignity intact'.

[pgym]

There has to be a sense of artistic integrity - West Side Story, like any other piece of music, is something that Bernstein worked day and night to create. To decide what concessions are acceptable is a little insulting to his memory, don't you think?

Is it any more insulting to his memory wind than transcribing operatic works for wind band, rock/pop music for orchestra, or showtunes for instrumental-only ensembles are to their respective composers? After all, those composers worked night and day not only to fit the music to the lyrics but to achieve the timbral balance, so how is performing a transcription any less destructive of the artistic integrity of the work?

[jamsav]

the Bway experience has been troubling me for some time now...Having attended Broadway shows for close to 40 yrs now , yes my parents took us when we were just wee laddies, the shows, like the audiences that attend them are increasingly less sophisticated. Disney productions , Shrek The Musical, Urine Town , Oh my god, please tell me that John Stamos doesn;t have the lead in Chicago ! or that Rosie O'Donnell is starring in something or producing a show starring Boy George !! Jeesus H. , The Addams Family, ( perhaps the most recent , soon to be disaster). The shows have become more sizzle and less steak. Definately less" sophisticated thru and thru > Recent successes ( economically ) of rock based shows , where there is no more than a 4 piece(guitar, bass, keyboard drums) in the pit catch the eyes of producers , who are more profiteer, than artist . So the integrity of the venue has suffered because it is about how many tickets they can sell and the people who are buying these tickets don't know the difference .Tourists flock to bway these days , god bless their green dollars, attending shows in torn jeans, shorts, halter tops , flip flops....I still wear the uniform my parents put me in , blazer and a tie is as casual as I will ever go.Saturday night, always a suit. Same for any performance at Lincoln Ctr or Carnegie Hall .
So in the interest of selling more tickets, a less talented recognizeable celebrity , often takes center stage while the real talent is off broadway or waiting a table somewhere trying to find work. If Bob Fosse were able to see Brooke Shields tripping around the stage he'd come back from the dead only to kill himself !
I am somewhat shocked that these shows are still done with any live music ! So it comes as no suprise that the numbers in the pit are dwindling.I know how many amazing musicians are in NY and alot of them will are just plain desperate for a paying gig....by the way, tickets for these shows now run into the $150 + range...

[chenderson_86]

There has to be a sense of artistic integrity - West Side Story, like any other piece of music, is something that Bernstein worked day and night to create. To decide what concessions are acceptable is a little insulting to his memory, don't you think?

Is it any more insulting to his memory wind than transcribing operatic works for wind band, rock/pop music for orchestra, or showtunes for instrumental-only ensembles are to their respective composers? After all, those composers worked night and day not only to fit the music to the lyrics but to achieve the timbral balance, so how is performing a transcription any less destructive of the artistic integrity of the work?

You're putting words in my mouth. I never said that an arrangement or transcription was an acceptable substitution. In fact, in my opinion, after-the-fact arrangements of originally composed pieces of music are rarely, if ever, as good as the original. I do, however, have a higher tolerance for them, as many pieces are not appropriate in the particular context, and these arrangements at the very least serve to educate performers and the general public on them without having to resort to a recording.

I do, however, see a problem with making all sorts of ridiculous substitutions in an original work, and then attempting to pass it off as the composer's work, is not only dishonest to the audience, who buys a ticket with certain expectations about the performance, but is also extremely unfair to composers such as Leonard Bernstein, who are having their works misrepresented. At least when an arrangement is made, it is done with the permission of the composer or his/her estate.

Take for example, Sweeney Todd... it has seen several re-orchestrations... it was completely overhauled for the movie adaptation a few years back. And during the revival 5 years ago, is was completely re-done so that the orchestra parts could be done on-stage by the actors (with a few of dedicated instrumentalists). While both were fairly effective in their own right, they were both mere shadows of the original (admittedly, in some cases, due to the lack of ability in some of the performers).

So, I do apologize for my long-winded reply, but this is, in a nut-shell, how I feel on the matter. If composers don't mind having their works re-hashed for one reason or another, that's their concern, but as performers, there has to be that sense of artistic integrity.

[Alex C]

I hate to say this but the article is only highlighting the direction all of music has been going for some time. If you are planning a career in music performance, plan for a day job as well.

Education will be safe for a while.