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[MBarnum]

I found the website while doing some research on one of my interviews which I have been trying to get ready to send to the publisher...my interviewee told me that the first TV his family had was a Hallicrafter. I had never heard of such a thing...but here it is.....

[MBarnum]

For my money, however, I'd have sprung for a portable.

[DERBRUCER]

LATIMES

Festival of New American Musicals


Jim Moody, xx

NEW OR NOT?: “The Brain From Planet X” had two stagings before the Festival of New American Musicals, including this one, produced at Los Angeles City College.


With the inclusion of some already staged productions, some quibble with organizers' definition of 'new.'
By Diane Haithman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

July 1, 2008

As Southern California's inaugural Festival of New American Musicals winds to a close, some observers and participants are raising this question: How, exactly, does this festival define the word "new"?

The wide-ranging event -- which began May 1 and closes with the July 10-13 staged reading of the musical "Dance With Me," based on the lives of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz -- has included 148 events in 36 theaters from Santa Barbara to San Diego, reaching, according to the festival's leadership, an estimated 122,000 theatergoers.

But the fest -- organized by Marcia Seligson, founder and former producer and artistic director of the Reprise! musicals series, and marketing executive Bob Klein -- has included not only approximately a dozen world premiere productions and first readings or staged readings of musicals, but also about the same number of musicals that have had previous productions elsewhere.



West Coast premieres

Among the latter group are several shows that can claim to be West Coast premieres -- but one of those musicals, "The Times," by Brad Ross and Joe Keenan, had received a full production at the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, Conn., in 1993, pushing the boundaries of what one might describe as "new." And one festival offering -- "Brain From Planet X," presented at the Chance Theater -- was produced locally at Los Angeles City College in 2006 and in the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2007.

Bruce Kimmel, who wrote "Brain From Planet X" with David Wechter, praised the festival's intent but, referring to "The Times," said: "You can't call a 15-year-old show a new musical, even though you can call it an L.A. premiere. It's just truth in advertising: New is new."

"The Times" also sparked a rather heated mid-June discussion on the theater website Talkin’ Broadway’s All That Chat, where a writer using the handle westcoastdrama wrote: "I love a great new musical. I even love revivals of great musicals. But I abhor when producers lie."

Such questions about the vintage of the festival's musicals does not faze Seligson, who said that choices were made on a case-by-case basis.

"We always said, from the beginning, what our definition of a musical that would fit for the festival, or was appropriate, was one that hadn't been done in Los Angeles before -- and that, for the most part, almost entirely was true," she said.

"That was not true of Bruce's show because he did it at L.A. City College, so that was an exception," Seligson continued. "There were a couple of exceptions -- and they were things that really deserved to be seen after the author had a time period to work on them. Until shows hit Broadway or the West End, they are works in progress. We weren't going to do 'Cats' at a festival of new American musicals, but I guess we were being sort of looser, and still are, about the word 'new' than some of these people who I guess we are talking about, who think this should have been the first time it's ever been seen outside of the composer's living room."



Works in progress

Seligson added that, despite the time that has passed since the 1993 production, "The Times" fit the parameters of this festival because "it's such a good show, and has so much potential and still needs work. And it has never been done here before."

If people object to her parameters, she added, "then you know what? I think they should do their own festival."

Gordon Hunt, who directed "The Times," said, "I don't have a problem at all" with the festival's loose definition of "new." "It's a difficult racket, the making of a musical, the developing of a musical, and anything done to encourage that and to celebrate that is really a good thing," he said.

Some reviewers have pointed out that one show, "My Antonia" at Ventura's Rubicon Theatre, is not really a musical. Adapted by Scott Schwartz from the 1918 novel by Willa Cather, the drama contains incidental music by Schwartz's father, the Tony Award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz. Seligson acknowledged that festival organizers are describing the production -- which was originally produced at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto in 2004 -- as "a new drama with music."

That's also OK with Seligson, who says that next year's festival will still be called "The Festival of New Musicals" and will espouse the same broad interpretation of the word "new." "If someone with a lot of time on their hands wants to carp about 'My Antonia' not being a musical, then that's fine with me," Seligson said.

der Brucer

Note: Inasmuch as Brain is arguably the most blatant violator of "new musical", Bruce's comments do seem odd - but he clearly has no problem with the Festival.

[DearReaderLaura]

When I had my little "incident" last year, I was amazed at how much inaccuracy was in the newspaper story. So I no longer consider the newspapers to be very accurate.

[DERBRUCER]

...because if I wanted to be critical of the Festival believe me I would not be shy.  I have a hugely popular blog here.

If there is any doubt about your willingness to publicly "bite the hand", one need only review your diatribes against the NYMF!

der Brucer

[Cillaliz]

[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]TUMMY VIBES FOR DR CILLALIZ[/move][/size][/color]

Thanks Vixmom.  I have this habit of thinking that if I don't feel well that I can rest one day and be well because, frankly, I don't get sick very often.  I think I was really sick this time and although I'm recovering I'm not there yet.  Tonight I tried to hurry and get everything written as I had planned to do over the weekend, but I just can't think and I'm still a little weak.

