Musicals

Offer me a classic novel or its film adaptation, and I’ll choose the book nearly every time. In general, I find a Hollywood film’s storytelling and character development pale compare to the impact of the author’s original text.

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However, I make exceptions for musicals. Armed with brilliant casting and musical scores, then the power of song in musicals lends additional depth to characters, builds plot momentum and dishes out compelling entertainment.

Screen and stage musicals can also lure audiences into tales we may not otherwise choose to read. I’m sure people have watched The Sound of Music, Les Misérables and My Fair Lady even though they may not be inclined to read about the von Trapp family’s history, pick up a Victor Hugo novel on the aftermath of the French Revolution, or follow a woman’s transformation in George Bernard Shaw play.

But, I suspect these performances will move selected audience members and theatregoers enough to get them to investigate the original books and plays. There's evidence that musicals could perhaps affect us in other ways too. In recent years, researchers published peer-reviewed papers noting that musicals may even sway social attitudes and behaviours.  

Theatregoers have long appreciated musicals served up by the likes of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Gilbert and Sullivan, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Mel Brooks, Cole Porter, the Shermans, Pete Townshend, Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein and others.

Over the years, the following on-stage performances have enchanted me most: Les Misérables, Peter Pan, Cats (yes, odd for someone who isn't a cat fan), Peter and the Wolf, Mamma Mia (for little more than the retro fun factor) and Jesus Christ Superstar. At the risk of dating myself, my earliest recollections of on-screen musicals are: Mary Poppins, The Music Man, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Singing in the Rain, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and Rocky Horror Picture Show.

If your only exposure has been to on-screen musicals, then I encourage you to check out your nearby arts centre or community theatre for upcoming on-stage performances. Around the world, amateur and professional performers hone their craft on a nightly basis; they garner feedback from audiences via gasps, tears, sighs, laughs, sing-a-longs and ovations.

If you worry that all musicals are either tear-jerkers or too dramatic, then fear not, because you can laugh along with Nunsense, sing along with Grease or rock on with Tommy.

I want varied musicals to continue to thrive both on stage and on screen. And so they should, as long as producers and directors choose pieces with which audiences can identify, and the makers steer clear of people who shouldn’t or cannot sing. (Pierce Brosnan, Richard Gere and Tom Cruise come to mind.)

We need casts with talent on par with Nathan Lane, Diahann Carroll, Jerry Orbach, Julie Andrews, Kelsey Grammer, Anne Hathaway, John C. Reilly, Barbra Streisand, Dick van Dyke, Queen Latifah, Elton John, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Angela Lansbury, Hugh Jackman, Diana Ross, Gene Kelly, Cher, Prince, Kathy Bates, Harry Connick, Jr., Judy Garland, Patti LuPone, Mandy Patinkin, Audra McDonald, etc. 

Music to move you, stories to delight in and performers who are aptly suited to sing along in demanding roles...

      AWESOME!

So, what are your earliest memories of musicals? 

How about today, do you prefer newer ones (e.g., Billy Elliot, Wicked, Seussical, Mamma Mia, Rent, The Producers) or do you stick to the classics (e.g., Chorus Line, Godspell, Phantom of the Opera, 42nd Street, Fiddler on the Roof, Hairspray, Oklahoma!, West Side Story, Chicago, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Annie, Pirates of Penzance,South Pacific, Oliver, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof)? And the list goes on…