Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Whether you know her as the singer of sultry ballads, the queen of scat or the creator of 'A-Tisket, A-Tasket,' almost everyone recognizes the voice and music of singer Ella Fitzgerald.
But few of us know much about the woman who performed the music.
That's where Rob Ruggiero comes in."
6 comments:
It seems to be a trend currently to do shows about singers or bands and their lives. I find it an interesting trend. Historical fiction in a way. And the audiences seem to really respond well to these kinds of shows, because its the music they like and it includes some story line as well. I think its interesting, but I also think its a bit of a sell out basing so much just for the audiences sake and to fill the seats. It feels like a cheap trick.
Sometimes I'm kind of wary of musicals that are centered around a certain person or band or movie because I think that sometimes these shows are created for the sake of attractinga audiences and making money. However, there are times when I feel that the writers' genuine intentions were to tell the story of someone's life, in this case Ella Fitzgerald,'s, because few people actually know the story. I LOVE listening to Ella Fitzgerald, but I will admit that I know next to nothing about her as a person. I really want to see this show because I think that it was meant to reveal an important story the world knows very little about.
I agree that shows that are more 'historical fiction' of someone famous or popular, is a bit of a sell out just to get seats filled. However, that being said I also think that the way they have revamped the show, and truly try to honor Ella, make it all the more interesting to see. Because it is not like this is some Hollywood film made just to make it. It is the story of who Ella Fitzgerald really was. I think that human aspect of it will make it more intriguing, and I will try to get out and see it
I am a fan of these bio musicals, as the article dubbed this show. The life of a person is a great starting place for a story. The difference between this though and say the Hollywood adaptation of "I hope They Serve Beer in Hell" (the memoirs of Tucker Max) is that this is meant to honor before entertain. The fact that an audience is drawn is only second to what I think the author's purpose is: to honor an important women in the history of American Arts. That is why I am a fan of this and other good taste bio shows.
Writing and performing a piece that is basically a reenactment of the life of a well known person, is an incredible challenge. Your audience may already know the story, or have a bias, or be expecting something very specific. This production team seems to have understood that and pieced it together very well. And as usual the casting of someone portraying a known historical figure is always crucial. The lead of ELLA seems to have a fantastic grasp of what the part means and does it fantastically.
However having said all that, Bio-Pics and Bio-Shows always feel so clique to me. DREAMGIRLS is based on reality but it changes names and freely changes details to create a show. Life doesn't always translate to stage and too often directors and playwrights, won't admit this, or don't realize it. Then again I haven't seen this production so I cannot fairly judge,
I really love Ella Fitzgerald, but I almost feel like these musicals based off singers already do have the work for them. No new songs have to be created to work with the show, they already exist. At that point the show becomes more about making existing music work with a play rather than the music truly enhancing the show. Many great musicals have done exactly this and done a fantastic job and created a wonderful performance. Hopefully this show can do the same.
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