bcmusicals

__**The Art of Musicals: Successful Characteristics**__ After having watched the video clips, the documentary in class, and read the chapter in the book it has become clear that there really is no cookie cutter way to write a successful musical. There are so many different ways to appeal to an audience, and a few are listed below by the work they are associated with. Contact: Contact is a dance play that is designed for a specific target audience: those in big cities who find it hard to connect with other people despite the mass of humanity surrounding them. The sexuality of dance and movement is a large and yet subtle element of this play. It is not overplayed in lewd terms, but instead is revealed symbolically in the dancing and movement of the woman in the yellow dress. Lion King: The Lion King relies upon the theatrical principle of suspended disbelief. The play is able to convince a willing audience (who has likely come ready and willing to be convinced) to accept their version of reality for the evening in order to tell a story. They accomplish this through beautiful movements and costumes that create a fantasy world that one can easily be swept up in. Rent: Rent’s dancing does not seem as complicated as the others, nor as rehearsed. Instead it relies upon principles of individuality that are paramount to understanding the modern psyche. The costumes are ones which the audience can connect with because they have probably seen very similar ones on the street every day, and subject matter is very real and very contemporary. Bring in da noise. Bring in da Funk: This play was for its time very contemporary and applicable to a target audience. While the clear athleticism and rhythm of this play can appeal to anyone it may find special appeal to African Americans. This is because it features people from all walks of life in black culture; all doing something very skilled while (tap dancing) and maintaining the hip hop atmosphere. Obvious athletic skills and talents, and for those in the know, a new form of tap dancing being unfurled before them make this feature a hot item. Chorus Line: Even though no one can relate in real life to the gold tuxedos, they can relate to the romantic aspects of this musical. Because the concept of a chorus line is so old and accepted belief can be suspended just as it was with The Lion King, provided the movements and costumes are up to par. The play is a nostalgic appeal to anyone with a sense of theater history. Cabaret: The two ladies scene is overtly sexual and may appeal to the lewd curiosities of human nature. The I Don’t Care Much scene, in both the background and the song itself, suggest sexual frustration as well as romantic strife, which of course must be relatable to the general public. Don’t Tell Mama presents themes of sexual repression and secrecy. Taboo subjects are addressed and popular figures are dragged in and included. Both the original Cabaret and the revival address political issues and concerns through an allegory set in Nazi Germany. While sex does sell, so does relevant political drama and commentary. My Fair Lady: The set designs help suspend audience disbelief as do the beautiful costumes. This feature takes the audience to the past just as The Lion King takes them to Africa. Wildly theatrical gesturing and wide sweeping gestures also contribute to its special nature. This work was ground-breaking in its address of male-female relations. As the audience watches a the leading lady change everything about herself they are delighted to think they have the ability to mold themselves as they please. Both of these factors help sell the musical. West Side Story America: This musical is heavily reliant upon sweeping and dramatic dancing accentuated by flowing costumes on females and tight form revealing costumes on men. Immigration and national belonging combined with gang violence and racial tension make this a very hot topic play. This is all presented in a play that made huge steps in the art of movement and motion in musical theater. Oklahoma: Set design is a large part of the appeal and believability of Oklahoma, as were the costumes which were very American rural. Oklahoma deals with topics of love and romance and nostalgia. The musical was designed to incur a feeling of happy belonging for patriotic Americans. The national and human appeal of the topics was successful, as was the new practice of using the songs to progress plot or character development, making them much more poignant. Taboo: Taboo seemed unsuccessful in that while it attempted to use (somewhat unusual) sexuality as an attractant feature as well as a popular culture icon (Boy George), it lacked relatability with the audience. Wicked: Wicked involved all of the classic forms of popular theater and had a sweet and compelling story. Unfortunately it lacked the sexuality and contemporary relatability that the other musicals had. Caroline: Caroline dealt with heavy issues, and while in some cases this works out perhaps there was not enough light heartedness to counteract the heavy aspects, as there was in Rent. Avenue Q: Avenue Q was the most successful musical in the documentary, despite the evidence that Wicked was much more favored to win by the critics. The critics in the video said the producers or writers of Avenue Q didn’t know who their target audience was, and that young people this play seemed to be geared towards wouldn’t go to the theater and that old people wouldn’t be interested in this kind of play anyway. In reality the musical did very well, most likely because of the relatable nature of the issues portrayed in the play and the comic and original way which they were presented. For a musical to be successful it might appeal to many different strategies. As was the case in Oklahoma and The Lion King a play might ask the audience to accept the theatrical nature of their work and simply allow themselves to be swept away. If the set is done right, the costumes match the set and the play, and the characters present themselves believably, this strategy can be very successful. In Avenue Q, Cabaret, and Rent modern issues are presented in a way that is either directly relatable for the audience or in a clear allegorical form with parallels to modern society. In Cabaret and Contact the sexuality of dance is used to attract viewers in both blatant and subtle ways. Over all it is not just one of these approaches that will win a Tony award or create a successful musical, and as was discussed in the documentary it almost seems to be about luck sometimes. But, if the people involved in the work are confident and play to the right set of notes that will gain audience interest or empathetic communication with the work then a musical can end up being wildly successful.