DAY 202: This Old Feeling
I bitched about this on another forum. Maybe it was this one. I’ve honestly lost count.
This is a Broadway musical that utilizes the music of the Go-Go’s.
First off, I think the IDEA of this is badass. And when I first heard about it, I was kind of interested (besides the fact that the title - which is one of their minor hits - is more connected to a Tears For Fears song, but maybe that’s just me).
Then I saw photos from the production:
Hold on. This can’t be right.
Wait a minute.
WHAT THE FLYING FUCK IS HAPPENING?
Look, I’m all for melding styles & even bringing older music to younger audiences, but as I was watching today’s CBS Sunday Morning feature on “Head Over Heels,” which featured the band’s legendary career leading up to this,
it got me regretting that the creators of this musical didn’t go the “Jersey Boys” route with this thing.
Listen, I’m not a musical theater guy. Which means I’m not a “Jersey Boys” fan. But I’m a bigger “Jersey Boys” fan than I am a musical theater fan.
Never said it made any sense.
As a musician, I guess I dig musical theater more when the performers aren’t just singers. As a rock geek, I’ll admit being a fan of rockbiotheater (which isn’t a word).
If they’d gone the rockbio route, they could’ve told the story of young girls learning how to play their instruments in front of belligerent crowds,
trying to make a dent in the male-dominated LA punk scene
& then getting a label to sign an all-female band, which had never been done in the majors.
Hell, Jane Wiedlin’s passages in this book ALONE could be a 2-hour play in & of itself.
Just a missed opportunity, IMHO. A strong, female story that’s a LOT more effective as a narrative than whatever THIS is supposed to represent.
Because no matter how captivating THIS may be as a story,
I guarantee you that you could take the Go-Go’s music out, plop in any other 80′s band’s music & it’d probably yield the same results.
In other words, I’m all for a jukebox musical (I guess), but if I had my druthers, I’d prefer 5 badass women rocking out, playing their own instruments onstage & telling a story I care about than some farty, old story from the 16th century that’s laced with nostalgic songs just so I’ll pay attention.