Please Tell Me That Not All Younger Musical Theatre Fans...- Page 5

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/29/10 at 7:08pm

The bottom line for me in music (theatre or otherwise) is to get at the truth.

True thoughts and emotions. Not stylized vocal gymnastics.

Sing the damn song. Put it across. Communicate. Stop showing off.

And that can go across all styles of singing, from classical "bellowing" to modern "whining."

If I hear truth in the voice, then I'm hooked.

[brightasyellow]

Posted: 7/29/10 at 9:07pm

As we're all divulging our ages, I'm 30. I grew up going to theater with my parents and saw a lot of great plays and musicals. I was obsessed with the cast recording of Les Mis when I was about 11 but my older cousin took me to my first Broadway musical when I was 12 and it was The Secret Garden. I left the theater blown away. It was such an experience.

I also think that whatever gets a kid to go to the theater is a god thing because then (hopefully) they'll see more. I've recently become more interested in the history of Broadway and the musical and being the book nerd that I am, I've been checking out some books because I DON'T know a lot of the older musicals.

I don't think people who like "older" musicals are better than those who like newer ones. If your favorite musicals are were all written after 2000, fine. I just like the passion in theater lovers of all kinds.

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 7/29/10 at 9:31pm

The musical that hooked me was Sweeney. So, Sondheim was my introduction to the world of musical theatre. I'm from NY, and had seen many musicals before, but not until Sweeney did I know that I wanted to spend my life as a student and practitioner of theatre.

From Sondheim, I branched out and learned about R&H and Cole Porter, then Cy Coleman. Next came Jason Robert Brown and LaChiusa. I've spent the past 5 years getting my hands on as many cast recordings as possible, and listening to them, and researching the history of the shows (on here and in books/documentaries/conversations with people who were there).

Over time, my interest in musical theatre has become subordinate to my interest in straight plays, but the passion is the same, as is the eagerness to research and learn about the history of the pieces themselves, as well as the of the periods from which they emerged.

I think that, had BWW not been such a welcoming community when I first joined, I might not have felt as comfortable as I did spending so much time learning about theatre. As an eighth grader, there wasn't any place else for me to go. These forums were my main source of knowledge and conversation about theatre. I'm glad to see some of the posters whom I idolized then encourage young people to stay passionate.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 2:24am

I've spent my entire life believing (and I still do) that I was born decades too late. The 1930s is my time. Always has been, always will be. It's funny, but musical theater, more than anything else, transports me back to those days.

The hair stands up on the back of my neck when I hear "Slaughter On 10th Avenue." I can see myself in the Imperial Theater, watching Ray Bolger and Tamara Gevea dancing so dreamily in "On Your Toes." I can feel the electric thrill of the audience when Gene Kelly arrived onstage in "Pal Joey."

It drives me crazy that I can experience things like that in my mind but will never live to see it in person - for three dollars a seat.

[homeimp]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 10:48am

Good for you, Esparza 333. I wish there were more like you. I hope your namesake does well in Leap of Faith and that it makes the "leap" to Broadway. I am still looking for a video of your Camelot, but I guess nothing was ever done along those lines.

[A Little Priest]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 8:54pm

I'm 15. I didn't really care for musicals until I discovered Sondheim (through the Sweeney Todd film, I'm ashamed to admit), and over the past few years my love for his work has grown.

Living in a small town in England, I haven't been exposed to much musical theatre - new or old - so I haven't grown up with a particular era. Now that my interest is increasing, I'd like to seek out older musicals, because Wicked, Rent etc. just don't particularly appeal to me. Then again, I don't really like modern music in general.

I'm sort of dedicating this year to Sondheim, having attended ALNM on Broadway, the NY Phil concert and the BBC Prom so far this year, with ITW in the West End and the MWRA and Company concerts to look forward to, so I'll dig into all the classic Golden Age stuff later/soon, not now. But I certainly intend to expand my knowledge of musical theatre, going backwards from Sondheim, not forwards.

[InHistory]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 9:00pm

I'm 18, and I have to say that I actually do prefer musicals that have been written more recently. I love the idea of being able to actually see the people who are singing on the cast recording, rather than knowing that they are long gone. Sure, there are shows that I will always love that are quite old, but I truly prefer the newer musicals. I think it's fun to follow a show from it's beginning stages at up until it hits broadway. So I guess that's just my opinion on this...

[feinstein9]

Posted: 8/2/10 at 7:00am

Well, this has been a very interesting thread, for sure.

One thing that hasn't quite been mentioned yet, though, is maturity. That term is subjective, but I think it comes into play. Some young people are very mature for their age and thereby more inclined to a greater sophistication in music.

For example, when I was 16 there was the Sondheim Celebration at the Kennedy Center, and I dragged my parents halfway across the country to spend two weeks in D.C. ... just for theater.

At 12/13 I was obsessed with the Great American Songbook, knowing every Gershwin tune by heart.

So, it seems to me, the assumption shouldn't necessarily be made about age as much as maturity. There are adults who fawn over the imperfect rhymes and bombastic score of Wicked, just as there are teens who treasure the cleverness of Cole Porter, et al. This along with several of the points made already (exposure, ability to identify w/ the source material, etc).

I will echo what someone mentioned earlier... sometimes, the minority screams louder than the majority.