Is Once a Musical or a Play with music- Page 2

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/11/12 at 6:26am

And that is precisely WHY I think the stage musical is better. Well, not because it IS a musical, but because by changing the vehicle (from film to stage) they brought something new to it, intertwined it with the music and gave it a different life. They did not just put the film on stage.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 6/11/12 at 7:39am

In the context of the movie, the songs were used to reveal the feelings that Guy and Girl were afraid to say to each other. They knew they were performing songs, but they didn't realize that, for example, Falling Slowly was an actual reflection of their relationship. Whether they wanted to or not, they were falling in love with each other. The two were just too caught up in their own lives to realize what the other person was actually saying. Each song functioned the same way. It was quite a unique approach to crafting a movie musical.

They're not plot advancing songs. They're character songs. And if singing songs that reveal the true feelings of a character rather than advance the plot means people don't think it's a musical, the people won't think it's a musical. I do. The stageshow doubled down on the conceit and then added as much stagecraft as the bar-set adaptation would allow.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 6/11/12 at 7:45am

Yeah, it often seems pretty arbitrary. You can say "Well if Jersey Boys is a musical, so is Once," but what about End of the Rainbow then?

[artscallion]

Posted: 6/11/12 at 7:59am

Examples of musicals that contain songs that do not advance or relate to the plot:

42nd St
Victor Victoria
almost any show written before 1943

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 6/11/12 at 8:23am

Come on, guys. You're taking way too long to choose one of these two labels.

It's really important we know what it is, so could you hurry it up a little? Thanks.

[JamesBroadwayWiner]

Posted: 6/11/12 at 9:42am

Once is a musical. I can see how people might perceive it as a play with music, but in truth, it is a musical (and a great one at that).

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 6/11/12 at 10:00am

ONCE...sorry from my easy chair last night in Palm Springs...to me ONCE, the muscial that won 8 TONYS will NOT be the reason i come to NYC to see BROADWAY SHOWS...it must be a Broadway thingy...you guys in the biz love this show and the rest of the country is going WHAT THE F*CK WAS THAT?...especially after seeing the other production numbers from the other shows now on Broadway...hell even GHOSTS looked more interesting...and NEWSIES actually had the look and sound of a real muscial...what the hell happened on Broadway this year that ONCE was considered the best "musical"?...some sort of 'inside-Shuber Alley joke'?

[Owen22]

Posted: 6/11/12 at 10:35am

All I'm sayin', if a show has an Original Cast Recording of FOURTEEN friggin' songs that comment on action and reflect (if not directly deepen) character, the thing is a musical. But I concluded "One Man" was a musical long before they even put out the recording. However, I do agree these terms seem more and more arbitrary as the lines are erased and rewritten...

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 6/11/12 at 12:07pm

Hey, broadwaybabywannabe2, why don't you just see it for yourself? It won 8 Tonys, a hefty number, and has great reviews and word of mouth. When I saw it recently, the audience (mostly middle aged or elderly) gave it an full standing ovation before the lights even came up for curtain call. Why not give it a try? Are we not judging a book by its cover a little bit?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/11/12 at 12:11pm

In 2000, "James Joyce's The Dead" was nominated in the Best Musical category. I considered it a play with music, but oh well. I think since then the category has widened.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 6/11/12 at 12:14pm

I mean, ballets, dance shows, and revues have all at one point been considered musicals, at least by Tony standards.