Posted: 12/6/17 at 7:39am
There was no internet in 1955? That's a shocking revelation...
Who knew that there were fewer original scores on Broadway because of the internet? Another revelation.
Posted: 12/6/17 at 2:25pm
They're not going anywhere till we get our Beyonce jukebox musical. I get chills when I think of all the key changes in "Love On Top". I'll probably be in my 50s by the time this actually happens but you know I'll be the one screaming my head off in the audience.
Posted: 12/6/17 at 3:05pm
The other reason there were more original scores? Because Broadway was still the dominant musical force in pop culture. Rock and role hadn't broken yet, and the Great American Songbook was primarily influenced by the Broadway sounds, if not made up of songs pulled from shows. Big songs came FROM shows. That hasn't happened with regularity since those days.
You can call it wag the dog, but I think there are less original scores because theatre-original music is more niche, not the other way around.
Posted: 12/7/17 at 2:42pm
To clarify, I understand ABBA is very popular. But I think of it as dance music. I wouldn't expect dance music to be fodder for a musical. I was referring to the nature of the music, not it's popularity.
Some of the songs were written as "dance music" from the era. Most were not, however. I don't know what you consider "dance music", however. The specifically did write some disco tracks, but their standard pop tunes aren't "dance music". But I see no reason to exclude "dance music" as material for a musical, especially if the lyrics can still be utilized in the story. Super Trouper is the only song in Mamma Mia that exists as a "performance" where the lyrics exist outside the framework of the narrative.
There was no internet in 1955? That's a shocking revelation...
Who knew that there were fewer original scores on Broadway because of the internet? Another revelation.
Did the comma trip you up? That's a creatively selective takeaway. I thought you might be smart enough to understand what I was saying. ¯\_(?)_/¯ So I guess my response to you should have been:
Just for a bit of perspective: in the past 10 seasons, we've had an average of about 6 shows per season with entirely new scores; by comparison, in the 10 years between 1956-1965, there was an average of 12 new scores per season.
Things are different in 2017 than they were 50 years ago? That's a shocking revelation...
Who knew that musicals on Broadway would change in 50-60 years? Another shocking revelation.
Next, you're going to tell us some nonsense that the musicals of 1906-1915 were somehow different than they were from 1956-1965! CRAZY TALK!
It's not as if the perspective you provided was exactly eye-opening other than as a dry factoid devoid of context.
Posted: 12/7/17 at 3:10pm
I am tired with these shows because I want to hear new scores, whether from new talents or existing talents who have not yet had a major success, e.g., Jason Robert Brown. That said, I have to admit that you at least know whether you are going to like the 'score' going into the theater, which is something, given how expensive tickets are.
Posted: 12/7/17 at 3:35pm
"It's not as if the perspective you provided was exactly eye-opening other than as a dry factoid devoid of context."
Dry and devoid of content to you, perhaps, who seem intent on creating an apologia for a decline in original material on Broadway.
I (and I'm sure others) find it interesting that we hear 1/2 the amount of original music in Broadway musicals than once was offered. I don't think that the internet has anything to do with that, as the drop in content began in the 70s. The fact that pop music and musicals have diverged probably has a good deal to do with it. But I also suspect that increasing cuts in arts education since the 70s may also play a role. It seems to me that popular music has been in a relatively stagnant and repetitive phase for that last 25-30 years as well. (But that's a different conversation.)
Posted: 12/7/17 at 4:21pm
Dry and devoid of content to you, perhaps, who seem intent on creating an apologia for a decline in original material on Broadway.
Apologia? LOL You think listing contributing factors is an apologia? I think I understand why that comma caused you such confusion in reading comprehension.
I don't think that the internet has anything to do with that, as the drop in content began in the 70s.
I listed it is one factor contributing to competing forms of entertainment.
The fact that pop music and musicals have diverged probably has a good deal to do with it. But I also suspect that increasing cuts in arts education since the 70s may also play a role.
Those could easily be additional factors as well. Also, artistic evolution of form. Societal shift in various trends and preferences and styles in entertainment. I didn't say the internet was the only reason for less original scores on Broadway. That was just you.
Posted: 12/7/17 at 5:07pm
Posted: 12/7/17 at 5:50pm
okey dokey
