| I am a big fan of Matthew Broderick, Kristen Chenoweth and Victor Garber, so when I heard about this made-for-TV version, I was pretty excited about it. And, like the recent Disney TV version of Annie, they stayed very close to the original script, and didn’t mess with the songs or anything.
However, this version simply didn’t work. It lost all the feeling of the recent Broadway revival. There was no joy to it. Matthew Broderick is a wonderful actor, but his Harold Hill just didn’t convince me. Kristen Chenoweth has a beautiful, soaring soprano, and is a beautiful woman, so why did they lower her songs and dress her in those awful wigs? Victor Garber is a fantastic actor, with a lovely voice, so why did they cast him in a role that he’s simply not right for, and where he doesn’t sing?? I suppose I’m more disappointed than I might have been only because I was expecting so much from it. I’m not quite sure why Disney is choosing to focus on musicals that already have succesful movie versions made. I would much rather see some movie versions of shows that have never been taken off the stage, or that have poor movie versions made, to introduce them to a wider audience. |