December 4, 2015

"In short, they nailed the hell out of it. Carrie Underwood and Allison Williams must’ve spent the night getting drunk..."

"... because almost all of the issues that plagued The Sound of Music Live! and Peter Pan Live! were not to be found here. You had a bevy of pop performers rather than Broadway vets, which meant there was a much better command of the camera on display. People like Mary J. Blige, Amber Riley and Ne-Yo just naturally have an understanding of how to perform for millions by standing in front of a camera. Second, you had much more modern and accessible material. Third, you had a much more sophisticated understanding of how to use the stage in a production like this. Rather than the sweeping camera moves and detailed sets of the previous attempts, The Wiz Live! went for a much more impressionistic design (those video screens were brilliant) and much less hyperactive camera work, allowing the sets and performers to drive the action, rather than the director and camera operators."

Say Tom & Lorenzo, with lots of big, detailed pictures and promising a podcast later.

16 comments:

Edmund said...

Didn't watch it. However, was there a moment as extraordinary as Audra McDonald's rendition of "Climb Every Mountain"?

Ann Althouse said...

I watched some of it, during football commercials and so forth (we had both live things on DVR). I'm not interested in the music from that musical at all, so that's a limitation. But the costumes and sets, using lots of big video screens, and the dancing were very well done. The singing was fine, but I didn't care about the songs. The spoken script isn't very good. We know the old story from the movie and I don't think it's really translated into a different story, with different meaning, saying something about the black experience in America. I could be wrong, but the parts that I watched had the characters only saying dull thing.

Birches said...

Football on at our house. I wasn't excited. The Wiz seems so dated.

Tank said...

The correct meme here is "cultural appropriation."

Why wouldn't that apply here?

MadisonMan said...

I missed it, and am bummed. Saw it on Broadway back when Stephanie Mills was Dorothy. Awesome show.

I think it benefited from the very sucky movie adaption, so the TV people knew what not to do.

MisterBuddwing said...

Didn't see it for the simple reason I'd forgotten it was on - not sure I would have if I'd remembered.

There are reports that some people took to Twitter to complain about the all-black casting, calling it "racist." (I might sympathize if there were evidence that these people are also bothered - not necessarily equally - by all-white casts.) It's been suggested that these individuals are just trolling. Then again, we live in an era in which some people who saw the movie "The Martian" assumed it was based on a true story.

Anonymous said...

The Leftist Media still thinks The Wiz is a cash cow. However; even the dupes on the Left aren't duped into thinking that there's anything more to be milked out of this reverse racism atrocity, which was eclectic & acceptable once. Now, no more.

SteveR said...

There is a lot missing with a TV production of a musical.

JAORE said...

I agree with our hostess on this one. The songs were a burden to listen to. One felt the need to make sure you heard every single cultural clue. If you just let the music roll, the parts I heard were joyless.

But, hey, I hear the new, all-black-all-the-time Frosty the Snowman is enthralling.

Kevin said...

Hmmmm.....since apparently using Yoga is now a "cultural appropriation"...

Why isn't this a cultural appropriation? It was written about a young white girl from Kansas.

Respect the source!

Tibore said...

Hmmph. I don't know what to think of this Tom and Lorenzo duo, whoever they are. I'm amazed that they'd drop Carrie Underwood's name, then go on to say that what made The Wiz successful was the performers "understanding of how to perform for millions by standing in front of a camera". That's sort of oblivious. I'm no country fan by any stretch, but even I know who Carrie Underwood is, and if she's some "Broadway vet" instead of the country pop star we thought she was, then I'm Prince Rogers Nelson.

Static Ping said...

I was watching a movie featuring Santa Claus, an Ice Cream Bunny, Jack of beanstalk fame, and a guy in a gorilla suit. I believe this was good use of my time.

Etienne said...

I've seen some videos of TV productions in the 60's, and the big-ass camera is not 3-feet in front of them. It's like the TV lens were crap in those days.

But the singer would be seen entertaining the camera, and never moving far from the stage mark, so God-forbid they had to focus the monstrosity.

Anyway, I think some of that still exists if you are an entertainer and work with TV studios and make videos.

Carol said...

I watched part of it, and not knowing much about the show's history, was struck how early 70s-ish the music sounded. And by golly it does date from 1974. That was some good pop music or motown or whatever you call it back then. Ojays, Billy Preston, Roberta Flack..

eddie willers said...

I'm amazed that they'd drop Carrie Underwood's name, then go on to say that what made The Wiz successful was the performers "understanding of how to perform for millions by standing in front of a camera".

From the most gorgeous blond of all time (no offense, Ann):

As Roger Kahn described it in Joe and Marilyn: A Memory of Love, "When she was reunited with DiMaggio she described the crowds and then burst out, 'Joe, you never heard such cheering.' 'Yes I have,' DiMaggio said.

MisterBuddwing said...

TVGuide.com informs us that "The Wiz" drew 11.4 million viewers - not as many as "The Sound of Music Live!" but a considerable improvement over "Peter Pan Live!"

In the comments, there's a character named Jay who, with much sanctimony, repeatedly condemns the "racism" of having an all-black cast, claiming he feels the same way whenever he sees an all-white cast on TV (oh, really?). The standard "two wrongs don't make a right" argument.

Funny how it takes an all-black cast to make one realize the supposed racism of an all-white cast.