Whats wrong with...

[nodaybuttoday4]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 12:18am

CATS
Oklahoma
Fiddler on the Roof
Music Man?

A lot of you seem to have a large, large hate for them, yet, why not appreciate these early musicals? Actually Cats and Fiddler are modern, but all of these shows have helped to build the foundation of musical theatre today. Believe it or not, without Music Man we wouldn't have Wicked or RENT. It took those shows to bring Broadway and theatre to its greatness today. Besides, have any of you seen Hugh Jackman in Oklahoma? It will bring a whole different light to it.

[BEKA531]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 12:20am

NOTHING paved the way for RENT. RENT paved the way for everything else.

[nodaybuttoday4]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 12:21am

There would be NO musicals without the classics. There would be no such idea. It would be an ancient artform. Hun, RENT may have paved the way for plenty of other things, but without shows like West Side Story and the like, realism like that would not have been brought to the theatre.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 12:21am

"NOTHING paved the way for RENT"

Hmph. Tell that to Mr. Sondheim.



And why do I dislike Cats?

To put it in laymans terms, because jellicles can and jellicles do.

[nodaybuttoday4]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 12:24am

Well, I should rephrase myself. Its okay to hate them, because you can always dislike a musical, but you should at least have some respect for them. I understand your point though.

[bjivie2]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 12:25am

Beka, I think it's ignorant to deny shows like The Music Man of the right they deserve of paving the way for many more musicals including RENT. Although it didn't necessarilly change the face of musicals like RENT, it helped to popularize the genre, making way for other shows that would eventually help RENT get to it's feet.

I'm not a fan of CATS because I find it completely not a musical. It's a revue, if anything, and I still don't really consider a revue a musical. I can respect the fact that it brought people to Broadway though.

I sometimes dislike Fiddler because it can be so long and boring sometimes, when it's not done right. I've seen way too many high school and community theatre productions. But it's a monumentally good piece of theatre.

Oklahoma! changed the face of musical theatre, and no one can deny that. It was one of the first musicals where the songs actually progressed the plot, as opposed to stopping the plot entirely for a nice song.

I think all of these hit on the same point: while you might not like them as shows, many can at least respect them for what they've done for musical theatre. And if you can't recognize what they've done for the medium, I suggest you go listen to the cast recording and read the script, because all four of those have had an impact on the art form.

[nodaybuttoday4]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 12:26am

Brillant, bj, brillant.

The words seemed to come out of my mouth.