why bare the m*s*c*l sucks: a thread

1. they replaced epiphany with this song called a million miles from heaven, and i don't vibe with it. instead of tackling the theme of homophobia that lgbt+ youth have to face every day, it's peter and jason meeting for the first time and i'm pretty sure they were only 1/64

dating for a few weeks in this version?? and i?? i feel like it'd be longer.
2. was it really necessary to have peter and jason start you and i naked in bed together? a popera did a fine job implying it without a scene. and why does peter have to be the person singing it? 2/64

you and i is a jason centered song, showing the problems that arise from their relationship, and how jason really does love peter. also they didn't keep "forever you&i"
3. also the fact that all the romeo& juliet songs are only spoken through pisses me off. i didn't come for 3/64

people to recite shakespeare. like,, singing their lines makes it more engaging and less like i'm in english class.
4. also, they completely destroyed everyone's arcs, especially nadia and ivy's. nadia is at least implied to have an issue with her weight, but here her entire4/64

character is destroyed. she loses all three of her solo songs, and instead gets a duet with ivy about how "you don't even know what my problems are and i'm not gonna tell you." honestly, the only complexity nadia has in this version is that she's the one who gave jason the 5/64

drugs that he uses.
5. portrait of a girl became a matt x ivy love song. in a popera, it was a duet, but here, it's literally a love song. ivy sings to matt "portrait of a boy" back to him, and then they kiss. also, this is later, but i think they replaced one kiss with 6/64

portrait of a girl reprise, and wth. just let ivy have her own song about being seen as nothing but a pretty face, don't make it a love song when it's a song about how ivy is misinterpreted by the world.
6. we lost wonderland to drive you outta your mind, which honestly 7/64

falls short of wonderland. we lose the foreshadowing, and lucas was a good character. and i cannot get over nadia taking his place. also, there's dialogue about how peter jUst found out when jason's birthday is. no
7. ALSO instead of ivy's birthday, it's jason's 8/64

which really takes away from when he and ivy kiss.
8. best kept secret was (mostly) untouched, though they did change some good lines to mediocre ones.
9. BEST FRIEND IS THE ONLY GOOD THING ABOUT BTM THAT'S ALL.
10. instead of ever after, they changed it to i meant to 9/64

tell you, and it makes me sad that they got rid of the fairytale reference, but then they also kept on using them in the song in a similiar way to the original, and that annoys me.
11. they fuckigdn gave jason role of a lifetime instead of peter. that's peter's big song 10/64

about how he doesn't like pretending to be straight. a roal reprise for j could've been cool, but don't take it from peter.. peter has like no solo songs and a couple duets & group#s and that takes away from his development so much. like... the cast does so well with what 11/64

they're given, but it simply can't compare to a popera.
12. i know this is a nitpick, but in one, they changed "one tomorrow make me promise" to "til tomorrow pinky promise" and it upsets me because the title is one, and the way a popera had all of jason and ivy's lines 12/64

start with one was really clever and tied it up. and PINKY PROMISE???¿¿? bitch what. and then peter's "are you there, please pick up the phone" is replaced with "i, a lonely guy. left with nothing but questions of why" and just?? not enough syllables, but i appreciate the 13/64

effort. the only part that stayed somewhat the same is matt's bit, and nadia isn't even in it and that makes me mad. and every time ivy or jason starts a bit without starting with "one" i feel my blood boil with rage. i cannot stress how mad i was when i first heard it. 14/64

13. they cut wedding bells. they CUT wedding bells and instead gave us "what if i told?" it's basically about peter being bitter about his relationship with jason ending, (which also, calm tf down, peter, you were with him for lile 4 weeks) and he is tempted to tell the 15/64

world about him and jason and?? dude, that's low. you're sober, and you're thinking about outing jason because you're mad at him. you're no better than matt. i just... peter would never. yes, he did still not regret outing jason in a popera, and that's bad, but he didn't 16/64

actively consider outing jason while he was sober, so we can at least give a popera peter that much. also they replaced 911 emergency with hail mary, and it's just mary being sassy. she can't tell peter to come out to his mom, because she doesnt exist.
14. touch my soul was 17/64

replaced by kiss your broken heart. it literally completely defeats the point. jason doesn't break up with her. instead, ivy's like "i can tell you're sad too, let me help you feel better" and jason doesn't do anything?? why did THIS have to be ivy's first solo song? this 18/64

just... it does her dirty. her a popera solo songs show the depth of her character with her being objectified, and her realizing she's pregnant and worrying about her future. but in btm, her solo songs are her trying to heal a sad boy, and her finding out she's pregnant 19/64

and singing about how the rumors that she was sleeping with her history teacher were true and her being more upset about the fact that jason won't talk to her than the fact that she's going to have a CHILD and she won't be able to have the future she wants. the btm ivy is 20/64

resolved to nothing more than a boy-crazy teen. no. stop it, she's so much more complex than that. but because they made portrait of a girl a love song, instead of a song that shows us the real ivy who is an aspiring artist and just wants to be loved for more than her looks.21/64

