What is new? What is creative?
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011First off, let me advise my readers right up front that I love Broadway. I’d much rather go see a bad Broadway or even off-Broadway play than watch any reality (far from it) show on TV. In fact, if I were rich and had the energy, I’d be in NYC every week. Both cost and energy keep my attendance down, whereas I won’t watch reality TV even if you paid me to do it (well, I suppose I do have my price—something like the last Megamillions jackpot would be nice). I even enjoy regurgitated Disney schlock like Mary Poppins and The Lion King. My favorite show was the off-Broadway classic The Fantasticks, although I saw Phantom twice, once in NYC and once in Boston.
That said, last Friday I was struck by a segment of ABC’s Good Morning America where they had the cast from the revival of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes doing the musical number “Anything Goes.” This music is so old that I played it in dance band in high school. Right after or just before there was an ad for the new Broadway show The Book of Mormon, written by the South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, with music by Robert Lopez. This is new, very new.