| Memories of the late '90's and the way people talked about FLOYD COLLINS | |
| Last Edit: GrumpyMorningBoy 12:16 am EST 11/22/24 | |
| Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 12:07 am EST 11/22/24 | |
| In reply to: "Floyd Collins" cast announced - Ann 10:20 am EST 11/21/24 | |
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| From Deadline, today: "The Guettel-Landau collaboration had its world premiere at the American Music Theater Festival in Philadelphia in 1994, followed by a 25-performance Off Broadway debut at Playwrights Horizons in 1996. The cast recording from the ’96 staging, featuring Christopher Innvar, Jason Danieley and Theresa McCarthy, took on a life of its own, turning Floyd Collins into a sort of contemporary-theater holy grail." A holy grail. That's not hyperbole, as far as I'm concerned. Among musical theatre people living & working in NYC in the late '90s, I can't name a single musical that blew people's minds as much as FLOYD COLLINS did. Especially among those who play an instrument, write music themselves, or know some music theory. In 1996, RENT was an instant phenomenon. You could intelligently argue that its white-hot popularity captured the entire zeitgeist, leaving little room for an intricate, delicate show like FLOYD COLLINS to break through. FLOYD COLLINS opened only a month after RENT began selling out its Off-Broadway run in the New York Theater Workshop. But as much as everyone adored the life-affirming vitality on stage in RENT, it was that cast recording of FLOYD COLLINS, released a year later, that turned my musical theatre friends into Guettel worshippers. At the time, it felt like the first musical in decades -- since the Golden Age, at least -- where the composition was the star. The music itself. Not the concept, not the production pizzaz, not the scenery, or the vibe, or the stars... The harmonies. The melodies. The basslines. The orchestrations. I have no qualms whatsoever in saying that FLOYD COLLINS is among the greatest American pieces of musical composition in the second half of the 20th century. It still blows MY mind to appreciate how good this music is. Every measure feels like a perfect moment that naturally builds tensions until it releases more beautifully than you'd ever have imagined. I'm VERY excited to see this, and I do think that the casting of Mr. Jordan will draw in a younger audience who might not have otherwise seen it, so that makes me glad. And although I enjoyed the intimacy of Ms. Landau's original staging, I don't think that the original piece needs an intimate theatre to work. Very curious to see what kind of edits and changes they've made. A space as far and wide as an echo could be absolutely thrilling. - GMB p.s. -- If you're unfamiliar with the score and want a quick sample of what you've been missing, start with "Daybreak." And then listen to it three more times to notice new details you missed the first time. |
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| Link | Deadline: Broadway ‘Floyd Collins’ Musical Sets Jeremy Jordan To Lead Cast Of Broadway ‘Floyd Collins’ |
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