Big Musicals - Will They Come Back

[JurassicTheatreLover]

Posted: 3/4/26 at 3:46pm

Any big new glamorous ones on the way? I miss real sets and big orchestras. 

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 3/4/26 at 9:36pm

Yes, they'll still pop up sometimes but they'll be the exception not the norm. Especially for new musicals.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 3/4/26 at 9:41pm

Someone fed it after midnight, your honor.

[ER765]

Posted: 3/4/26 at 9:46pm

JurassicTheatreLover said: "Any big new glamorous ones on the way? I miss real sets and big orchestras."

HELLO? MODS? How many aliases is this troll going to be able to make?!

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 3/4/26 at 9:57pm

Sorry I haven't been on the board as much recently and didn't realize. Didn't mean to feed the troll.

[ER765]

Posted: 3/4/26 at 9:59pm

Mr. Wormwood said: "Sorry I haven't been on the board as much recently and didn't realize. Didn't mean to feed the troll."

So not your fault or problem. This troll multiplies, regardless if you feed it or not. 

Updated On: 3/4/26 at 09:59 PM

[Ensemble17591322022]

Posted: 3/4/26 at 10:38pm

JurassicTheatreLover said: "Any big new glamorous ones on the way? I miss real sets and big orchestras."

Not unless IATSE somehow decides to throw in the towel. 

[ER765]

Posted: 3/4/26 at 10:40pm

Ensemble17591322022 said: "JurassicTheatreLover said: "Any big new glamorous ones on the way? I miss real sets and big orchestras."

Not unless IATSE somehow decides to throw in the towel."

So you really just come on here, log in and out of your aliases, and talk to yourself…? 
 

Seek help. 

[Ensemble17591322022]

Posted: 3/4/26 at 10:53pm

ER765 said: "Ensemble17591322022 said: "JurassicTheatreLover said: "Any big new glamorous ones on the way? I miss real sets and big orchestras."

Not unless IATSE somehow decides to throw in the towel."

So you really just come on here, log in and out of your aliases, and talk to yourself…?


Seek help."

Huh? 

[7thbighero]

Posted: 3/5/26 at 12:01am

Go to Vegas. Because if you need lavish sets and big casts to stimulate your brain, you don’t have the capacity to appreciate art. 

[Ensemble17591322022]

Posted: 3/5/26 at 12:11am

7thbighero said: "Go to Vegas. Because if you need lavish sets and big casts to stimulate your brain, you don’t have the capacity to appreciate art."

God forbid people expect sets and cast members to sit on those dozens of massive stages with three-storey prosceniums. Let’s knock them all down and put black boxes in their place - why keep them if we can’t expect them to be used for that which they were built?

Updated On: 3/4/26 at 12:11 AM

[7thbighero]

Posted: 3/5/26 at 12:36am

Ensemble17591322022 said: "7thbighero said: "Go to Vegas. Because if you need lavish sets and big casts to stimulate your brain, you don’t have the capacity to appreciate art."

God forbid people expect sets and cast members to sit on those dozens of massive stages with three-storey prosceniums. Let’s knock them all down and put black boxes in their place - why keep them if we can’t expect them to be used for that which they were built?"

So you need to look at stuff? Not the story? Performances? The material? 
 

We have seen time and time again that more isn’t always better. 

[SteveSanders]

Posted: 3/4/26 at 8:44pm

True, but we've also seen the power of great stories and songs in inspired settings ... l the elements of a production reinforcing and amplifying the others into something where the whole is more than the some of its parts.

I imagine many people on this site can easily recall sets that contributed to the success of a production.  Some were no doubt lavish and grand, but others were simpler yet still memorable and evocative.

[GirlFromOz68]

Posted: 3/5/26 at 2:57am

JurassicTheatreLover said: "Any big new glamorous ones on the way? I miss real sets and big orchestras."

Have you stopped to think why there aren't as many shows with real sets and big orchestras right now? its the expense of doing that for a lot of shows, not an aesthetic choice like Jamie Lloyd for example. 

I can think of two currently running revivals that would likely have had more real sets, larger orchestras and more elaborate costumes if all of those things weren't so expensive right now.

It comes down to putting on the show with the minimalist set, less elaborate costumes and a smaller orchestra for a capitalisation of $15-20 million or not putting the show on at all as they know they wouldn't have a chance of recouping $25-30 million with all the bells and whistles.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/5/26 at 7:16am

7thbighero said: "Go to Vegas. Because if you need lavish sets and big casts to stimulate your brain, you don’t have the capacity to appreciate art."

1) Scenic design is an art form.

2) Lots of people can appreciate both, but we've had a deluge of minimalism lately and some people miss the lavish sets.

3) Try, just a little, being less of an arrogant, condescending snob. You catch more bees with honey.

[Lot666]

Posted: 3/5/26 at 7:51am

iluvtheatertrash said: "7thbighero said: "Go to Vegas. Because if you need lavish sets and big casts to stimulate your brain, you don’t have the capacity to appreciate art."

3) Try, just a little, being less of an arrogant, condescending snob. You catch more bees with honey."

Thank you. The type of post you're responding to is what makes this board so deeply unpleasant.