slate.com: In November, a new musical was announced called Gwyneth Goes Skiing. It received the kind of press coverage that most theater companies would kill and die for. Despite it being put on in London, the likes of CNN, Variety, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Deadline, and dozens of U.K. outlets besides, reported that Gwyneth Paltrow’s infamous lawsuit, which followed a skiing accident that took place at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, in 2016, was getting the musical treatment.
2 comments:
To write candidly, I love this type of theatre. As artists, we can get into the idea that all the work we do must interpret and comment on the human experience. However, I think our jobs can also just be to make people laugh and bring some levity into the world. While I don’t think I would consider the Gwyneth Paltrow musical to be art, it brings levity into the world. I agree with the author that this musical struggled to find the right audience. It wasn’t meant to be the artful mainstage musical it was transformed into. But also not musical needs to be destined for the biggest stage; a lesson this team needed to learn. That’s one of the reasons I’m so interested in working in regional theatre. In my opinion, there’s more career diversity. I could design a fun farce like this one, a regional Broadway revival, and new work all in the season. There’s a broader definition of success and I’m very grateful for that.
This musical is perfect in every way. I love how gay it is. I had my doubts about it but now that I’ve read this I know I would love it. We always need more shows for “the girls, the gays, and the theys.” That being said, I do understand this article’s criticism. They say that this show is too wacky and strange for mainstream audiences. I understand that. I can imagine that not many people would really enjoy this show and that the hype definitely made people expect something that wasn’t a campy drag show. That being said I love campy drag shows and I love this show. They said that this show would be perfect at half the length at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I understand what they’re saying. I think, however, that there is something to be said for treating camp like “real” theater. I often feel that it’s looked down upon by other parts of theater, which makes sense and is in part by design, however I’m of the belief that if the audience had fun it is a good show.
Post a Comment