City of Stars A Review of the Musical La La Land The movie musical “La La Land,” which was released in December of 2016, is a film which grabbed the attention of critics and casual moviegoers alike. Although some criticize it for its musical inaccuracies, most can agree that the stunning cinematography and emotionally consuming plotline make up for its technical shortcomings. The film was also successful at alluding to classics such as Singin’ in the Rain and West Side Story without seeming unoriginal. Rather, it paid homage to past works while establishing itself as a new one. Since it is safe to assume that those who strongly oppose musicals would not be a fan of “La La Land” regardless of how well it was executed, I will review it from …show more content…
Both had the acting experience necessary, as well as the chemistry, which was also seen in the film “Crazy Stupid Love” where they were love interests. Due to their previous success as an on-screen couple, it’s no surprise that the duo was met with praise in “La La Land.” Gosling and Stone won the Golden Globes for best actor and actress, Stone also won the Oscar, and both were nominated for countless other awards. They also put months of work into developing their skills to properly play their roles. Gosling already had experience with the piano, but he couldn’t perform anywhere near the level he would need to as Sebastian. He worked with a teacher two hours a day, five days a week, for three months and learned the songs for the movie by rote. Both of the leads also spent time on their dancing so that they could execute the few breakout dance scenes in the musical. These actors definitely put in the work to grow beyond the talents they already had, so to the casual musical lover I would say they did a wonderful job at portraying the characters and striving to …show more content…
The composer, Justin Herwitz, arranged several memorable themes which people could leave the theater humming, however, there were less than most musicals. In fact, excluding reprises and instrumentals, the film only had six original songs. It’s possible that this shortage of musical numbers actually aided the film’s success because it allowed more time for plot development. Musical lovers also complain that Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling's musical performances left something to be desired. I must admit, when I first heard the two sing “A Lovely Night,” I was a little underwhelmed. Even Emma Stone admits that singing is her weakness. Prior to being in “La La Land” Emma was in a broadway production of Cabaret, where she played Sally Bowles. In an interview to Hello! Magazine, she explained that her character was, “a third rate singer in a second-rate nightclub.” So when her voice was gone or she struggled to perform, it made sense for the character. Ryan Gosling also had some previous singing experience as a child star and in a former band where he was the lead vocalist. However, to many people, this was not enough for him to be chosen for a role with so much potential. As Michelle Mastrianni puts it in her article about the film, “If La La Land wanted to be a musical, it would be hard to argue that it wouldn’t have benefited from stronger voices.” I think that this statement is really undebatable,
The live theatrical production I chose to see was 9 to 5 The Musical. The production was performed by Fayetteville Technical Community College’s very own Fine Arts Department. The musical is based on the film released by Fox in 1980. Collin Higgins adapted the film from the book 9 to 5 written by Patricia Resnick. It wasn’t until 2008 that the film was adapted to a theatrical production. The production was originally brought to broadway by Robert Greenbait and Dolly Parton wrote the lyrics and the music for the Musical. The run on broadway was very short but the production later toured in other countries around the around the world.
Into the Woods is a musical based off of classic Grimms Brothers’ characters and their fairytales. The production explores the consequences of their wishes and the quests that they fulfill and take on. In writing this play, it seems as though Sondheim and Lapine were attempting to bring to life the classic fairytales of their youth with a twist of reality. Through this portrayal of classic tales, the audience is also taken back into their childhood for the entire two hours and forty-five minutes.
The Wiz is a musical/movie released in 1978 that was an adaptation of the popular film “Wizard of Oz”. It included several very popular stars of the time, which were Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Nipsey Russell. The movie set place in New York City where the main character, Dorothy, suddenly is swept by a tornado in the middle of a snowstorm. She later then found herself lost in a city she had no clue about and curious as to how she could return home. After meeting 3 other characters during her journey that share similarities, they all embarked on a trip to OZ to fix each of their problems. Throughout the movie characters apply their own soundtrack through singing songs in harmony that compliment the mood of each scene.
When Jonathan Larson and his friend were talking, Larson was given the idea to create a musical based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème. La bohéme is an opera about people in 1800s Paris struggling to find success and suffering from tuberculosis. Each character in Rent is loosely based on characters in Puccini’s La bohème. After structural editings, numerous readings, and focus group previews, the musical Rent opened on February 13, 1996 at the New York Theatre Workshop with a six-week sold out run. Rent follows a year in the lives of Mark Cohen, a struggling Jewish filmmaker, Roger Davis, the hopeful struggling musician with HIV, Mimi Márquez, the club dancer and a drug addict who has HIV, Tom Collins, a gay anarchist and college professor who suffers from AIDS, Angel, a transvestite who suffers from AIDS, Maureen Johnson, a lesbian performance artist, and Joanne Jefferson, the Ivy League lesbian lawyer who is in a relationship with Maureen, in East Village, New York City from Christmas Eve 1989 to Christmas Eve 1990. The protagonists in this musical are the six friends Mark, Roger, Tom, Angel, Maureen, and Joanne and their antagonist is the struggle to survive the hardships of AIDS, HIV, an...
