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Comment by Boomer Bardo on October 13, 2014 at 5:26pm

Akosua, I like Ellington's version.

Comment by Akosua Akoben on October 13, 2014 at 5:19pm

My theater troupe will be hosting monthly Dinner & A Movie Shows our first will be from the 40's era a film called "Stormy Weather" any great Big Band instrumental suggestions?

Comment by Sonya Joseph on March 16, 2011 at 8:28am

Not exactly on the topic of music, but Jim did a sound design for The Weir at South Coast Rep, opens on Fri, and it's stunning. Very realistic and detailed. So if anyone is doing this wonderful play, and wants great FX all ready to go, hit us up!

Comment by Scott Bloom on March 15, 2011 at 6:12am

Good thoughts. I will be setting period throughout the hall with preshow and intermission music, (since the group has an ASCAP contract to cover that.)

Comment by Joe Griffin on March 14, 2011 at 4:21pm

+1 on what Mr. Ragland said. Though on a different show, I might make an entirely different decision. In this case it makes sense to go with music the characters would relate to, versus what people half their age who aren't in the story might dig.

Comment by Jm Ragland on March 14, 2011 at 4:06pm

I say: setting a mood. Hits the heart instead of the brain. Thinking takes us out of the scene. Also, it will be far easier to obtain the rights for the show tunes, I suspect, as the publishers will be accustomed to the music being used on stage. Also, the show tunes will be more universal in terms of different people in the audience having the same relationship to the songs. 70s music means something different to someone who was 20 then (like me). So my vote is to let the costume designer convey the time period, and let the vast, versatile and evocative catalog of show tunes comment on themes and manipulate the tone. Could be a great source of irony.

If you are going to make original music, solo piano in show-tune style will be far easier to create, and less cluttered design-wise. And faux-70s music won't really convey period, because if it isn't recognized, it won't mean anything.

So I say: go for the show tunes, either literally or stylistically. However, if you decide you want original folk-rock (this is a commercial announcement), hit me up, because it is definitely something I do.

Jim

Comment by Scott Bloom on March 14, 2011 at 10:41am

Okay, let's get this ball rolling. Assuming you have a hard time doing all three, what's more important, setting a period, setting a mood, or playing something the characters might have been listening to?

For instance I'm currently working on Gurney's "The Cocktail Hour." It seems important to me to establish that it's the mid-seventies, and the mood is definitely one of changing times and rebellion, so a folk-rock theme would be my natural choice. But the characters speak about sitting around the piano singing show tunes, and there's talk about the old days in the theatre, and I doubt that even the younger two characters who are in their 40s would really be into seventies folk-rock.

What do you think?