Riedel: Messing, Hathaway for Guys and Dolls, Nero on Broadway?- Page 3

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 8/22/07 at 9:41am

I don't mean to threadjack, but since the thread is dead, I don't think anyone will mind.

Well, after SPRING AWAKENING, I'm really looking forward to seeing what they can do with NERO.

Hopefully, Sater can do a better job of character development, though.

SPRING AWAKENING is not a musical about character development. The show is not about the characters. The show is about making a statement that is much larger than the individual characters.

Not every musical needs a book that fleshes out each of the characters. SPRING AWAKENING spends its time using character prototypes to send the audience a message. Most people on this board don't understand that, and they knock the book writer for a lack of character development, when that is not what serves the show.

The characters in SPRING AWAKENING are mere sketches, and they could be anybody. That's part of the reason the book does not go into thorough detail about them. The book writer doesn't want the audience to relate themselves with one the characters. He wants the audience to see how something so tragic can happen in this basic story about these basic people. That's what separates SPRING AWAKENING from traditional musical theatre storytelling.