Fucking musicals.

[Lasz]

Pop... six... squish... ah ah... cicero.. lipchitz.

I hate musicals that keep that same damn song in your head for 6 months.

Well actually I like it, but really hate it at the same time.

 

[Lasz]

Billy Flynn is the shit!

 

[phrodeau]

Enjoy them where you can. The League of American Theaters and Producers have forced The American Federation of Musicians into a strike that has closed nearly every Broadway musical this weekend. Actors and stagehands aren't crossing the picket lines.

Solidarity!

 

[Smiley777]

And he ran into my knife. He ran into my knife ten times...

 

[Guest]

I am going to suffer because of this


Here she comes
just a walking
down the street
singing doo waa ditty ditty dum ditty doo

 

[MsMuffet]

"I look handsome, I look smart
I am walking work of art
Such a dazzling coat of colours
How I love my coat of many colours "

Just saw my 4th grader in one of the most amazing high school performances I ever saw in my life... (and I have seen many).

I am still singing!

 

[Agent99]

Not that I want to keep you humming...

You know how people
have these little habits
That get you down. Like Bernie.
Bernie like to chew gum.
No, not chew. POP.
Well, I came home this one day
And I am really irritated, and
looking for a little sympathy
and there'e Bernie layin'
on the couch, drinkin' a beer
and chewin'. No, not chewin'.
Poppin'. So, I said to him,
I said, "Bernie, you pop that
gum one more time..."
and he did.
So I took the shotgun off the wall
and I fired two warning shots...
...into his head.




He had it coming
He had it coming
He only had himself to blame

If you'd have been there
If you'd have seen it
I betcha you would
Have done the same!

 

[amelia]

and my favorite from Chicago

We Both Reached for the Gun


[REPORTERS]
Where'd you come from?

[BILLY (as Roxie)]
Mississippi

[REPORTERS]
And your parents?

[BILLY (as Roxie)]
Very wealthy.

[REPORTERS]
Where are they now?

[BILLY (as Roxie)]
Six feet under.

[BILLY]
But she was granted one more start

[BILLY (as Roxie)]
The convent of The Sacred Heart!

[REPORTERS]
When'd you get here?

[BILLY (as Roxie)]
1920

[REPORTERS]
How old were you?

[BILLY (as Roxie)]
Don't remember

[REPORTERS]
Then what happened?

[BILLY (as Roxie)]
I met Amos
And he stole my heart away
Convinced me to elope one day

[MARY SUNSHINE (spoken)]
A convent girl! A run-away marriage!
oh, it's too terrible. You poor, poor dear.

[REPORTERS]
Who's Fred Casely?

[BILLY (as Roxie)]
My ex-boyfriend.

[REPORTERS]
Why'd you shoot him?

[BILLY (as Roxie)]
I was leavin'.

[REPORTERS]
Was her angry?

[BILLY (as Roxie)]
Like a madman
Still I said, "Fred, move along."

[BILLY]
She knew that she was doin' wrong.

[REPORTERS]
Then describe it.

[BILLY (as Roxie)]
He came toward me.

[REPORTERS]
With a pistol?

[BILLY (as Roxie)]
From my bureau.

[REPORTERS]
Did you fight him?

[BILLY (as Roxie)]
Like a tiger.

[BILLY]
He had strength and she had none.

[BILLY (as Roxie)]
And yet we both reached for the gun
Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes we both
Oh yes we both
Oh yes, we both reached for
The gun, the gun, the gun, the gun
Oh yes, we both reached for the gun
For the gun.

 

[kotori]

Big Deal.

That was the last new musical I saw (i.e., not a revival). It was Bob Fosse's last, before he died. Closed after a short run. It was an all black cast, set on the South Side of Chicago, but based on the Italian gangster/commedy film "Big Deal on Madonna Street." A very funny movie. I keep wondering, with how successful "Chicago" is, if this will be revived.

 

[loveyamon]

Enjoy them where you can. The League of American Theaters and Producers have forced The American Federation of Musicians into a strike that has closed nearly every Broadway musical this weekend. Actors and stagehands aren't crossing the picket lines.

Solidarity!

Wow . I didn't know that. How long do you think it will last ?

 

[MsMuffet]

Enjoy them where you can. The League of American Theaters and Producers have forced The American Federation of Musicians into a strike that has closed nearly every Broadway musical this weekend. Actors and stagehands aren't crossing the picket lines.

Solidarity!

The director of the musical at my daughter's school announced this "as a rumor' to the kids yesterday... he said that the "house would be packed" due to the fact that Broadway has shut down... hehehe. The house WAS packed!

 

[phrodeau]

Nope, not a rumor.

