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Author Topic: Rasputin, The Musical  (Read 35391 times)

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Robert_Hall

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Rasputin, The Musical
« on: October 23, 2004, 11:14:40 PM »
"Miracles lie in the eye of the beholder" by Michael Rapp, starring Ted Neeley [as Rasputin]
I finally recieved the cd set of this work.
3 cds, 36 songs, with narration by John Hurt.
Actually, I rather like it. It has a lot of Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera about it, to be kind.
Lots of grand choruses, lovely arias-solos. Sentimental, aching, cynical, a bit loose on the history. Campy [lucky for them Felix is dead, he would surely sue otherwise]. Not overly dramatic-heavy.
Although a bit long for a stage musical, I liked it enough to buy a ticket if it comes my way. Which, they noted in sending me the cds, is due to be in production-somewhere this coming springtime. It will have to be cut, unfortunately, as I liked all of the songs, some could probably stand alone, but that will take at least another full listen to figure which ones.

For those who like Webber and such, I would reccomend it.
Cheers,
Robert
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Annie

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Re: Rasputin, The Musical
« Reply #1 on: October 24, 2004, 09:02:08 AM »
Quote
"Miracles lie in the eye of the beholder" by Michael Rapp, starring Ted Neeley [as Rasputin]
 Campy [lucky for them Felix is dead, he would surely sue otherwise].

Cheers,
Robert



That's what I was thinking as soon as I heard about this ;D

I'd love to see it but not being in Britain, I guess not.
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Robert_Hall

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Re: Rasputin, The Musical
« Reply #2 on: October 24, 2004, 11:32:43 AM »
By "campy", I meant  just the Felix song. I guess to establish his hmm, "personality"?. The rest of the work is pretty formula. The duet between Nicholas & Alex reminds me of Che & Eva, Phanton & [I forget her name], etc.
I think, if one likes big, flashy stage musicals [I do] this is right up yer alley !!
Speaking of alleys, they did not say WHERE this is supposed to be staged, so it could be in Canada for all I know. [It would not be the first such musical to premier there]
Cheers,
Robert
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Silja

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Re: Rasputin, The Musical
« Reply #3 on: October 24, 2004, 03:01:36 PM »
You mean "Christine"  ;D.
Sounds rather good  ;). But what about the plot??? What does "loose about the history" mean in this case? Very important  8)!
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Sunny

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Re: Rasputin, The Musical
« Reply #4 on: October 24, 2004, 04:55:41 PM »

Sounds interesting....."For those who like Webber and such, I would recommend it." ... Robert, being one who worships at the alter of Sondheim, I'm a bit disappointed  ;)

Sunny
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Robert_Hall

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Re: Rasputin, The Musical
« Reply #5 on: October 24, 2004, 10:38:33 PM »
Well now, I do not exactly "worship" at Sondheim, but probably close. Anyway:
PLOT ??
The show starts and ends in the "cellar".
The 2hrs in between are [from the libretto] : "a musical exploration of the people, places & events surrounding the Royal Romanov Family, and their relationship with the infamous...Rasputin."
"...central theme is perception and how it can be altered by prejudice, fear and desire..
"At it's core is the connection between Rasputin and Alexei..."
That pretty well sums it up. Nobody comes out right or wrong, good or evil,,even Felix is amusing rather than deadly-somehow, in the way he justifies his actions.
There is nothing about missing Romanovs or who ordered their murders. Although there IS a revolutionary [think "Che"] in the story, with his perceptions as well.
Any Romanov devotee of any view will automatically recognize the characters, and prejudge accordingly.
But, HEY, IT IS A MUSICAL  ENTERTAINMENT, not a scholarly work set to music & dance !!!
Theplayers must be able to act & sing before they can fufill all the "perfect idealizations" of Romanov followers, after all.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Robert

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borgia

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Re: Rasputin, The Musical
« Reply #6 on: October 29, 2004, 08:57:41 PM »
Gosh.A musical can be made from the wildest subjects!Once,I heard of a play called-Rasputin!That Mad Monk!-Dont think it got far.
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Robert_Hall

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Re: Rasputin, The Musical
« Reply #7 on: October 31, 2004, 10:22:20 PM »
No kidding. Several years ago I went to agay/drag/punk/godknowswhatelse production of N&A. It was horrible. Actually the tunes could have been decent, if done A LOT differently.
That dreadful experience lasted just one night. It was so bad I do not even remember where I saw it- London or SF.
Cheers,
Robert
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Offline Vive_HIH_Aleksey

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Re: Rasputin, The Musical
« Reply #8 on: November 02, 2004, 11:59:29 AM »
The song Nasdrovia REALLY irked me for lack of more polite words. I'm a HUGE Les Miserables fan. Imagine my shock when I heard this. Great song orchestrally, but I was so mad that this guy is trying to pass this off as an original work.

Just a note when it comes to art you usually don't care about accuracy in history. And of course art is like this, What is art? How do we know it's good, and who decides?
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Canuck

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Re: Rasputin, The Musical
« Reply #9 on: May 05, 2005, 03:26:29 PM »
I'm sorry if this has already been posted but I just happened upon this:

http://www.rasputinthemusical.com/
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Offline clockworkgirl21

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Re: Rasputin, The Musical
« Reply #10 on: May 07, 2005, 12:17:56 PM »
How...interesting.
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RissiaSunbeam1918

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Re: Rasputin, The Musical
« Reply #11 on: May 07, 2005, 03:16:05 PM »
No kidding! Interesting, but odd! I think it's sort of interesting that Ten Neeley (Jesus in JC superstar) plays Rasputin. I'm listening to a fifteen minuite clip of it now.
:) It's pretty cool....
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lexi4

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Re: Rasputin, The Musical
« Reply #12 on: May 07, 2005, 09:25:04 PM »
Canuck,
Thank you for posting this. I would love to see the play.
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hikaru

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Re: Rasputin, The Musical
« Reply #13 on: May 08, 2005, 12:13:22 AM »
One italian composer have already made the opera about lives of OTMAA before and after the revolution.
The name of the Opera is "Anastasiya"
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Offline Lanie

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Re: Rasputin, The Musical
« Reply #14 on: May 08, 2005, 04:03:58 AM »
Quote
One italian composer have already made the opera about lives of OTMAA before and after the revolution.
The name of the Opera is "Anastasiya"


Do you know any more about this, hikaru? :D
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