Talk:Tom Eyen

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Tom eyen.jpg File Photo; date unknown

Family Photo; 1986

[edit] Pertinent info in Wikipedia articles

An editor claiming to be Eyen's nephew persists in adding irrelevant info to this article. Whether or not he really is related to the subject, detailed facts about the Broadway production and film version of Dreamgirls belong in articles devoted to those topics, not here. Neither the soundtrack's standing on the Billboard charts nor a list of the Oscar nominations warrant a mention here, as they are not Eyen's accomplishments. SFTVLGUY2 23:05, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

Gentlemen, you both have added useful information to this biography. Can we try to find a way to present all the information without rancor? Clearly, Dreamgirls is Eyen's most famous accomplishment, as far as the general public is concerned, and a bit more discussion of it is warranted here. Eyen wrote the lyrics to the songs, making the cast album, soundtrack and several of the songs hits, and that is his accomplishment as much as the performers'. I revised the article to give Dreamgirls a bit more emphasis but also clarified and expanded information about Eyen's earlier neo-expressionist career. I was interested to see internet reviews showing that many revivals of Eyen's early plays are still mounted. I must admit that I was somewhat bemused to read the exchange on your talk pages where SFTVLGUY2 was telling Mr. Eyen pretty much what I've been trying to tell SFTVLGUY2 for some time: One editor should not go against the consensus of editors on Wikipedia in creating a totally different style for his edits on Wikipedia but should respect the guidelines (as expressed, for instance, at Wikipedia:WikiProject Musical Theatre/Article Structure). Best regards, -- Ssilvers 20:18, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm not going to adapt my writing style to that "established by the consensus of editors" who for the most part appear to be inactive simply because it's preferred by people who seem to do little more than alter the work of others. Even though they don't include egregiously detailed "synopses" that practically include the stage directions or unnecessarily list the names of understudies and standbys, my well-researched articles about musicals and those people related to them are of value to Wikipedia for the simple reason they fill a gap by providing all the pertinent info required for a good, solid overview of the subject matter. If some people spent less time worrying about the guidelines (not rules and regulations) to be found at Wikipedia:WikiProject Musical Theatre/Article Structure and actually wrote some original articles, as I do on a daily basis, perhaps the project would be a lot further along than it is. SFTVLGUY2 20:57, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm afraid that you don't know what you're talking about. I have written and edited hundreds of articles on Wikipedia, including some "Featured Articles". Please be WP:civil and assume good faith. If you disagree with any of my edits, please let me know, and we can discuss them. -- Ssilvers 22:54, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

The article is looking better today, so thanks for everyone's work on this. Eric Eyen would be the first to say he's not an experienced Wikipedist — but there's no doubt he's the real deal, SFTVLGUY2. Also, if there's an implicit criticism of the content of the article, I think Eyen is important enough to merit a Wikipedia article of the current length.

As for additions, I would suggest copy bridging his two careers (that of the avant-gardist, and the other of his commercial/television/Dreamgirls success) by pointing out a trait common to all of his creations: his predilection for creating larger-than-life iconic female figures. He loved creating big-wigged women in wigs — he also had a signature style for writing snappy, personalized retorts for them. Eyen frequently re-wrote dialogue in his shows, notably "Women Behind Bars", to tailor it to new cast performers. I'm told that when Eyen was around the Los Angeles production, he was always writing, and it was a different show every night. Was that true for all of his productions? Sandover 21:46, 7 March 2007 (UTC)