The sound design and choreography intensified the overall musical. They created the time, place, and mood through rhythm and great energy. The actors had wireless, behind the ear mikes, that attached to the mike pack which amplified the sound, making it very clear. I could easily understand what they were talking about or singing.
On Saturday, October 21, I watched the movie adaption of the musical, Rent. This musical takes place in New York City in the late 1980s to early 1990s, and involves a dysfunctional Bohemian friend group and their struggles. The friend group features eight characters: Mark Cohen, a Jewish filmmaker, Roger Davis, a HIV-positive songwriter and musician, Mimi Marquez, an HIV-positive erotic dancer, Maureen Johnson, a bisexual performer, Joanne Jefferson, a lesbian lawyer, Tom Collins, a gay part-time philosophy professor at NYU and anarchist who suffers with AIDS, Angel Dumott Schunard, a drag queen who also suffers with AIDS, and Benny Coffin III, a local landlord. Johnathan Larson acted as the musical’s original composer and playwright, and worked
When the rights to the suite were purchased by MGM and made into a movie, it gave access to more people and helped strengthen its legacy. The “American in Paris” demonstrates outstanding craftsmanship for both the composer and the musician. This is a very complex piece. It uses unique note patterns and rhythm to create the sounds of a city. It makes the listener feel as if they are in the middle of a busy street in Paris.
All four movies had serious changes in them that strayed from the reality of the artist. The movie I chose to watch was La Bamba. I really enjoyed the movie, however I was not as thrilled with changes producers made to the story. In his A.V. Club article Kenneth Partidge writes “In the movie, they get something of a happy ending, as Donna, played by Danielle Von Zerneck, professes her love to Lou Diamond Phillips’ Ritchie just before he leaves on the ill-fated Winter Dance Party Tour. In real life, it couldn’t have been so easy. According to Valens’ official website, Donna’s father forbid her from attending the party Valens’ family threw just before he left on the tour.” This exemplifies how rock music can be an avenue of entertainment, and not art. Rather than express the devastation Donna must have felt from not seeing her lover before he died; producers changed the plot to make it less saddening. This was done for the purpose of engaging and pleasing viewers. If the music of Valens was truly valued as art, his story would have been preserved and cherished perfectly. Now using rock music and artist as entertainment is not necessarily a bad thing. One could argue that by making this minor alteration to Valens story, producers were able to make a more successful movie. By doing this a wider audience is then reached. By compromising the whole truth of Valens story, movie producers
The film “La La Land,” written and directed by Damien Chazelle, teleports you to another world through singing and dancing. It brings you to a place where jumping out of your car in the middle of awful L.A. traffic to sing a tune called “Another Day of Sun”- a bit about how each day brings new hope for these young wannabe artists- is normal, and thats just the opener. There really is no mistaking that this film is a musical from the start. The leading male, Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), or as we later know as Seb, is a young and passionate jazz pianist with a partially formed but enthusiastic goal of opening his own club and protecting his favorite music from going extinct. Mia (Emma Stone) is a talented woman who aspires to be an actress and whisks between unsuccessful auditions and working as a barista at a coffee shop on the Warner Bros studio lot.
Many songs were incorporated into the story line, such as “The Sound of Music,” “My Favorite Things,” and “So Long, Farewell.”
The casting of both Leonardo DiCaprio and fresh-faced Claire Danes influence how the film is viewed. Baz Luhrmann is smart in using young, attractive characters to make the adaptation more appealing to a more adolescent
In the book West Side Story as Cinema: The Making and Impact of an American Masterpiece by Ernesto R. Acevedo-Munoz, the author makes an evaluative judgement on the musical West Side Story and details the history of the extensive production and the making of the film and also analyzes the cultural controversy and impact of the film on society. Through the use of primary sources and thoroughly researched claims, the author convincingly demonstrates how the production, presentation, and release redefined the conventions of the classical hollywood musical, and the role of cinema in culture as a way of observing and rehearsing social issues. In the first two chapters of the book, the author provides detailed accounts of the preproduction and
The best performances come from Luke Evans as Gaston, and Josh Gad as Lefou. Evans is incredible at portraying the same arrogance and self absorbed character as the original. Gad is funny as Lefou and it is easy to tell he enjoyed making
The musical selections and songs that were sung told a story and narrated the almost the entire film, as is expected in...
Neher, Erick. "Movie Music At The Philharmonic." Hudson Review 64.4 (2012): 668-674. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.