"Chicago," the musical

[Jeff Miller]

Guys,

It's supposed to be a doubler part for one player; unfortunately, this double isn't as prevalent as it used be, so they've resorted to using two players to cover the parts.

Jeff

[Bob Kolada]

I played the Music Man a few years ago on bass trombone (definitely with enough low C's (don't remember either way about B's) to use a double valve on) when my orchestra did a show with a local theater group. In an attempt to get the orchestra's tuba player in, I suggested to the conductor that maybe he could play his small bass tuba on the bari sax book which they had a hard time filling.
Somehow that morphed into me playing my small Eb on a few of the songs, which went GREAT! I played it on Wells Fargo Wagon (very contra-flugelhornish!), part of Shipoopi (the soli with the bari sax then switched back to bass trombone for the glisses), the big ending piece,....
I received a lot of compliments, the small Eb fit in well with 2 tenor trombones and the bari sax, it was fun, it actually pointed out towards the orchestra and audience .... I really wouldn't play the whole thing on tuba but all the songs I ended up using it on went fantastic.

[Biggs]

He and I also discussed our experiences playing with click tracks, and agreed that if you hear the "clicks", you are playing BEHIND the beat of the click track, rather than WITH it.

I'm something of a percussionist (maybe that should be something like a percussionist) and found this phenomenon to be quite telling when working on things like snare drum etudes, drum set grooves, rudiments, etc. I normally plug my headphones into the metronome when playing non-pitched instruments to really focus on obscuring the clicks.

Also, Bob, I think you made the right decision. When I saw the Music Man in Boston, the bass trombonist used tuba on some numbers and it was obvious (at least I thought so) that some sections of that book were written with tuba in mind.

[Gobiron Guy]

I played in the first London production of the show, which ran from 1976-79. The book was tuba doubling string bass, with the pad being about 80% tuba, BUT there is one number ("Roxie") which will expose any tuba player whose bass chops aren't up to it. I had four subs who I carefully trained to handle the part, and checked them out carefully before they ever played a show. I also let them do a couple of rehearsals each.
The production currently on in London is a different one to the one that I did, and has been running for about 20 years in town, with a touring production on the go as well. The present London show uses two players (one on bass, one on tuba) but I think that the tour book is still tuba doubling string bass. It's a great show to play, with a really nice tuba part, which might be a bit tough for first-study bass players to manage. Well worth working up though, if you get asked to do it.

[mdbtuba]

For what it's worth - playing this show yesterday and today in Albany. Read through this series before taking the gig (haven't played a traveling show before),and found a lot of it really useful. A few things I learned, perhaps due to not doing other shows, that I've struggled with:

- it is preferred to double, which is ok, but (as a tuba player primarily) I had to spend a lot of time prepping the bass. Roxie goes on a lengthy vamp, which can cramp your left hand if you aren't ready for it. There's also two measures in the courtroom scene which (at least for me) are the most demanding part of the entire show - a simple descending scale, but starts on high A
- the changes between tuba and bass happen very, very quickly in a few places
- the tuba part is critical - you start a lot of the tunes.
- balance is wierd, and we didn't get much practice (and none on stage), so you have to trust yourself.

Did one show last night, have two today. Looking forward to fixing the errors I made for today's performances...

Mike

[KevinMadden]

Funny that this thread gets resurrected around the same time that there's a "learn your styles if you want to work" thread elsewhere on the main page. I've been playing this show three times a week for the past 4 years on the ship. We have separate bass and tuba chairs, though that's more due to the rest of the bass demands on the ship, you would really need a bass player doubling on tuba rather than the other way around. We also do the show without the violin and with only one bone, though the re-arranging was done with the people in NYC so it's pretty legit. Deceptively easy is definitely a good way to put it, every song 'looks' identical but every song needs to be played is very different. Played it on my CC for a while and have been recently using my Eb, CC was the better choice, but sometimes when you have to pick a horn to fly with you go for the one that's easier to carry.

And as I always say to the new guys in the band on their first night, "DO NOT take your eyes off the music or the conductor for the first few weeks, you'll get distracted, I guarantee it!"

