sung through musicals- Page 2

[bigbigbill]

Posted: 1/9/07 at 8:41pm

These are called "operettas." I think that's how to spell it.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 1/9/07 at 8:48pm

Are you kidding? The Light in the Piazza has a ton of spoken dialogue. So does Ragtime.

Joseph is sung all the way through.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 1/9/07 at 9:24pm

so another dumb question.. for musicals that are like 99% sung through... what's the book consist of?? or is a libretto kind of like a book? because i consider the book in musicals what they are speaking... and the music and lyrics completely different (although the same... know what i mean??)

i was thinking about all this at work... it's a slow day... ha

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 1/9/07 at 9:36pm

CHESS was sung-thru in London but the US version has HOURS of book scenes.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 1/10/07 at 12:09am

Light in the Piazza is most def. a book musical.

"A New Brain" by William Finn is mostly sung-through.
"Bright Lights Big City"

Would you consider "Into the Woods" mostly sung-through. It seems like it has a lot of singing in it.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 1/10/07 at 1:39am

I look at it as to 'the interpretation' of the particular director/actor/actress. It's all up to them, as to how they wish to deliver a line:

LES MISERABLES is a pop-opera (SUNG-THROUGH)
* However, I know a few singing actors who have done several verses speaking a few lines here and there. *

VALJEAN: "We meet again..."
JAVERT: "You've waited for this all your life.
Take your revenge,
How right you should kill with a knife."
VALJEAN: "You talk too much,
Your life is safe in my hands..."

<-- That sequence is known to work both in-song and spoken word ... YouTube it for reference. I know I'm not alone in this.

SWEENEY TODD is an all-out operetta.
JEKYLL & HYDE (operetta)
THE WOMAN IN WHITE (operetta)
PHANTOM of the OPERA (operetta)

A LOT (if not ALL) Sondheims are heavily, heavily dependent upon the songs to tell the story, or at least, have the audience take-in the goings-on (ie: COMPANY, SUNDAY..., etc.)

I'm not sure about CAROLINE or CHANGE though.

Having never seen it. Unfortunately.

Best,
- Mike

[benjamin_barker]

Posted: 1/10/07 at 2:21am

eatlasagna, I would consider the libretto in a sung-through to be the book.

For example, Hugh Wheeler wrote the book for Sweeney Todd, but really as most of it is sung, and the story depends on the music as intricately as the music depends on the song, you could argue that libretto and book are really one and the same. (As opposed to, say, The Sound of Music where the distinction is obvious.)

But generally I'd consider most "sung-throughs" operettas: Phantom and Into the Woods (perhaps), which - although they have dialogue and occasional dialogue-only scenes, are musically intricate. (And obviously Sweeney).

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 1/10/07 at 2:31am

Evita
Jesus Christ Superstar
Cats
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
A New Brain
Jekyll and Hyde
Phantom
Sweeney Todd
The Woman in White
RENT

Falsettos is sung through is it not?

Broadway Baby4 - Seussical is NOT mostly song. It is a book musical.