Musicals: Where Has It Gone and Where Can It Go?

By: Danny Olivares   &   Morgan Thomas | Arts & Entertainment Editors

April 19, 2018

In a world full of dead-end jobs, failing relationships, and an cyclical lifestyle of eat-sleep-work-repeat, there is always a sigh of relief when it comes to breaking out of one’s everyday monotony to experience the adventures that life gives us. However, some of us may not have the money to travel to a foreign land or go skydiving so we must settle for the next best thing: a form of entertainment where we can watch others do those things for us! However, with our ever-evolving media, quick fixes help us procrastinate work that we probably should have finished yesterday, this makes it is difficult to hold onto the classic forms of entertainment that have been appreciated by people centuries before us. However, plays and musicals are one of the very few forms of media that have lasted throughout the rise and fall of empires and kingdoms, but don’t think that this has been done with luck. The idea of what a play or musical is evolves endlessly, adding on new elements with every new show on Broadway and on the movie screen.

From classic family-favorite musicals like The Sound of Music to newly popular shows like Hamilton, theatre has been able to reflect and create the cultures of countless eras while still being able to remain relevant throughout the ages. This is too is not by luck, but due to its ability to evolve so easily. Theatre, when first developed, was strictly live and only available for the highest social status, but now, with the development of so much revolutionary technology, it has been given the chance to expand to the masses. In recent times, musicals have been adapted into movies to expand the possibilities of special effects and variety of audiences, as well as to allow for a more perfect execution of the material being performed. In addition, each decade of the twentieth and twenty first century have been becoming increasingly experimental, musicals are now able to expand to daring genres and incorporate unconventional themes. The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Kinky Boots are the best examples of these evolving performances with their themes of gender-bending characters, exploring one’s sexuality, and incorporating glamour in both men and women.

So, musicals transitioned from live plays to movies, right? Well there is a now an even newer platform to watch these shows, on live television! Television broadcasted musicals are exactly what you think, a live play that is broadcasted on television for the masses. Once or twice a year, big networks such as Fox and NBC bring together clusters of talent and beloved movies and musicals of the past to create a live television event that fits perfectly in an age of electronic entertainment, streaming and binge-watching. This was first introduced back in 2013 with the live rendition of The Sound of Music and Jesus Christ Superstar, which was aired earlier this month, had most recently been added to the ever-growing list. SCHS freshman Luke Jones excited told us that “My favorite musical on live TV was Grease. They were able to keep it similar to the movie while have some originality at the same time.” Despite praise from viewers, there is some controversy over this platform by a few people. Some critics aren’t sure if these shows can keep their authenticity when their only audience is a TV camera and the acting can become too artificial in its presentation and can always run the risk of being a dead performance.

With all these new platforms and evolving themes, where the heck can musicals go now? Well, we aren’t exactly sure; we’re not Broadway hotshots from New York City. Regardless, we’ll give you our predictions. It now appears that ideas for new musicals are beginning to become too repetitious or too meh. Romance has become overkill, scaring conservatives with homosexuality and drag queens has already been done, and thanks to Hamilton, a musical whose premise is our American forefathers rapping, has now been crossed off the list. What more can we do? Thanks to our now heated political and social climate, getting inspiration shouldn’t be that hard. After all, a majority of our modern art rose from the devastation and very heated political climate of the World Wars so why can’t new ideas for musicals do the same? SCHS senior Maresa Goldin believes that “Most musicals are being too repetitive. They should grab inspiration from modern issues such as immigration, gender identity, and of course, our current President if they want to do something different.”

In the end, the thing that allows musicals, no matter their evolution, to thrive throughout the ages is their ability to make connections with the audiences through song and dance. Breaking free of your every-day emotionless chains and taking a journey to a place where singing your emotions only isn’t frowned upon, but even celebrated is the best thing one can do when experiencing the magic of musicals.