Klarinet Archive - Posting 000337.txt from 2003/02
From: CBA <clarinet10001@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Save Live Broadway
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2003 06:14:27 -0500
Oliver,
That's really a LARGE blanket statement.
I think you are missing the point of the story of Rent. I live
in New York, and have seen it 4 times (among at LEAST 80 shows
to date since I moved here almost 6 years ago.) Rent is NOT
about pretty orchestral music, and it wasn't written just from
the standpoint of La Boheme, but was an adaptation that was set
in the early to mid 90s in a specific part of New York City,
with a specific subset of society. Most people are not familiar
with the area of the city or the people who frequent it. I am
NOT saying you have to like the show, but it is a very good
adaptation for the period it represents, and the music is
SUPPOSED to be Broadway non-regulars, per the composer/creator,
Jonathan Larsen. The singers that work on stage in Rent are
non-Broadway people to give it a raw sound. The instrumentation
is much like popular music, NOT Broadway style, but is VERY
live. The musicians in the New York production of Rent are quite
good. I know people who sub there, and they are quite
outstanding, in any genre of music they play.
Caveat: Rent is not a show I would take my parents to. They
would not enjoy it, and would have a very similar reaction. Then
again, I am still buying Dad the Anne Murray collections for
holiday gifts, and Mom gets Gone With The Wind soundtracks. They
are also rather unimpressed with classical music past 1850. They
think it is too complicated. They come to recitals I have had in
the past, and say "you performed wonderfully" and leave it at
that, since they aren't really interested in most of clarinet
literature, since it is so LATE. Almost nothing baroque...only a
percentage is from Classical period. What's to love? (for my
parents.)
I manage to take someone to Rent once a year as a good
alternative to hearing one more crappy rendition of Phantom or
Les Miserables (the second which I DID like a lot at one time,
but after over a decade, it is now almost as dead as Cats when
they retired it...)
Regardless of whether you like the show or not, you should judge
it on the merits of what is was written for, and what style it
was written in. Otherwise you are judging music as if people of
Mozart's time were saying "too many notes" because they like the
Baroque music they are familiar with. I am not fond of the
dialogue in "To Kill a Mockingbird" but that has to do with the
subject matter, but the book is a revelation in literature, and
needed to be said. Regardless of whether someone thinks it is
relevant today in relation to racism, or whether people think
that it just went away after 1968, it WAS representative of the
period and people.
"Rent" in New York does tell you that the music is very loud in
the Playbill that I still have. I haven't been recently, so I am
not sure they are still doing that.
Sorry for the rant. I can give no less grief than I gave my
opera fan friend who went to a concert with me that had the
Messiaen "Quartet for the End of Time" on it. He thought it was
crap. I just chalked it up to his ears unwilling to hear modern
music. You don't have to like something, but to say it is crap
would also require someone to be familiar with music of that
genre and period to make a pseudo-informed analysis of THAT
piece of music up to other pieces of music.
NOW...as far as what everyone is saying about the joy of live
music on Broadway, I would like to bring people to the attention
of our wonderful music unions. THESE are the people killing live
music on Broadway. The pay that comes from these shows AFTER the
union share is taken out reduces MOST musicians in New York City
(not sure about other places) to subsistence living. The *UNION*
needs to be demolished, to be able to bring shows to New York
and not charge concertgoers such an OVERWHELMING amount of money
for a show. Shows here HAVE to count the number of players
because of the extra amount of money for the people to work in
the union. a 20% cut for the union means that 4 people can be
budgeted when 5 are needed. Union cuts about 20% out of the
check, and leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling (not).
Incidentally, I finally saw "Contact" which had canned music.
The dancing was quite wonderful, but the canned music was not.
This would never take the place of live music, if the
concertgoers had a choice. The people around me, who were
tourists, were very unenthusiastic to not find an orchestra
live, and THEY KNEW it wasn't a live performance. If Broadway
went to canned music, the cycle would be the shows would not
have the income, since people wouldn't go, and the live shows
would HAVE to be brought back to get the numbers back.
Many shows (off-Broadway in particular, here in New York) are
picketed by the local 802 union here for not having union people
in the show. These shows, which are more reasonably priced for
people to get to, suffer catastrophic financial losses from the
picketers... if these people would STOP picketing, the union
would not be dictating who can have a show, and for how much,
and musicians would be able to work more often in music. Most of
the union people are ALWAYS available for picketing, since they
have time to kill when they are ALWAYS unemployed. I usually get
a good 10% more for comparable NON-union jobs after taxes and
union dues are considered. The union forces the hands of the
financial planners of the shows to take the bare minimum in
union work, and then has to jack the prices up to keep in union
with less people working.
Now WHO is the one killing the live Broadway shows?
Off my soapbox.
Kelly Abraham
Woodwinds - New York City
--- Oliver Seely <oseely@-----.edu> wrote:
> I was particularly offended when I went to see "Rent" in
> London to have to
> look at a collection of synthesizers, computers, amplifiers
> (set far too
> loud IMO) and speakers ON STAGE no less. The "orchestra" took
> up half the
> stage, the music was terrible and the plot was an anemic 20th
> century re-do
> "La Boheme" set in New York. A thoroughly forgettable
> experience.
>
> Oliver
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