Singing and Craftsmanship in "La La Land", Hollywood's Newest Musical


            I don’t know how many of you have gotten the chance to see the newest “Musical” on film, “La La Land” but as a fan of “Golden Age Musicals”, such as “Oklahoma”, “The Music Man”, “The Sound of Music”, and on and on, “La La Land” was purported to do homage to those “Golden” days.  “La La Land” was thoroughly DISAPPOINTING! I SO wish I could tell you something different but it was a tremendous disappointment. I enjoy the work of Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, and I think the two of them work well together. I even appreciate the fact that they were cast or decided to work together to re-introduce the world to the style of Film Musicals. MY problem was the obvious MEDIOCRITY of their performances. The choreography was extremely simple. Their execution was perfectly “adequate” but sadly, it reminded me of something I might see at a local high school production, though this had all the money and backing of Hollywood.
            The Vocals were strange. Emma Stone is, obviously, an Alto or Mezzo Soprano with a pretty limited range and very limited power. Ryan Gosling’s voice was more of a “talk-singing” performance BUT it was very difficult to tell because all his songs were pitched MUCH too low, making it nearly impossible to deduce IF he could sing, and if so, what type of voice he had.  I enjoyed Gosling’s “Hoofing” and “Piano Playing” but, once again, the performance level is so simplistic that I couldn’t believe it was released and then, acclaimed so highly.
            The Musical performances in “La La Land” were an affront to REAL, legitimate Musical performances. One of my family members mentioned that it looked very much like a play. I responded that I HOPE it is made into a Broadway Musical because then, it will be performed to a critically acclaimable production value. As it is, I believe the Producers were attempting to create a film that honored the Musicals of years gone by.  However, the films and performances of Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and others, and the music and choreography of Rodgers and Hammerstein or Agnes DeMille, to name a couple, stand SO far above and beyond these performances as to require another classification altogether. I GET that Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are BIG names and thus, BIG draws for audiences. How about Broadway talents like Audra MacDonald or Kristin Chenoweth or Neil Patrick Harris? There are amazingly talented, powerhouse singers and dancers, with verifiable audience credentials and popularity. I appreciate the interest in creating a quality return for Film Musicals but that return should be QUALITY!
            PLEASE comment below, send me questions and/or comments, and let me know what YOU thought of “La La Land”. I totally appreciate your thoughts and observations and opinions; you are important to me. Enjoy your day, see the movie and let me know if you agree or disagree with my opinions. If you have any questions about my lessons or me, check out my website at www.SingitForward.net.  If I can help you at all, please just let me know. Till then, Sing it Forward!

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