The question about no overture has me wondering -- what musicals have particularly long stretches where there is no music? And which musicals have a long interval at the beginning with no music? Almost every musical I can think of has some music within the first minute or so (either as the opening number, underscore, or overture).
Tom148502 had mentioned Lady in the Dark as a show with no music in the beginning -- how long is it before the first number starts?
"What was the name of that cheese that I like?"
"you can't run away forever...but there's nothing wrong with getting a good head start"
"well I hope and I pray, that maybe someday, you'll walk in the room with my heart"
I'm not sure about Lady in the Dark but musicals like The King & I and My Fair Lady have only a few lines of dialogue before a song starts, not including an overture. Most composers these days like to start the show with a song to get the audience in the mood of the show.
A little known fact is that in the original screenplay, Pan's Labyrinth was Pan's FLAByrinth. Hmmmmmmm...glad they changed it.
Not including the overture, Babes in Arms has about five-six minutes before the first song.
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
With Jersey Boys, you have to wait a good 45 minutes before the Four Seasons sing their first of thier hits "Sherry." But, before that there are snippets of other songs from that era.
The long stretch of dialogue in 1776 is between "The Lees of Old Virginia" and "But Mr. Adams," which is about 30 minutes into the show, at best, not an hour and a half.
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
Looking back over the past few years, Drowsy Chaperone probably is the new musical that goes on the longest before the music starts for the first time. IIRC, recent shows like Spring Awakening, Curtains, Jersey Boys, Mary Poppins, LoveMusik, The Color Purple, and The Woman in White all have music right from the get go, and in Grey Gardens, it starts very quickly.
"What was the name of that cheese that I like?"
"you can't run away forever...but there's nothing wrong with getting a good head start"
"well I hope and I pray, that maybe someday, you'll walk in the room with my heart"
"Tom148502 had mentioned Lady in the Dark as a show with no music in the beginning -- how long is it before the first number starts? "
There are several pages of dialogue between the leading lady, Liza Elliott, and her psychiatrist before the first musical numbers, which is the first of several musical numbers strung together with minimal dialogue. All the music in Lady in the Dark, except for "My Ship" occur during 3 musical "dream sequences." There are many scenes in the show without any music.
I haven't seen it, but was in a masterclass with the trumpet player from the revival (his name escapes me). Apparently there is 13 minutes of dialogue before a long, sustained, high note on the piccolo trumpet. 13 minutes of no music is awfully long for a musical.