[BopEuph]

Funny, I was looking at this thread yesterday while trying to find Ron Raffio's contact info. In short, I emailed the MD for the Broadway show, hoping he'll forward my message to him.

I've done this show a number of times myself, most recently on a very doomed tour in China that never really took off. Really sucked, since the cast were all members of the West End cast from different periods that it was in London, and all the musicians were top-notch, as well as a very professional crew. Our rehearsals and tech run went amazingly well...it would have been an incredible show!

I was a bassist before a tuba player, but because of my euphonium chops, I was advised to buy a tuba before moving to Orlando. I now gig equally as much on both. I would say that I feel weak on Tuba, of course, but because of my feel (which has been mentioned in this thread before), even the best MDs have loved my playing for this show.

One greatest numbers in this show...and maybe I shouldn't show this and give some of the younger guys ideas...is the entr'acte. It's lots of fun, and if you hear the CD of the revival show, you'll hear Ron going to town on some changes in the Mr. Cellophane section. If you know how to play changes WELL, it's one of the few places an MD will let you go off the page.

My advice for this show, though, is to get a copy of the CD, and listen to the crap out of it. Get the tunes practically memorized. There are lots of hits that are really hard to see, especially if you're in the premade bandstand. The conductor is almost at 3 o'clock from you, so your head has to be turned to properly see him. Plus, it makes it easier if your eyes DO wander!

EDIT: By the way, when you're in great productions of the show, there's nothing like the adrenaline rush you get when the MD screams "FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT!"

[barry grrr-ero]

. . . on my bucket-list of 'things to do' before I leave this rock

[KevinMadden]

EDIT: By the way, when you're in great productions of the show, there's nothing like the adrenaline rush you get when the MD screams "FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT!"

Our production uses a click track (no instruments in the track, it's just for timing the lights). It counts 1,2,3,4, before the conductor yells 5,6,7,8. There is no greater embarrassment or longer lasting jeer than coming in full steam after 4...

[BopEuph]

Our production uses a click track (no instruments in the track, it's just for timing the lights). It counts 1,2,3,4, before the conductor yells 5,6,7,8. There is no greater embarrassment or longer lasting jeer than coming in full steam after 4...

Agreed. I know ships are so gung ho about click tracks, but that's just a bit much.

By the way, if I ever went back to ships, I'd want to do the Allure because you do Chicago! If you need a sub for your vacation breaks, let me know!

[ronr]

EDIT: By the way, when you're in great productions of the show, there's nothing like the adrenaline rush you get when the MD screams "FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT!"[/quote]

Amen to that! I did this show with a community theater group in Minneapolis about 15 years ago. Anytime/anywhere.

[KevinMadden]

By the way, if I ever went back to ships, I'd want to do the Allure because you do Chicago! If you need a sub for your vacation breaks, let me know!

well, sadly, Chicago is moving on in just 5 weeks. The Allure is getting Mama Mia! which doesn't use the horn section at all . Thankfully the horn section is staying together for at least one more season so we can keep doing proper big band and brass quintet etc. (and I get to tour Europe for a few months woo-hoo!)

[BopEuph]

well, sadly, Chicago is moving on in just 5 weeks. The Allure is getting Mama Mia! which doesn't use the horn section at all . Thankfully the horn section is staying together for at least one more season so we can keep doing proper big band and brass quintet etc. (and I get to tour Europe for a few months woo-hoo!)

Well, crap. Though the big ships doing musicals is better than some of those guest entertainers we had to back up. I remember some of these guys not being able to hold a light to some of the players in the band, yet lecturing us about how to play our instrument.

One guy had a James Brown show, and yelled at one of the horn players about something he did and said James wouldn't have allowed that. Horn player said "mother $*#$&er, I played with James, and he loved it when I did that!"

Dude wasn't reported by the MD, because he figured he was in the right.

[TubaSteve]

I was asked to play this show two years ago, but our family was going through the final stages of cancer with my sister and I had to pass. It was a small sacrafice at the time, but I would sure like the chance to come around again.

Steve