MovieChat Forums > Show Boat (1951) Discussion > Far Too Many Melodic Songs For One Show

Far Too Many Melodic Songs For One Show

posted 10 years ago by joeparkson
2 replies | jump to latest

Having seen "Showboat" on stage, I can testify that some songs were shortened to fit the time slot of this movie.

Both "You Are Love" and the great "Old Man River" are shorter in the movie than the stage versions. That's understandable, because the stage version is too long.

When you add "Make Believe", "Bill", and "Can't Help Loving Dat Man", it's clear that there are too many great songs for one show. Five standards in one show is too many.

The musical "Cats" had only one standard. "Les Mis" had two. Audiences today don't want more than that.

Kern and Hammerstein could easily have eliminated three of these standards and made one or two more musicals with the extra songs.

Soy 'un hijo de la playa'

[–] bradford-1 9 years ago

I have no idea what audiences "want" nowadays, but they usedta get something like:
SOUTH PACIFIC: "Some Enchanted Evening," "This Nearly Was Mine," "Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair," "There Is Nothing Like a Dame," "I'm in Love With a Wonderful Guy."
THE PAJAMA GAME: "Steam Heat," "Hey, There," "I'm Not at All in Love," "Hernando's Hideaway," "Once a Year Day."
WEST SIDE STORY: "Tonight," "Somethin's Comin' "I Feel Pretty," "Maria," "Somewhere."
MY FAIR LADY: "I Could've Danced All Night," "Show Me," "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" "Get Me to the Church on Time."
THE MOST HAPPY FELLA: "Standing on the Corner," "Joey, Joey," "My Heart Is So Full of You," "Big D."
GUYS AND DOLLS: "If I Were a Bell," "I've Never Been in Love Before," "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat," "Guys and Dolls," "A Bushel and a Peck," "Luck Be a Lady."
THE MUSIC MAN: "Goodnight, My Someone," "Til There Was You," "Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You?" "Gary, Indiana," "Seventy-Six Trombones."

THE KING AND I: "Shall We Dance?" "Hello, Young Lovers," "We Kiss in a Shadow," "Getting to Know You," "I Have Dreamed."
May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?

[–] RobbieCalifornia 8 years ago

Good point.