A Play with Music

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 9:04pm

What exactly is the difference between a play with music and a musical?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 9:12pm

... what do you mean by play with music?

[morosco]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 9:30pm

"a play with music"

I would assume that one definition would be that the music would in no way advance the plot of the play, perhaps it might not be written specifically for the play, and might not directly express the specific emotions of the character singing the songs. It's been a long time since I've seen it but I think "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" might be an example of a play with music.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 9:31pm

It's mostly a question of the amount of emphasis on music and the degree to which music is used to tell the story. In certain plays about musicians, (PAUL ROBESON, PIAF, LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR & GRILL about Billie Holiday, DINAH WAS about singer Dinah Washington) or in one recent example, a "non-musician" who thought she was one (SOUVENIR about socialite and legendary bad singer Florence Foster Jenkins), the subject's musical ability (lack thereof) is part of their story so the playwright uses examples of them performing to give the audience a fuller portrait of them as artists and people. In Nora Ephron's IMAGINARY FRIENDS which starred Cherry Jones and Swoosie Kurtz a few seasons ago, the play used a chorus of elegantly dressed dancer-singers as a sort of Greek chorus to comment on the action.

In each of these plays, the music is secondary to the main drama and simply used to flesh out the main character(s) and to tell the audience about the essense of the character(s) that mere words couldn't. In a true musical, the music has at least as important a function in the overall work as the book and is typically actually more important than the book in many ways. In a play with music, the music isn't truly essential and the play could work without it.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 9:34pm

Ah, Thank You!

Does a play with music usually have less songs then a normal musical?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 9:39pm

Usually, but I don't think that there are any hard and fast rules about that. I've seen "plays with music" with a dozen songs and fully staged and choreographed musical numbers, so it depends.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 9:45pm

Could a play with music be nominated for Best Score and Lyrics? And I am assuming that it would be nominated for Best Play instead of Best Musical.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 9:56pm

Yes, Jeanine Tesori was nominated for the Tony for Best Score a few years ago for a revival of TWELFTH NIGHT (and her music was recorded and released on CD; the production was nominated for Best Revival of a Play).

I forgot to mention Shakespeare as being probably the most prolific author of plays with music. Nearly all of his plays include at least a song or two.

Updated On: 8/25/06 at 09:56 PM

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:01pm

Mother Courage is a great example of a play with music: it uses songs to comment on the action of the play.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:07pm

Margo thank you so much for all your insight and information.

Could you tell me which Shakespeare shows have music so I could look further into them?

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:14pm

I belive there is a lenghy drinking song in Othello.

[alicia_11212]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:16pm

This thread reminds me of the confusion I felt when people were calling LOTR a "musical", then all of a sudden it was being described as "a play with music". I didn't really get where they were going with that, all I heard was "not a musical= not gonna see it". Just kidding... mostly.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:27pm

As I said, nearly all of Shakespeare's 37 plays have at least a song or two.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:46pm

Brecht is another one - like MOTHER COURAGE.

[professor]

Posted: 8/26/06 at 11:17pm

Caryl Churchill is a modern playwright who uses songs in her plays. Heavily influenced by Brecht, her plays "Cloud 9" and "Vinegar Tom" are great examples of the "play with music."

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 4/22/07 at 9:29pm

Bump

[Randy Robinson]

Posted: 4/22/07 at 10:53pm

Coram Boy is a good example of a play with music.... apparently there's more music in this play than in an average musical!

But the music definately isn't secondary to the story or acting - It's integral to the narative, and there would be no play without the score. The play is about music, and the director uses music almost like a character in it's own right: the on stage musical performances blend with original score and it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. There's a 20 strong choir on stage at all times, an orchestera, the cast sing and play musical instruments, but it's not a musical as they don't pause the action for a tune then carry on acting....

It's a tricky definition!