15. so i'm going to skip are you there, because they didn't butcher it as badly as the other songs. pilgrim's hands. oh lorddd. i hate it so much. so, remember how i said they recite the shakespeare in the beginning of this thread? well, they threw that rule completely out 22/64

of the window with this one song. jason starts by reciting his lines, and then they sing, and it's so unnatural and out of the blue. it's like you sit down in english class, and your teacher starts reading aloud the odyssey, and then in the middle of a sentence, they start 23/64

singing it and dancing. and you're just so taken aback because?? your teacher never sang books aloud before, and you realize you're just in tgwdlm now. anyways, yeah, i hate what they did. maybe if sOMEoNe didn't cut auditions and confession, this would make more sense 24/64

but noooo. instead it just feels weird and out of nowhere because it wasn't established they ever sing their lines.
16. god don't make no trash ran so this song could walk. you are not alone is a generic lullaby song. it doesn't have the same energy that gdmnt has. and it 25/64

doesn't make it any better that they whitewashed chantelle, but i'll get to that. it's sweet, but it can't come close to the level that gdmnt is on.
17. oh boy, all grown up. i HATE what they did with this song. if i had to name the number one gripe i had with btm, this 26/64

would be it. it has the same tune. the same general context. but it falls many, many miles short of where the original all grown up was. the dialogue between ivy and nadia changed so much, because now nadia can't talk about how she'd give anything to be ivy because 27/64

this nadia isn't even hinted to have body dysmorphia, let alone being fat. instead, she calls ivy easy, and then talks about how she slept with her history teacher, mr. blake, and then ivy admits to it IN DIALOGUE and sings an unnecessary verse about why she moved schools 28/64

and how the word got out. if you think that carries the same POWER that it has in the original, when ivy is reflecting about the innocent days they had, when things weren't so complicated and she was happy, and now she's been thrust into an uncharted course that nothing 29/64

could've prepared her for— something that could ruin her entire future. if you think that "he was young my history teacher." has the same power as that LONGING for the simpler times, when everything was clear (exceptyourskin) then you're so wrong. and just all the lyrical 30/64

changes take away from the power in this power ballad. "dream a dream then dash another, life is there to interrupt" >>>>>> "hide your heart before it's broken, fragile as a paper cup"
like is that even a debate. it fits in so well with hope she had for her future starting 31/64

to crumble away into nothing because of one night, and all the happy times of her youth are gone forever and she regrets so many things. but no, we couldn't have that, because ivy had to be a transfer student, so she could sleep with her history teacher at 16, and nadia 32/64

could bully her about that. and you aren't 16 in 7th grade, and she and nadia have no history together. but those things aren't as important as having something called back to that was mentioned like 3 times. that obviously carries way more weight than a lost childhood. 33/64

18. once upon a time. i will never forgive them for cutting out all the mentions of jason holding peter's hand, and ending it at "could you really love someone like me"? i'm glad they didn't butcher it as much as they did agu, but it was perfect the way it was. you can't 34/64

fix what's already perfect, and that shows throughout the entirety of btm.
19. they really only changed the first bit and father's outburtst but??? why??? like, what is this and why was not "yes i do, it's a start and a finish, god, that's the root of everything." 35/64

20. aaa bare. idk, i just really don't vibe with these lyric changes. just... just keep the original lyrics. you don't have to change every single song's lyrics for it to be a revival... these changes makes it feel less natural, less raw, and i don't like that at all. 36/64

21. absolution. alright, we're almost done, then i can get on to the problems that weren't music related. that's right, you thought this thread was almost over, but you're wrong. ohh boy, absolution... i just,, i don't get why father started his lines and THEN peter walks 37/64

in. like he gives that speech about loss, and it's really sad, then peter comes in, and he's like "oh, peter, how are you?" like?? who were you talking to? who were you telling "most words seem to fall empty" to if peter isn't here??? maybe i don't remember the staging 38/64

properly, but that just seems... wrong... and like, if he was addressing someone else, that just takes away from the personal moment he and peter have, so you just can't win. like, i'm glad that peter doesn't immediately forgive father, and it's replaced with that 39/64

clarity line and i guess it's kind of cool how this makes peter sing a reprise of the song jason sang earlier, but this is peter's only full solo, and instead of getting a look into his head earlier on, we get yet another look into jason's head. like... peter is woefully 40/64

underdeveloped in btm, and roal and absolution show how hes lost in different ways, and feels helpless. it completes his story. i just...
22. no voice. this rendering was alright. the "one morning i kissed a lonely boy, we both just knew. i loved him. i loved him very much 41/64

he loved me too." i liked that bit. i think if that was like a second verse peter sang after his original solo, i would've adored that. but besides that, considering nadia was the one who gave jason the thing that killed him, i think her verse is good in that context and is 42/64

