Theatre Arts Productions

The Common Room Film, Television, Music & Books
#1

This is a topic thread to chat about theatre arts, a media that is often ignored.

I can’t afford to see a lot of plays, so god bless Youtube.

The first real musical on stage I saw was RENT (whatever you do, don’t you dare judge the stage version from the 2005 film version) as a 15th birthday gift from my parents. It was the 2009 tour starring Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal (who reprised their roles not only from the medioce 2005 movie version, but from the actual 1996 stage opening). It was a very profound experience. The characters are flawed and lovable and it is a moment to live for today. I was sad to hear that it ended on Broadway… then I was happy when it went on tour to my city. I swear, Anthony will be the last of the original cast standing; He just loved being Mark. The last performance night (Dvd: Filmed on Broadway 2009) was emotional itself. But nothing matches the live experience.

Recently, I seen a free outdoor professional showing of Little Shop of Horrors. Despite a few technical problems, the casting was perfect.

Last week, I saw Wicked. Before I saw it, I was only expecting a shallow spectale play of music, visual effects, and humor to the plot. I was surprised that it bore plently of heart, and the character relationships were endearing. I have been changed for good. You know what, darn the people who are set on only having Idina and Kristen reprise their roles for the movie version (awesome as they are). I want rereads playbill Chandra Schwartz and Jackie Burns. All right, I actually don’t mind who they end up casting as long as the performers are credibly stage-worthy.
And yes, there will be a movie version.

Long ago, I saw the German play Our Town. Act 1 and 2 consisted of simple life and simple dialogue, things we find so tedious. And there are almost no props, the performers pantoime. But if you are patient enough to wait until Act 3, all those seemingly boring actions in the previous acts, the empty-stage will all have meaning.

There are a lot more to talk about. What makes Theatre Arts beautiful is that they are never rewindable like movies, it cannot be truly replicated, there are moments that will never happen again but reacted. New performers inevitably take over and bring their own depth to characters.

#2

I LOVE musicals! My absolute favorite is Les Miserables.

Here’s musicals I’ve seen in person

*Les Mis
*Miss Saigon
*Jesus Christ Superstar
*RENT
*Bye Bye Birdie
*A Chorus Line
*Beauty and the Beast
*Fiddler on the Roof

#3

My favorites: RENT and Les Miserables

Musicals I have seen live:

Professional:

RENT [x2] (First about four or five years ago when they did the National tour, second during the Anthony Rapp/Adam Pascal tour)
Wicked [x2] (Both in San Francisco. I’m not crazy about it, but it’s entertaining.)
Beauty and the Beast (Only show I’ve seen on Broadway)
Avenue Q
South Pacific
Fiddler On the Roof (With Harvey Fierstein!)
Bye Bye Birdie

Amateur:

The Sound of Music
Company
Grease
Les Miserables

Musicals I Have Been In:

The Music Man (Winthrop Paroo)
[b]Anything Goes /b
Les Miserables (Ensemble, plus the guy who [spoil]gets slapped by Fantine in the red light district :U[/spoil])

#4

Neat, that’s the musical my high school put on this year, I didn’t get to see it though :frowning:

#5

Umm… Our Town is an American play. It is written by Thornton Wilder, one of the most famous American playwrights of all time. It also was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, which can only be won by an American.

Have you ever heard of the “Great American Novel” (like The Great Gatsby or The Scarlet Letter)? Well, Our Town is widely considered the “Great American Play”. It certainly is the most performed play in American history. The myth is, there is a production of Our Town performing every day somewhere in the world.

I’m sorry that I am so partial to this play. I played Simon Stimpson in my school’s production back in November. Our Town, as you said, is one of the simplest plays ever, but it is also the most beautiful. I love it more than anything else in all of theater. And I love theater.

“There’s something way down deep that’s eternal about every human being.”

“You’ve got to love life to have life, and you’ve got to have life to love life… It’s what they call a vicious circle.”

Some of the most beautiful words ever spoken on the stage.

Also, we already have a thread about theater in the Members, Inc. section, here: Theater! Center Stage at Pixar Planet.

I started this thread a few months ago. As you can see, I have a passion for theater and wanted to discuss it on Pixar Planet.

I see that you like Rent, and let me tell you, we are already talking about it over there, because I currently am in a production of Rent, playing Tom Collins, that is performing this week.

Not to be that guy, but I’d like to see the discussion of theater contained in one place and not seperated. We’d be missing out on a lot of good discussion! Perhaps this thread should be locked up, Mods?

#6

Whoops! Thanks for correcting me, I guess I was mixed-up about another playwright. :blush: And yes, it is perhaps the most universal of plays.

:blush: Oh, a theatre thread in the Members Inc.?

Lock it up!

#7

Yep, already got a topic on that, but I’ll move the theatre topic here. I think here is a better location for it.

Locking up now.