So where to next?

[JustJakUK]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:39pm

I spent some time on Broadway this summer and delighted in the light fayre on offer although I live in London and am used to West End disappointment as my regular daily diet. It's now Autumn and the clocks go back next weekend (do you do that in America?). That means getting up in the dark and going to bed in the dark...very grim. What musical delights have I got to look forward to in order to see me through to Christmas? Sweet nothing! I loathe duke box musicals. Sometimes they just about work eg Buddy and Jersey Boys but this new breed of 80's dance movie adaptations is just killing me. Am I alone in this? About a quarter of West End theatres now have these shows: Dirty Dancing, Saturday Night Fever, Footloose, Desperately Seeking Susan and more are in the works what with Arlene Phillips developing Flashdance. The songs from the soundtracks of these movies barely added anything then yet book writers find a way to crowbar them into the show just so they can tick them off the list. The great composers of Broadway are a dying breed. What happens when Sondheim and his generation go to that big matinee in the sky? Where are the new people to fill their shoes? I have done nothing but see musical showcases recently and they have all been garbage. Self-indulgent twaddle. If Frank Wildhorn hasn't established himself as a favourite by now, what is the chance that he ever will? If Jason Robert Brown can only write pieces that are inherently American how will he ever find a substantial audience outside the US. Oh sure, I like him, but I don't arive in a coachparty to go to the theatre. What I'm asking, folks , is where is musical theatre headed? Are these things I've mentioned just trends? Will they die out and be replaced by another trend or are we stuck with them ad nauseum? Coming to a theatre near you ,Police Academy 3 The musical. God help us all!

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:45pm

"What happens when Sondheim and his generation go to that big matinee in the sky? Where are the new people to fill their shoes?"

I ask myself this all the time. The only one I can think of who can reach success with great musicals like the composers who are, let's be honest, growing old now, is Adam Guettel. And even for his shows, you generally either hate it or love it.

I think we need Dionysus to come and slap us a big one.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 10:59pm

It's now Autumn and the clocks go back next weekend (do you do that in America?).

Most parts!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 11:27pm

There are hundreds of current musical theatre writers doing great work, and I often feel that if one would support the up and comers like Korie & Frankel, Bucchino, Miranda, Kitt & Green, O'Keefe & Benjamin, etc. (ALL of whom have Broadway shows in this season or the one that just passed), instead of bemoaning the passing of the torch from people like Sondheim, the musical theatre scene would be an even healthier place.

Sondheim is a god, yes, but he has had a long prolific career, and now his work is admirably revived all over. Most writers considered by theatre historians to be in his "generation" haven't worked on Broadway in years, so there isn't going to be a huge amount of emptiness as they pass on, when it is their time. There are TONS of excellent musical theatre writers besides the ones I listed above. Jason Robert Brown (who HAS technically had as much success in England as he has had in New York), Adam Guettel, Michael John LaChiusa, Ahrens & Flaherty, Andrew Lippa, William Finn, Jeanine Tesori, and tons of other writers... Look at the NYMF, which just gave New York City TONS of brand new musicals by up and coming writers. What about the fact that more and more artistic musicals transfer to Broadway from off- broadway each season, from Grey Gardens and Spring Awakening last season to In The Heights and Passing Strange this season? There are new musicals premiering at established, prestigious off- broadway theatres this season, from The Glorious Ones at Lincoln Center (currently in previews) to Next to Normal at Second Stage to Frankenstein at 37 Arts to Saved at Playwrights Horizons. Fresh shows planning to come to Broadway this season as well include 13, Cry Baby, [title of show], Catered Affair...

And there's room for jukebox musicals too... A good quality show is a good quality show. Adaptations from movies can be inventive and new OR derivative. And to that end, nearly every musical I have seen in London has been the latter. I concur about Dirty Dancing. It felt dead. But Footloose, I greatly enjoy. While I have not seen a production in the West End, I have seen several American productions, and I think it's a fun show that builds on its source material. I also feel this way about The Wedding Singer and Fame stage musicals. Adapting a movie to the stage doesn't always lead to dull hackneyed theatre- only in some cases. Peeps used to read books, so books were ideal for adaptation. Now people like their movies so its movies that are adapted. It's about HOW not WHAT, and I find many of these shows to be engaging and enlightening. The two best shows I've ever seen in the West End were The Witches of Eastwick and Our House. One is adapted from a movie, and one is technically a "juke box" musical; I found them both to be entertaining, engaging, memorable, inventive, and passionate nights at the theatre.

[Vespertine1228]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 11:32pm

Just look at the number of shows vying to get into the musical festival each September. There's tons of great stuff every year just begging for an audience, and a lot of it is very pop and very hip and young. I don't think we're in too much trouble.