the first actual look into her complexities and personality, which is a shame, with it being the last song, and not getting to develop that arc more. and then, i despise the changes to matt's solo. "some words do not come easy. words like i'm truly sorry. i cried the night 43/64

i wrote them, i bet we all did. i guess i never knew him, but if he'd shared his struggle. there might've been a friendship, i would have liked that." no. matt never gets a solo song. he's always competed with jason for the attention, and now that he's gotten it, he doesn't 44/64

have the words. his speech isn't supposed to be eloquent or sweet. it's supposed to be him realizing that now the spotlight is on him, he doesn't know at all what to say. he stammers and eventually admits he doesn't know, and lets peter have his solo. that's such a big part 45/64

of matt's character. his arc is completed when he realizes that he doesn't need to be the shining figure everyone sees, he doesn't need to be romeo, he just needs to care for others. i just feel like him having that solo that actually gets a point across defeats the actual 46/64

point. that matt doesn't need the spotlight. that playing second fiddle is better sometimes. that's his arc, it isn't him finally getting the spotlight and being able to speak clearly and thrive as the new lead. the new star pupil. jason dying made matt #1 on class ranks 47/64

but now matt realizes that class ranks are trivial. they aren't as important. he realizes the harm he's caused. he regrets everything that he did, and feels really bad. he apologizes to peter, and when the attention he so desperately sought throughout the musical is finally 48/64

given to him, he doesnt know what to do with it. here he does know, and that just isnt right. that's not what matt's arc is leading to. he's supposed to learn that ranks and leads and attention are trivial things, and he should've focused on being a good person to everyone. 49/64

the other problems i've had
1. they whitewashed chantelle and made her sister joan, a meek, but progressive woman. like,, was it that hard to find a black actress and have that ONE bit of representation? like she was talented, but it just doesn't sit right with me 50/64

2. the unnecessary changes. they cut auditions, plain jane, confession, wonderland, see me, warning, promise, a quiet night at home, gdmnt, 911 emergency, Wedding Bells, One Kiss, Touch My Soul, Two Households, Reputation Stain'd, and probably more I'm forgetting, but in 51/64

doing so, they erased so much characterization, foreshadowing, and THE MOTIFS. i'm so mad about the lack of motifs btm has. those three things are what made me fall in love with bare a pop opera. and even the songs they kept in, like a grown up, the lyrical changes muffled 52/64

so much of the emotion and power. and they didn't even have to change those lyrics to make room for crappy jokes (i'll get to those) they just changed most of them for no apparent reason. why should ivy sing about paper cup hearts when she could sing about broken dreams? 53/64

3. THE CRAPPY JOKES. look, maybe this just isn't my sense of humour, but why did they have to cut songs that establish the characters and their backgrounds with each other, like plain jain, so peter can offer Father Mike pot cookies, and then realize he's a priest and say 54/64

"pot, short for potato cookies. home made. :)" or for one of the girls to ask jason if his sister is bi but hahaha here's the joke— she thinks it's short for biPOLAR. wow, let's make an unfunny joke, while also adding stigma to being bipolar haha funny joke. 55/64

i mean, maybe i'm just remembering the worst jokes they had, because i haven't watched btm in a while, but why did those jokes have to exist? why is it that the only two jokes i remember at the jokes that are like "lol yeah i'm cis, short for cisTer cHaNteLle" like,, 56/64

there's a way to make those types of jokes funny, but this isn't how.
4. the butchered characters. in a popera, all the main and side characters have arcs. jason comes to terms with his sexuality, but then he dies, peter finally comes out to his mom, matt realizes that 57/64

being the center of attention isn't all it's cracked up to be, ivy and nadia stop being mean to each other and are actually on good terms again, nadia stops being so angry at others because of the anger at herself she has, and becomes more gentle with people, claire accepts 58/64

her son, and chooses him over religion, father flynn realizes that his voice has an impact and he tries to be more reassuring and less condemning, and sister chantelle is perfect already (she's mostly used as a way to help peter come to terms with himself, and she fulfils 59/64

that role in god don't make no trash) but in btm, jason's arc is met, peter's isn't even set up because claire doesn't exist, father has his arc, matt doesn't, ivy doesn't have much personality besides being pretty and liking jason, nadia is nicer so i guess she completes 60/64

her arc, but also it's never set up why she's so angry, so that takes a layer off, claire isn't even introduced, so it's kinda hard for her to have an arc, and sister joan kind of fulfils her role for peter because she sings that song that shows him she's there for him but 61/64

also, peter isn't nearly as sad in btm because he didn't have his mother hang up on him when he was trying to come out, so joan didn't fulfill the role as well as chantelle did. 62/64

there's so much more, but i'm tired and this is all i really feel confident in saying because i haven't watched btm in a while, and i probably forgot things and am wrong about stuff but yeah, if you prefer btm, i don't trust you. 63/64

also i just wanted to say, that i love the cast, and they did good with what they had, but what they had already completely butchered the characters and songs, and they couldn't do much, but with a bad cast, i feel like btm would be even worse. 64/64