The future of the jukebox musical- Page 2

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 2:54pm

Well put, Margo.

The problem is that hungry producers seem to have jumped on the success wagon of Mamma Mia, and they missed the point. A bag of "hit songs" with a plot thrown around it doesn't equal a "hit show." They've approached it like it was the fast food of Broadway. Such a shame! And we have lots of stale french fries floating around these days.

[lildogs]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 2:59pm

Good point, Margo...the problem with so many of the jukebox songs is that they don't work well out of context--The Ballad Of John and Yoko or Jailhouse Rock doesn't have room for interpretation like a "But Not For Me" or a "Anyplace I Hang My Hat is Home"...I don't know why I thought of those two-but I think they have many shades of meaning that most pop music doesn't have. I mean "Mairzy Doats" doesn't mean anything either, so it's not a rock thing.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 3:02pm

But I think they incorportaed Jailhouse Rock well (the Mayor's dream of having everyone in jail).

But, see, I can't call Lennon a jukebox because it isn't old music set to a new story.

Same with BFO.

but with Lennon, I would say it is no different than one person putting on a solo show.

Indeed, it is a Biographical Musical.

The problem is from the concept idea.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 3:14pm

I seldom ever see 'The Boy From Oz' included in this conversation, and in principle, it's a jukebox musical, too. Like 'Lennon,' it tells the story of an entertainer and sets to dramatize it by plugging in his pop songs (which were not originally written for that purpose). But 'The Boy From Oz' is a jukebox musical that succeeded because it had the star power of Hugh Jackman. Not surprisingly, its producers closed the show when they couldn't come up with a marketable replacement.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 3:17pm

I think we need a phrase for shows that have old songs with a new plot.

But I think under that umbrella there are:

Revues
Jukebox Musicals (Gramophone )
Biographical Musicals

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 3:26pm

Well, revues don't have plots -- that's what makes them revues.

And sorry, Lennon, just like Boy From Oz (and Wayman points out) is a jukbox musical. "Biographical musical" is a fake term that doesn't mean anything. If the songs in the show were not written specifically for the show and specifically to fit in that book and the book came YEARS after the songs were written then, by definition, it's a jukebox musical. Period. That the book is a biographical story does not matter.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 3:34pm

Well, I'm saying they are all the in the same boat in terms of being a Broadway Musical.

But yes, in theory, a bio musical IS a jukebox musical...but, in a way, the bio musical's songs are set to the life of a person...so it's more like the history of how each song came to be...like the movie "LA BAMBA."

And a show like Lennon, where it's all LENNON - I mean, the show is autobiographical in nature.

There's something different about taking ABBA songs and putting them into a story made AROUND the songs.

I mean, the bio musical is more between a REVUE (with no plot) and a Jukebox (which has a formed plot). This is because the bio musical's plot was not made FOR the show. It happened, it's a true story. It was only formatted to work on the stage.

So, for me, those are the three different types.

Revues, to me, are more like concerts performed by people who did not write the music.

Bio musicals are historical in nature.

Jukebox musicals are old songs in new shows, with plots that have nothing to do with the songs.

But, in the overall general aspect of a Broadway show, you have "new shows, new music" and "new shows, old music."

The above three types fit into the latter category.


ETA: I think Jukebox musicals are the closest attempt to creating a "typical" Broadway show.




Updated On: 9/16/05 at 03:34 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 3:38pm

Deep. You're really deep BSoBW2.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 3:39pm

Well, I can't have people thinking that!

<---Oooo, look how pretty!

[lildogs]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 3:42pm

I'm with Margo--Yankee Doodle Dandy is a biographical musical. I'll Cry Tomorrow is a biographical musical. Fiorello! is a biographical musical....they are also real musicals.

Lennon is a tribute concert with incidental dialogue about his life and relationship to Yoko--being about a real-life person doesn't exempt it from being a jukebox musical. It's the way the show is developed and created that makes it a jukebox musical, not the subject matter.

[TG4802]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 4:05pm

Margo makes an interesting point. The genre has been around since the dawn of musical theatre. They were called trunk box musicals back then and I guess an example would be the staged version of the Marx Bros "Animal Crackers" (1924 I think) which utilized the "pop" songs of Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar. This is one of the reasons all the harsh criticisms are a bit perplexing for me. The genre has never lent itself to "high drama" but more light entertainment which has always had a place in theatre.

I would say that Jukebox Musicals refer to all musicals that use pre-existing scores. A sub-catagory would be the Catalogue Musical which tells the personal story of the composer(s) and/or their contribution to society and the music industry.

The catalogue musical hasn't been around as long and probably needs more tweaking before it will enjoy commercial success.

Shows like Crazy for You and Movin' Out have proven their worth, so I'd have to say that like the revival, the genre is here to stay.

[CastAlbumFan]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 4:39pm

In a couple of weeks, I'll be seeing Broadway-bound RING OF FIRE, the Johnny Cash jukebox musical conceived by Richard Maltby, Jr. Maltby was the one who conceived AIN'T MISBEHAVIN', and I've heard lots of positive buzz from some people I know who saw the show. I'll post a review after I've seen it.

[freeadmission]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 5:49pm

They're making a Johnny Cash bio musical?!?! Where can I find more information on that?




My boyfriend is gonna flip. LOL

[CastAlbumFan]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 6:19pm

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/94275.html

http://www.broadway.com/Gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=517708

I can't wait to see it! I'm curious as to how they'll put "A Boy Named Sue" in it.

[mlsheehan]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 7:30pm

I'll be interested to see what you all say about "Jersey Boys" when it comes around.

It's a biographical musical, but I believe it's well crafted. The book has a dramatic arc that builds tension and pulls the audience in. The staging was clever. The cast first rate. I believe that it has a real shot on Broadway because, in addition to the above, it's an East Coast story. Those that are older will remember the music, and those that are younger will be pulled into the story. (I'm somewhere in between as I knew the music, but literally none of the back story.)

It was by far the best of the lot that I've seen. I admit it, I enjoyed "Mamma Mia" (didn't think it was art, but fun), and of course, "Crazy For You". Wasn't that fond of "All Shook Up" - I didn't think the book was that clever and the songs were too chopped up. I can't even listen to the OBCR.

I think there is definitely a future for GOOD jukebox musicals. For me, most of the ones that failed weren't good (ASU included), and shouldn't have been put on Broadway in the first place.
Updated On: 9/17/05 at 07:30 PM