On Jun 18, 2006, at 2:23 PM, Andrew Stiller wrote:
If you want to do Cole Porter's _Kiss Me Kate_, do Cole Porter's _Kiss Me Kate_--not somebody else's travesty of it.
I don't quite buy this argument in Cole Porter's case. His original arrangements (for piano) were not detailed enough to glean much of what he might have intended aside from basic beat and basic harmony. His orchestrators were arrangers, and their own taste (and the prevailing tastes of the day) was as much part of the show as Porter's was.
That the perpetrators of these kinds of things know that they are doing wrong can be deduced from the fact that a) fuller orchestrations are always laid on for the critics
This IS a travesty, but it is not confined to revivals. For example, every Disney show I have seen (every one brand new) had larger orchestras for the first few weeks than for the rest of the run, exactly for the reason you state - to get good reviews. This is classic bait-and-switch - the audience does not get to see the show that they think they are seeing.
and b) the reorchestrations are never advertised--at least, not in any type you can read w.o a magnifying glass.
In the case we are discussing - Kiss Me Kate - Don Sebesky's re-arrangements were definitely a big part of the advertising and hype surrounding the show, and he was prominently listed in the credits along with the other directors and designers. Most other revivals get similar hype around the new arrangements, for example Harry Connick Jr.'s contributions to the revival of Pyjama Game that he starred in. HC Jr. is actually a fine arranger (much better than a singer, IMO) but I would have had to agree with you if you had cited THIS example that HC's contributions changed the flavour of the show significantly, and not for the better.
In addition, as I have already said elsewhere, I don't think four strings and four brass really do the score of Kiss Me Kate justice, but that was a budgetary decision, not an artistic one.
A few years back I attended a B'way "revival" of _On the Town_ only to find that the orchestation (Bernstein's! His very own!) had not, in fact, been revived. To my eternal shame I did not march right out of there and demand my money back; but I did vow: never again. Goodbye for good, Broadway--until you come to your senses. I'd rather see an honest highscool production.
I can see your case much more clearly with Bernstein (who, if he did not actually realise his own orchestrations, gave very clear instructions to whoever was engaged, and refused to even change keys for a singer). But in other cases, like Kiss me Kate, who is to say that new orchestrations (probably reduced somewhat, and maybe updated to sound "right" to modern ears) do not adhere to the composer's ideas?
In the case of "new" old musicals, like Crazy For You, where the tunes were all original Gershwin but in a new context, what criteria would you cite? I actually think that William D. Brohn did a fantastic job of preserving the original character of the music while making it sound good to ears that have heard modern music. But I suppose you would disagree with me.
Christopher _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