From Playbill.com:

Broadway Musicals and the Strike: Your Questions Answered
By Kenneth Jones
08 Mar 2003

Following are answers to some of the most common theatregoer questions regarding the ongoing Broadway union strike:

How long will Broadway musicals be dark due to the strike?
For now, the League of American Theatres and Producers has canceled performance March 7, 8 and 9 for shows affected by the strike.

Are all Broadway musicals closed?
All but Cabaret at Studio 54. The show operates under a different contract with the musicians' union.

What about Broadway plays?
Non-musical Broadway plays are up and running and are expected to do better than usual business when the musicals are not operating.

Are Off-Broadway musicals dark?
No, the contract issues concern Local 802 and the Broadway producers, most of whom are connected to the League of American Theatres and Producers.

I have tickets to a Broadway musical, but it's dark due to the strike. Are refunds and exchanges being offered, and where?
Producers recommend you go to the point of purchase to inquire about refunds or exchanges.

The musicians are on strike, but why aren't the shows going on with recorded music?
Many of the producers did put a computerized music system toegether in recent weeks, and casts had been rehearsing with the so-called virtual orchestras. However, the leadership of the stagehands' union and the actors' union opted to honor the strike and not cross the picket line, preventing producers from putting on a show.

What do the musicians want?
They want producers to continue guaranteeing that a minimum number of musicians will be employed in each musical based on the size of the theatre. Doing away with these minimums, they say, will mean producers can shrink orchestra sizes and/or use synthesized music to make up for it. There are other contract issues, but this is the major sticking point.

What do the producers want?
Producers say the union should not be dictating the artistic needs of a musical, and that minimums create the possibility that musicians who are not needed or used will be paid, which inflates the running costs of the show. The producers first wanted minimums eliminated, then offered to agree to a minimum orchestra of 15 for Broadway's biggest houses. The current minimum at major houses is 24.

 

[phrodeau]

From Playbill.com:

Sound of Music Returns to Broadway: Strike Settled, Minimums Reduced

By Andrew Gans
and Robert Simonson
11 Mar 2003

The musicians strike, which began Friday March 7 and was supported by the actors and stagehands unions, has been settled. A tentative agreement was reached early Tuesday morning after round-the-clock negotiations began Monday March 10 at Gracie Mansion.

Broadway musicals, most of which which have been dark for four days running, will begin performances again on March 11.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg called officials from Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians and the League of American Theatres and Producers to Gracie Mansion at 9 PM Monday night and effectively shut them in a room with mediator Frank J. Macchiarola until an agreement was reached. Middle ground was located in less than 12 hours.

The main point of the dispute between Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians and the League of American Theatres and Producers concerned the question of minimums in Broadway orchestras. The old pact placed the number at 24 to 26 at the twelve largest Broadway musical houses. The musicians union wanted to set the minimum of players at no less than 24, while producers suggested first 7, then 14, then 15 musicians. At a press conference March 11, it was announced that minimums at the large Broadway theatres will now have set minimums of 18 or 19 players.

The lowered number represents a reduction of roughly a third, but is a far cry from a complete elimination of the minimums clause, a conclusion the producers had initially sought.

There were also changes made to the "Special Situations" clause, which allows producers of shows to petition for a different number of musicians. Previously, the committee that decided these matters was comprised of six people, all music professionals: orchestrators, music directors and the like. According to the revised clause, the committee will now be made up of neutral people who are neither members of the musicians union or the League of American Theatres and Producers.

Eighteen Broadway musicals were affected by the strike. The strike cost the city millions of dollars a day in revenue at a time of fragile economics, lingering recession and a severe budget shortfall.

The night the lights went out on Broadway was Friday March 7. At 12:01 AM that day, the American Federation of Musicians' Local 802 called a strike, after weeks of negotiations with the League of American Theatres and Producers failed to produce an agreement.

Producers had intended to bring in so-called virtual orchestras, so that their shows might continue, but when Actors' Equity and Local One of the stagehands union decided to honor the musicians walkout, the move effectively shut down nearly every musical currently playing on Broadway.

The League announced at 7 PM Friday that the affected musicals were cancelled for the entire weekend. Monday show were also subsequently cancelled. A Times Square suddenly bereft of splashy musical entertainment quickly felt the pain. Restaurants and other local businesses that depend on theatre trade saw a dip in business.

The strike also interrupted rehearsals of three musicals due to open on Broadway this season: Nine, Gypsy and The Look of Love. It did not affect Broadway's plays, or the musical Cabaret, which works under a different contract with Local 802.

The quick resolution of the strike may prevent the schedules of aborning shows from being derailed. Had the walkout continued, upcoming musicals would have surely changed or postponed their opening dates. A long strike also might have pushed back the date of the Tony Award ceremony.