tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post4704445580022973092..comments2023-11-28T09:07:17.642-05:00Comments on South Florida Theatre Scene: Lunch with Rick Elice: live blogUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-45403387522314352592010-03-23T04:17:05.276-04:002010-03-23T04:17:05.276-04:00I love your style! especially whe you said - show ...I love your style! especially whe you said - show time! haha, you put a little excitement and thrill.<br /><br />- thomas clarkreplacement doors gloucesterhttp://replacementdoorsgloucester.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-22627186519800725862009-04-18T13:28:00.000-04:002009-04-18T13:28:00.000-04:00Round of applause: end of the event! And the even...Round of applause: end of the event! And the event of my first "live blog."C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-10071903394420032482009-04-18T13:23:00.000-04:002009-04-18T13:23:00.000-04:00Liberties were taken with the orders of the songs ...Liberties were taken with the orders of the songs in order to underscore the action of the story. But mostly, the songs are in the correct order with a couple of exceptions.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-57522508859615137672009-04-18T13:21:00.000-04:002009-04-18T13:21:00.000-04:00The shows have two Frankies: the "6 a week" and t...The shows have two Frankies: the "6 a week" and the "2 a week" Frankies. This helps keep the Frankies fresh, and also allows us to train Frankies: eventually, the "2 a week" will become a "6 a week" performer.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-84061351186199157042009-04-18T13:18:00.000-04:002009-04-18T13:18:00.000-04:00I got pulled out of the room: one of the actors in...I got pulled out of the room: one of the actors in the show set off the fire alarm by propping the bathroom door open and flooding his dressing room with steam.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-13259583035846275632009-04-18T13:11:00.000-04:002009-04-18T13:11:00.000-04:00Bill: how did you avoid the clunky "I wrote this, ...Bill: how did you avoid the clunky "I wrote this, and then I wrote that?" <br />Elice: Well, we had four points of view, and that helped. And we also didn't spoon feed anyone. We didn't say "it's 1963," we put a poster of JFK on the line and let the audience figure it out.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-36768966901241377622009-04-18T13:07:00.000-04:002009-04-18T13:07:00.000-04:00Question: did Frankie vallie really bail out Tommy...Question: did Frankie vallie really bail out Tommy as indicated in this show? It seems like such a fantastic amount of money. It that real, or somethng you made up for dramatization?<br />Elice: I'm glad you asked that: yes, it's true. And that's why it works. It shows how much they really helped each other out, and the fantastic thing about Frankie and Tommy. They really don't like each other, but that's between them.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-78035174679725224462009-04-18T13:04:00.000-04:002009-04-18T13:04:00.000-04:00Elice: Fortunately, this isn't a star vehicle. it'...Elice: Fortunately, this isn't a star vehicle. it's hard enough to cast without limiting it to famous actors. People come to see the show, not the stars, and we've been fortunate to have a lot of talented actors involved.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-33176538035455577172009-04-18T13:01:00.000-04:002009-04-18T13:01:00.000-04:00Question: is the tour as good as the Broadway vers...Question: is the tour as good as the Broadway version?<br />Elice: Mostly, the show is the same: we had to change some technical things so the show would work on tour; instead of things coming through the floor, they come in from the sides. That's about the only change: the show works the same. It's not better or worse, it's just different.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-14962031066608047302009-04-18T12:57:00.000-04:002009-04-18T12:57:00.000-04:00Jersey Boys works because we don't know their stor...Jersey Boys works because we don't know their stories. We know that John Lennon died, and what happened to Elvis. The Four Seasons never got written about in the magazines, so nobody know their story, but everyone knew the songs.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-84650326518966991472009-04-18T12:53:00.000-04:002009-04-18T12:53:00.000-04:00Bill: what's different between Broadway and the to...Bill: what's different between Broadway and the tour?<br />Elice: Well, so much of the show is programmed into computer (automation), it's hard to make adjustments in the process of rehearsing for Broadway. but once the show opens, you lose the time to make changes.<br />We opened on Broadway with five or six things we wanted to change. So when the National Tour went into production, we were able to make those changes. About half the stuff didn't work, but half of it improved the show. So once we got it working, we introduced the changes from the tour into the Broadway version during the understudy rehearsals.