"I don't think the rock musical will ever catch on"

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 6:23pm

Somebody actually said this to me today...

Any thoughts on this...especially the recent flow of rock musicals?

[BwayTday]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 6:25pm

They already have. Does this person not follow Broadway?

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 6:26pm

Supposedly, though... apparently not...

Ok, so how about favourite rock-musicals? I always like this one...

[philly03]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 6:31pm

Considering that the last few shows under the styling of the more pop-classical / pop-opera (even revivals) (ie: Ragtime, A Tale of Two Cities, Woman in White, Pirate Queen, DRACULA, the musical, Little Women, etc.) sound have all failed and miserably, I would say it caught on entirely.

Not to mention composers who had particularly more pop-y sounds but still very theatrical (ie: Frank Wildhorn, Andrew Lloyd Webber) have tried to tackle not just the rock sound, but other popular genres (Bonnie & Clyde, Wonderland of Wildhorn's, some of the songs in LoVE NeVER DiES of ALW's)

Memphis, next to normal, In the Heights are all examples of different genres of music translating to the stage over the typical and stereotypical Broadway music.

Not to mention these seem much cheaper to producer and generally speaking, have a smaller orchestra (or atleast to my knowledge).

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 6:33pm

ALW's a funny one. You think he's contemporary... but he was a pioneer of the rock musical.

[philly03]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 6:38pm

Yes! Ironic how things change.

I don't even think I have a favourite "rock" score. I'm not entirely in love with the rock scores (I do enjoy a good chunk of next to normal's MUSIC), but I always feel like if I'm going to the theatre I want to hear music that's theatrical and gives the piece tone...not some overly amplified score that has it's "actors & actresses" screaming words to me over top of the music.

[Weez]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 7:03pm

Did you just laugh uproariously in his face? Surely that's the only sensible response to a ridiculous statement like that! XD

[philly03]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 7:12pm

I've always thought Andrew Lloyd Webber more of the pop-opera sound than the rock sounds, and I understand that there is still rock within those pop-opera sounds of his.

Obviously Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph & Starlight Express, and the majority of EVITA are written in that rock styling, but I don't see how any sense of rock comes into a show like SUNSET BLVD., Aspects of Love, Woman in White. Pieces of the scores of Phantom of the Opera, LoVE NeVER DiES, Tell Me on a Sunday, Whistle Down the Wind are all a mixture (IMO) of pop, pop-opera, and "rock" sounding, but none are exclusive.

So while I respect and know him as a pioneer for the rock musical, many of his scores don't even use this style...his credits seem pretty split so I don't see why you couldn't see him in both ways.

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 7:16pm

I definitely see him in both ways, especially when there are random rock songs in his more "classically" styled shows (eg. The Beauty Underneath in Love Never Dies.)

[philly03]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 7:19pm

Thankyou! I think that's a good standard for a good composer. If a composer can only write classically, in times like these they won't be getting much work or they go work on film scores I suppose (didn't Timothy Williams switch over to film scores only?).

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 7:23pm

Updated On: 6/9/10 at 07:23 PM

[newintown]

Posted: 6/10/10 at 10:30am

I always cringe at this question.

"Rock" is simply a question of arrangement/orchestration, not of structure or composition.

As The Doors showed, Kurt Weill can be "rock" ("Alabama Song"). As many orchestras have shown, the Beatles can be symphonic.

But it does appear that the masses prefer loud, simple music with rock arrangements over complex and subtle orchestrations.