When referring to social issues, I wouldn't think half of the shows in this article would apply. Fun Home is about being gay and suicide, but it's not like the story connects to the greater narrative of social justice as a whole.
raddersons said: "When referring to social issues, I wouldn't think half of the shows in this article would apply. Fun Home is about being gay and suicide, but it's not like the story connects to the greater narrative of social justice as a whole."
Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but where does it say the story has to connect to social justice as a whole? Being LGBT and mental health issues are both social causes.
THE WHO'S TOMMY is my pick. Personal enlightenment, organized religion, celebrity culture-- it's all there. In ways, it's more relevant now more than ever.
Easily Hairspray...its one of the most joyful musicals of all time, and yet is able to tackle the topics of racism, segregation, body image, and lgbt equality with such great depth.
*When you say entertaining, I assume you mean a people pleaser & not the best social issue musical, as there is a difference*
Most definitely Rent and Spring Awakening. Spring Awakening was originally the most controversial play before it became a musical and it discussed issues that left it closed after one night in ny....and rent is a no-brainer between Idina Menzel and AIDS
Phew, thought I was the only one marching to raise awareness for Idina Menzel in January! (Just kidding lol)
But to answer the question, I join the chorus saying Hairspray. One of the most fun shows I've ever seen, but the candy coating has a pretty sharp, questioning inside.
leighmiserables said: "Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but where does it say the story has to connect to social justice as a whole? Being LGBT and mental health issues are both social causes. "
I think it's just schooling making me hear the term "social issue" and thinking it must be inherently political. What makes depression a "social issue"? It's a great theme for a show to explore, but I don't think of it as a social issue. Bullying which LEADS to depression is a social issue (albeit a boring one).
I think for a show to actually be about a serious social issue, it needs a bit of political tilt, a bit of a call to action. Hairspray manages to be political about segregation while still being a 60s bubblegum musical (which is pretty amazing when you think about it). Urinetown is about wage gaps and the divide between rich and poor. Next to Normal meanwhile, is about depression... but what does it say about depression as a whole? Does it break the stigma? When you think about it, it kind of demonizes ECT which is a 100% legitimate treatment for depression. Does that makes it a good show about a serious social issue? (Not trying to throw shade at N2N, it's one of my favorites, but this plotline has always bothered me)
Feel free to disagree -- I'm just trying to start a discussion so this thread is a little more than a list of shows.
raddersons said: "I think it's just schooling making me hear the term "social issue" and thinking it must be inherently political. What makes depression a "social issue"? It's a great theme for a show to explore, but I don't think of it as a social issue. Bullying which LEADS to depression is a social issue (albeit a boring one). ."
I think it's just a syntax issue, really. When I personally hear 'social issue' I think of anything that can be a 'cause' or something that can finish the phrase "we're raising awareness for ______." Plus, if there's stigma/prejudice against something, I think that immediately qualifies it as a social issue. There's plenty of stigma towards mental health.
Personally I've never seen the need to have an overarching/political message in stories. If there is one, wonderful, but I don't think it's a necessity. I think shows like Next to Normal and Fun Home are actually quite important to the wider scope, even if there's no song in Next to Normal called, "Being Depressed is Okay" or "Please Give LGBT People Basic Human Rights, Thanks" in Fun Home (obviously these are exaggerations, but you get my point).
To me, the thing that always sticks out in any social movement are the personal stories that come forth from them, or the "faces" that are used as posters for the cause. You can talk to me about X-cause in a general sense all day, but the thing I'll remember most are the real-life stories related to said cause. N2N is a 'personal' story relating to mental health, which – to me – makes it just as an important contribution to raising mental health awareness as, say, Hairspray is to all of the social issues it tackles.
Really, it's just semantics though. This is just my take.
Mister Matt said: "So many to choose from, but it certainly would not be Dear Evan Hansen or Spring Awakening.
"Most entertaining"? I'd probably agree with Urinetown. Falsettos would be around the top of the list as well.
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I saw a recent production of Urinetown at Berkeley Playhouse. It was incredibly well done, but I was amazed at how timely it is right now. (The production even incorporated in "news headlines" into a projected opening montage during the orchestra - they even had the UGC call the newspaper "fake news" )
The Book of Mormon manages to absolutely ridicule the intellectual absurdity of certain false beliefs while also being wildly hilarious.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000