War Paint

[DiveMilw]

I can't believe we don't have a thread about "War Paint".  I have lots I think I'd like to say about the show but I'll dole it out because I just don't like typing anymore. (and yet I refuse to use voice recognition).  Quite a few of us saw the show in Chicago last year.  I was wondering how the song list had changed so I dug out my program.

Chicago 
Act 1
"A Woman's Face" 
"Behind the Red Door" 
"Back On Top"
"Hope in a Jar"
"A Working Marriage"
"My American Moment"
"Step on Out"
"If I'd Been a Man"
"Better Yourself"
"Oh, That's Rich"
"Face to Face"
Act 2
"War Paint"
"A Woman's Face" (reprise)
"Now You Know"
"No Thank You"
"Fire and Ice"
"Face to Face" (reprise)
"Dinosaurs"
"Pink"
"Forever Beautiful"
"Beauty in the World"
"A Woman's Face" (reprise)

New York
Act 1
"Best Face Forward"
"Behind the Red Door" 
"Back On Top"
"My Secret Weapon"
"My American Moment"
"Step on Out"
"If I'd Been a Man"
"Better Yourself"
"Oh, That's Rich"
"Face to Face"
Act 2
"Inside of the Jar"
"Necessity Is the Mother of Invention"
"Best Face Forward" (reprise)
"Now You Know"
"No Thank You"
"Fire and Ice"
"Dinosaurs"
"Pink"
"Forever Beautiful"
"Beauty in the World"
Finale

[Chris L]

@AmyG and I were among those who saw it in Chicago. I'm ashamed to say that I don't remember the score well enough to recall the songs. Did it seem like an improvement? (I suppose I could listen to the current score on Spotify.) My main problem with the original was that there was insufficient conflict between the two protagonists, because (alas) they never met in real life. I didn't feel they ever really solved that problem, making the show more thematically driven (the role of female entrepreneurs in the mid-20th Century) than story driven. Have they solved that or does it at least work better on those terms?

I'll admit it was a gorgeous production, beautifully acted and produced.

[DiveMilw]

I think they solved it.  When I saw it last month I didn't feel the tension ratcheted up as high as it did in Chicago.  And, I think, they reworked the last scene making it longer and more effective.  I really don't remember the cut songs either but I LOVE the new opening number, "Best Face Forward".   In Chicago I felt like the songs were nearly all the same.  They were all beautiful but lacked diversity.  Now they have variety.  This could be because I'd been listening to the cast recording but I think they changed things up just enough to "fix" that.  

One of the changes I caught was early on.  In Chicago there was a journalist trying to debunk Arden's beauty claims in the first scene.  That is completely cut except for a line in "Behind the Red Door".  

[Bobster]

I agree; while it may not be a Great Musical, it certainly is a Great musical production with a lot to love.

And not just because I love love love Patti and Christine and shows about fashion and am big fans of Dossett and Sills and hope it runs and runs so that I can FINALLY see Donna in it...