FLOYD COLLINS, Broadway 2025

[KathyB]

I might as well repost this Mental Floss article, which has been updated for 2025. (I know I posted it once, ages ago, but I can't find the post to link back to it.)

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/544782/1925-cave-rescue-that-captivated-the-united-states-floyd-collins

[scenicdesign71]

Thanks for re-posting that, @KathyB!  I just re-read it for the first time since your original post, which I was then able to track down (on this daily thread from 2018) by typing "Mental Floss" into this Forum's Search box — I wouldn't have remembered the original site on my own.  But I appreciate your re-posting the link on this thread, where it'll be easier to find.  It's such a great article!

[scenicdesign71]

The New Yorker:   Jeremy Jordan Mines Floyd Collins For Its Sonic Gems
                                          Adam Guettel and Tina Landau's 1996 musical about a trapped caver resurfaces on Broadway.

I'm not seeing the supposed tonal or structural mushiness, or the storytelling laxity, that many critics seem compelled to mention even in reviews that could be considered — somewhat surprisingly, given such not-minor reservations — favorable overall.  (And I'm bewildered by Shaw's admission that she "genuinely could not tell you how many people die" over the course of FC's story).  Everybody loves Jordan, and most love Guettel's score.  Comparatively fewer seem to appreciate Landau's work here, either as writer or director, which makes me sad.

Ed.: ...but Jesse Green included her today in his wishlist of Tony nominations, even allowing himself the additional fantasy-factor of including Off B'way in the competition.  So that's nice.  She might or might not get an actual nomination tomorrow; I wouldn't be too surprised either way, but there are a lot of potential Best Director contenders this year.  Musical Revival seems more likely nomination-wise — and if FC were to actually win, I believe Guettel and Landau would receive awards along with the producers; but I'm afraid Sunset Blvd's much splashier alpha-"minimalism" will ultimately take the prize).