Saturday, January 16, 2010
‘South Pacific’ and ‘Rock of Ages’ - Sublime and the Silly
NYTimes.com: "REMEMBER double features? I barely do. They had mostly gone the way of VistaVision and drive-ins by the time I became a movie-mad youth. On a few occasions I created my own, sneaking in to see “Grease” one more time after paying for another movie. (Apologies, AMC Theaters; the check’s in the mail.) Luxuriating in a two-movie afternoon was the closest thing to decadence a 13-year-old can achieve. Or at least should."
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3 comments:
Firstly, the double feature idea is a very fun one that I may have to steal for sometime I'm in New York. That aside, I haven't seen either of the two shows Mr. Isherwood saw, but I have seen South Pacific and revel as he did in the intelligence and complexity that R&H put into their musical comedies. I was struck by Isherwood's description of Bloody Mary's entrepreneurship at all costs and her dual intentions for pairing Liat and Cable, as I had never seen that analysis before. Moving on to Rock of Ages, it's great to see that the cast has a devotion to a show that, frankly, has little redeeming value as a show. I really liked the idea that the characters themselves are in on the whole joke of this production, though. At least the show realizes that it's jukebox hell, and embraces it wholeheartedly.
I can't really imagine a pairing of shows that would be more contrasted than these two. It's clear that the author of the article enjoyed South Pacific more, judging by the amount of space devoted to it in the article. Ending the double feature with a guilty pleasure is probably logical though. Personally, I would not attempt a Broadway double feature, because I would miss the chance to really reflect on one show. I would rather appreciate a show on its own, rather than have to compare/contrast in my mind.
I really have to give the author of this article credit for being so brave as to expand his horizons in the world of musical theatre. Most people would love one and completely disregard the other, but he seems to find the art and expertise of both in their own strikingly unique ways.
It also says a lot about what sort of audience that up and coming shows draw in--that those seeing South Pacific are the tried and true codgers sticking with the traditional flow formula, and that Rock Of Ages is so far from what those theatre-goers would consider art. Perhaps its time that we all went to see something we think we'll hate.
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