re: Microphones!!

I'm doing an assignment at school and I would love some imput!

The Microphone killed musical theatre...agree or disagree??

Also, if anyone has read any books on the topic please let me know!

Mark N. Grant's book The Rise and Fall of the Broadway Musical has a chapter on this. The book has some big problems (lots of factual errors and some really illogical thinking) but it also has some brilliant stuff.

If you mean they killed musical theatre in the sense that actors and actresses no longer needed to be able to project then yes, mics changed musical theater.

Also, It's not the techs fault if the performers can't sing enough to fill the theater.

I think it's a massive oversimplification to say that amplification, or any one thing, has "killed" musical theatre. Seems to me that there are still new shows being produced at all levels of theatre - Broadway, off-, off-off-, regional, local, etc. A few of them are still even hits, and go to play around the world. So I don't know how you can consider the musical having been "killed" - merely having changed forms.

Plus, microphones have been in use in musicals since around the '40s, when there were foot mics at the front of the stage. At that time, the sets were also constructed with acoustically reflective material and frequently shaped in such a way to act as a sound reflector, so that if the actor were facing downstage they'd be picked up by the floor mic, and facing upstage would be aided with the acoustically-designed set.

Theatres, too, were optimized for acoustic performances. Sit in the back rows of some old houses for vaudeville and summer stock (Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine is one example) - the sound is amazingly crisp without any microphones.

Unfortunately, theatres aren't being designed for sound anymore, since everyone knows they will be mic'd. Orchestras are now frequently covered completely or in another room, meaning that the entire orchestral sound is amplified. Plus, the use of electronic instruments in the pit means that acoustic voices will not be heard over them.

Plus, the silence in theatres is not as silent as it once was. Every piece of equipment - every light, every board, everything that has an electrical current running through it - makes noise. It's not a lot of noise, but the cumulative noise of hundreds of whirring electrical devices means that you already have a noise floor that is pretty noisy.

So to recap - you have theatres that are not acoustically optimized, sets that are not helping acoustically, amplified and electronic instruments, plus exponentially more individual electronic components that all make a small amount of noise that, together, adds up to a considerable whirr.

Much more has changed in theatre than simply "actors no longer learn how to project."

"The Microphone killed musical theatre...agree or disagree??"

Gee, I didn't even know musical theater was sick.

Of course "The Microphone" didn't kill musical theater. I will admit that there have been instances of musical theater being made severely ill by trying too hard to compete with blockbuster motion pictures. The symptoms of this aren't just microphones, but include acoustically isolated pits, synthesizer driven orchestrations, multi million dollar automated sets and productions that put far more energy into visual spectacle than story telling.

In spite of all this, musical theater is nowhere near dead.

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Make sure in this assignment you include something about the whole Broadway Unplugged concept,
That we actually make it a point to showcase performers as they actually are without interferences of technology.

Microphones in general though, when you get really deep into it they've really been a dramatic change in theatre.
But think about it, now no matter where you can afford to sit when you see a Broadway show, you'll be able to hear what they're saying clearly. If someone were to hear "Dad eats bread" instead of "God is dead." Well, that would certainly change they're experience of professional theatre now wouldn't it? and all because they couldn't afford to be center within 10 rows orchestra seating.

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Updated On: 11/16/06 at 02:30 AM

margo-I was going to mention patti lupone as well.
Choirkid- in the documentary Broadway The golden age, Patti lupone remarks about this exact subject. You may want to rent it and reference it as part of your paper. I know she has actually made statements in other interviews so you might want to google it.

i think they help the longevity of the performing life of musical theatre actors

Was just at Broadway Unplugged. It was excellent, but Scott Siegel mentioned they can't do it in modern theatres since they aren't built for non-amplified performances.

I forget the actual title but it has to do with Sunset Blvd. and then Ethel Merman comes in.

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While in some ways mics have allowed performers with mediocre voices to "cheat" by not having to develop the skills and stamina to project, I think they have freed up actors and directors artistically -- no longer does an actor have to face downstage in order to be heard clearly, and it allows actors a broader range of vocal choices, actually being able to whisper or speak or sing quietly instead of a stage whisper.

It's not the best thing that's happened to theatre, especially when done badly, but not the worst either.

I don't think mics have killed musical theatre at all. I have seen some shows where they have been sorely misused--for instance when I saw Rent, the mics were pushed to 11 and the actors were screaming over them, which made them very difficult to hear clearly.

I'd argue that mics, set at an appropriate level, help audiences by allowing them to clearly hear everything that's happening onstage. Even if the actors project, sometimes without mics there are issues of acoustics, street noise and sirens, etc.

I'd also argue that, as BruceWayne said above, the mics help actors have longer careers and save their voices somewhat. Yes, they need to know correct placement and projection. If they don't, they will eventually destroy their vocal cords with or without mics. The mics just might help them preserve those pipes for a little longer, though.

I would agree that Mark N. Grant's book--The Rise and Fall of the Broadway Musical--would be a worthwhile source for writing a paper on this subject.

I would question temms' assertion that in the past sets were accoustically made to help with voice projection. I have just finished reading "Mielziner--Master of Modern Stage Design" by Mary C. Henderson which discusses the career of scenic designer Jo Mielziner who designed the sets and lighting for over 300 Broadway productions from the late 1920's to the Mid 1970's, including CAROUSEL, SOUTH PACIFIC, GUYS AND DOLLS, THE KING AND I, and GYPSY and nowhere does the concept of accoustical scenery get a mention. And, as for the acoustics of Broadway theatres, the vast majority were built from the early 1900's to the 1920's; they have the materials of wood and ornamentation which help with the projection of sound throughout the theatre, unlike the more modern theatres.

I would also agree with Horton's entry about Ethel Merman's ability to project, without a body mike, to the back of the house. And, I would add, the audience needed to listen attentively during the "Golden Years" of the 1940's, 1950's and early 1960's, and it was rewarded by the ability of the actors to project in both their speaking and especially their singing by hearing a natural sound that was so much more pleasing than today's heavily amplified sound. Today's audiences are lazy and the younger theatregoers are used to a heavily miked sound.

On a personal level, the over amplification of today's musicals has spoiled the theatrical experience for me. I remember sitting in the 5th row of the orchestra at the Winter Garden for 42ND STREET in 1980 and being able to hear the pit orchestra AND the actors directly, not through speakers, and the experience was wonderful. The most recent musical I have been to was DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, sitting in the right rear orchestra and EVERY sound came through a tinny sounding speaker mounted on the ceiling of the balcony. It ruined my enjoyment.
Since there is no turning back, I would plead with the sound designers to at the very least install high quality speakers, such as those made by BOSE. Next month I will be seeing 3 musicals, sitting in the balcony for THE APPLE TREE and in the center orchestra for THE COLOR PURPLE and GREY GARDENS. Here's hoping that the shows will be carefully amplified, otherwise I am going to stop going to musicals altogether.

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Updated On: 11/20/06 at 10:09 AM