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-256953630123061132009-04-18T12:47:00.000-04:002009-04-18T12:47:00.000-04:00Bill: what changed from the original concept to th...Bill: what changed from the original concept to the current staging?<br />Elice: the show you're seeing now is about 90% what you're seeing now. The theatre was the size of [the New River Room], the audience was smaller, but the show is mostly there.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-65965839149868720672009-04-18T12:45:00.000-04:002009-04-18T12:45:00.000-04:00Elice: we didn't want a Broadway chorus line effec...Elice: we didn't want a Broadway chorus line effect: we wanted rock'n'roll. We wanted a Rock'n'Roll show.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-69639342821756573322009-04-18T12:43:00.000-04:002009-04-18T12:43:00.000-04:00Elice: we did very little actual writing, but a lo...Elice: we did very little actual writing, but a lot of talking. Walking around, talking. Staying up late, talking. we "talked it into existence."C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-41653991343196445962009-04-18T12:42:00.000-04:002009-04-18T12:42:00.000-04:00Elice: he's so fast, and always has a comment read...Elice: he's so fast, and always has a comment ready. Working with him was a dream. But I lost a lot of money to him, across the poker table.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-57317755182646131462009-04-18T12:41:00.000-04:002009-04-18T12:41:00.000-04:00Bill asks about co-writer Marshall Brickman.
elic...Bill asks about co-writer Marshall Brickman.<br /><br />elice: Marshall is the guy you want to sit next to at dinner.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-47241538695545605822009-04-18T12:40:00.000-04:002009-04-18T12:40:00.000-04:00Elice: they would change their versions of events ...Elice: they would change their versions of events throughout the week. Which is true? how do we sort out the truth? Eureka! Show the audience THAT human tendency to contradict each other with their own truths; show each of their versions.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-85156610394711879682009-04-18T12:38:00.000-04:002009-04-18T12:38:00.000-04:00Bill: It's a warts and all story: how did you conv...Bill: It's a warts and all story: how did you convince the Four Seasons to let them tell that kind of story?<br />Elice: 'Good Cop/Bad Cop.' quote: "theatre is negotiation by tantrum." Basically, we played the Boys off of each other, and bullied them into bullying each other into allowing it.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-28830191691344303562009-04-18T12:36:00.000-04:002009-04-18T12:36:00.000-04:00Had a hard time booking a show in the wake of the ...Had a hard time booking a show in the wake of the failure of the Beach Boys, Elvis, and a few others.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-33036066604172809012009-04-18T12:35:00.000-04:002009-04-18T12:35:00.000-04:00They didn't realize that "juke box musicals" were ...They didn't realize that "juke box musicals" were being trashed because they were working in La Jolla. "We were locked in a room writing. And besides, we weren't writing a juke box show."C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-28407769751505609422009-04-18T12:33:00.000-04:002009-04-18T12:33:00.000-04:00Des agreed to stage it before anything had been wr...Des agreed to stage it before anything had been written.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-61175871852393417132009-04-18T12:32:00.000-04:002009-04-18T12:32:00.000-04:00Des Macnuff was brought in because he had a rock'n...Des Macnuff was brought in because he had a rock'nroll background (dir. TOMMY)C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-39309623839638477002009-04-18T12:30:00.000-04:002009-04-18T12:30:00.000-04:00Elice was originally planning to cancel his meetin...Elice was originally planning to cancel his meeting with Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio, wasn't excited about the project. But they ended up at lunch with them, and the stories about growing up in Jersey and becoming the Four Seasons sucked them in.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-10523828376155108462009-04-18T12:27:00.001-04:002009-04-18T12:27:00.001-04:00FOSSE was a juke box musical (with an awful title!...FOSSE was a juke box musical (with an awful title!) Had no live music, won best musical.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919587666858265958.post-50727839887783473962009-04-18T12:27:00.000-04:002009-04-18T12:27:00.000-04:00Elice: Jukebox musicals preceded Jukeboxes; pop so...Elice: Jukebox musicals preceded Jukeboxes; pop songs were the basis of many musicals prior the invention of the jukebox. Ziegfeld, George White, and others created shows to showcase popular songs.C.L.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01734352657431970430noreply@blogger.com