So, tomorrow I'm just going to have to ask for an extension.  The trial is still 22 days away. I would think the judge can give me a couple more days to get this done.  

[bk]

I've sent responses to everyone and a letter to the editor - the people from the Festival haven't acknowledged my responses nor the fact that I immediately did as they asked and wrote the letter to the editor.  Games?  Must we?

[bk]

The head of the Festival had also recently asked me for a quote about how wonderful it was to be in the Festival and I gave her a great one.  Guess that doesn't count, but this one-line tempest in a teapot does.  The whole thing makes me want to vomit on the ground.

[DearReaderLaura]

Feel better soon, Cillaliz!

[Cillaliz]

 The whole thing makes me want to vomit on the ground.

Boy do I know that feeling!

[Cillaliz]

Feel better soon, Cillaliz!

Thanks DR Laura.  I'll be fine. Just  have a habit of pushing myself too soon....sound familiar?  Take care of your foot!

[bk]

Welcome nine GUESTS.

[bk]

Have we really exhausted all the G.S.'s?

[Cillaliz]

Ok, I'm going to get some sleep. I have much to do tomorrow.. and I need my brain to be working

[DearReaderLaura]

Have we really exhausted all the G.S.'s?

George Smith

[DERBRUCER]

BK:

The on-line edition of  the LA Times article hot-links to brucekimmel.com

der Brucer

[bk]

I saw that - hmmm.  I wish dear reader Michael Shayne would get it updated - he's two books behind, lots of the links don't work, images don't show up - go know.

[DERBRUCER]

George Smith

What George Smith?

der Brucer

[DERBRUCER]

I saw that - hmmm.  I wish dear reader Michael Shayne would get it updated - he's two books behind, lots of the links don't work, images don't show up - go know.

I sure has lots of stuff on Brain - including all the LA Area reviews from the Chance production (althought the Chance Pix don't load).

der Brucer

[DearReaderLaura]

The George Smith I used to babysit when I was a teenager.

[DERBRUCER]

- he's two books behind...

What besides Murder At Hollywood High?

der Brucer

[FJL]

What's interesting is that someone at the L.A. Times even found this worthy of an article.  I would think in this long-development environment we're in, the definition of "New" Musical as one that hasn't come into its own in a major way would be acceptable.  For example:  Didn't DROWSY CHAPERONE take six years from its first production (in Canada) to get to Broadway - and no one would argue that it wasn't still a new musical when it opened on Bway six years later, would they?  

Even as prestigious and influential an organizational as the O'Neill Theatre Center in Waterford, CT is doing two brand new musicals as well as two other musicals that have already been seen and reviewed in full New York professional productions, but have not taken that big step.  http://www.oneilltheatercenter.org/musicals.asp

I think the theatre community has come to accept that the definition of "new musical" is one that is still in development, awaiting its big professional break.  

(I also can't fathom that any reporter  would think a prior college production would keep a musical from qualifying as "new," no matter where it was reviewed.)

[bk]

What besides Murder At Hollywood High?

der Brucer

The new one - Murder At The Grove.

[bk]

Got a thank you e-mail from one of the heads of the Festival, thanking me for sending the letter to the editor.   Not from the one who sent me the strong e-mail, though - she still hasn't responded.  I wish I hadn't dashed off the letter to the editor quite so quickly, but I wanted to appease these people fast.  I could have been clearer, I think, but it says what it needs to say.

[FJL]

what did you say in your letter, BK?  Is the letter online?

[bk]

I'll tell you why this Times woman went on the fishing expedition: Because that person "westcoastdrama" e-mailed her and stirred the pot and made it seem like there was a big sham going on.  However, if this was the best she could come up with, it really was a tempest in a teapot.  I reread it, and even my out of context one-liner isn't critical - just factual.  While I wish it had been given its proper context, it's not a horrible thing.

[bk]

I have no idea if they'll print it or not.  It went something like this:

I was a little disturbed at the article in which I'm quoted (The LA Festival Of New Musicals - July 1, 2008 - Diane Haithman).  I spent a lot of time on the phone with Miss Haithman, who was very nice.  But the way this quote is taken out of context makes it seem like I'm slamming the festival and even "The Times," and I want to say in no uncertain terms that that was not my intention, ever.  First of all, "The Times" is written by my friend Brad Ross, and I even recorded a song from it on a CD I produced.  Furthermore, the quote excerpted was in the middle of a long diatribe about how musical theater has changed, with endless readings and workshops and how there really aren't any "new" musicals by the time they're put on stage in front of an audience.  Shows now spend years and years in development, but not behind closed doors, but with readings, workshops, and productions in front of people.  

My experience with the LA Festival of New Musicals was wonderful, and as I said many times in my interview, I think it's one of the best things to happen to LA, arts-wise, in ages, and I hope it's around for years to come.  All I meant by what I was quoted as saying was that it's funny to call a fifteen-year-old musical new and maybe there's a better phrase or something.  But, again, the way in which the quote is used makes it seem like I'm criticizing the Festival and I'm here to tell you I wasn't.

[bk]

Welcome ten GUESTS.

[bk]

Welcome ten GUESTS.

[ArnoldMBrockman]

GARDEN STATE- NEW JERSEY