--------------EB3EE9C43A583CCF460020F9 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I thought I would jump into this discussion as well. I saw the show last Friday night and was stimulated in two ways. First of all Stan's songs are Stans songs and they survive well with other people singing them. The power inherent in any writers songs is the ability of the songs to survive the writer. Should we not see and enjoy the art of the "group of seven" simply because they are all long gone? Of course not. Everytime I hear someone singing a Stan song my heart is glad and I think that the bald one is still around. Lest you make the error that others are somehow denegrating Stan by singing his songs, let me relate to you that I was around when Raffi recorded Forty-five Years and Stan had a shit eating grin on his face because he was proud that somebody thought enough of his work to record it. Stan always liked others to do his songs. Like Woody Guthries songs, Stan songs have a vitality that will last for generations and I hope for hundreds of years. Secondly I have a few criticisms of the show, these criticisms are within the context of supporting the production and with the expectation that this show is still in the process of development and is still refining its content. Much of the show is designed to dramatize the songs as theatrical pieces. It doesn't always work. The Director needs to understand the context of the songs and sometimes I had the feeling that he missed what the intent of some particular songs were designed by Stan to do. Particularly I didn't like Flying which I thought missed the tragedy and disappointment inherent in trying to make it to the NHL and played more like a "Saturday Night Live" skit with the MacKenzie Brothers, eh. On the other hand the accapella version of the Jeannie C blew me away, it caught the drama of the song with a real intensity. I think the content and intent needs a revisit, but overall I'm glad this is happening. Paul Mills (mostly known in some circles as Curly Boy Stubbs) did a bang up job arranging the show and I would encourage everyone who has not yet seen it to do so, and then go again when it comes back to TO and blows the theatre critics off thei hidebound asses. mitch --------------EB3EE9C43A583CCF460020F9 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I thought I would jump into this discussion as well. I saw the show last Friday night and was stimulated in two ways. First of all Stan's songs are Stans songs and they survive well with other people singing them. The power inherent in any writers songs is the ability of the songs to survive the writer. Should we not see and enjoy the art of the "group of seven" simply because they are all long gone? Of course not. Everytime I hear someone singing a Stan song my heart is glad and I think that the bald one is still around. Lest you make the error that others are somehow denegrating Stan by singing his songs, let me relate to you that I was around when Raffi recorded Forty-five Years and Stan had a shit eating grin on his face because he was proud that somebody thought enough of his work to record it. Stan always liked others to do his songs. Like Woody Guthries songs, Stan songs have a vitality that will last for generations and I hope for hundreds of years.Secondly I have a few criticisms of the show, these criticisms are within the context of supporting the production and with the expectation that this show is still in the process of development and is still refining its content. Much of the show is designed to dramatize the songs as theatrical pieces. It doesn't always work. The Director needs to understand the context of the songs and sometimes I had the feeling that he missed what the intent of some particular songs were designed by Stan to do. Particularly I didn't like Flying which I thought missed the tragedy and disappointment inherent in trying to make it to the NHL and played more like a "Saturday Night Live" skit with the MacKenzie Brothers, eh. On the other hand the accapella version of the Jeannie C blew me away, it caught the drama of the song with a real intensity. I think the content and intent needs a revisit, but overall I'm glad this is happening. Paul Mills (mostly known in some circles as Curly Boy Stubbs) did a bang up job arranging the show and I would encourage everyone who has not yet seen it to do so, and then go again when it comes back to TO and blows the theatre critics off thei hidebound asses.
mitch