what musicals change trends? — Page 2

The true trendsetters of the past two decades would be Beauty and the Beast and Mamma Mia; Beauty, as Disney's first theatrical venture ushered in corporate producing on Broadway, as well as inspiring movie studios to raid their vaults for inspiration and then Mamma Mia for the first of the many jukebox musicals that followed. Shows like Hamilton that come along every decade or so may be artistic triumphs, but they tend to be one-offs, with Broadway soon returning to business as usual.

In terms of style and substance and even sound, RENT was not a trendsetter. But in terms of capturing the youth audience that would then be tapped for shows like WICKED, AVENUE Q, SPRING AWAKENING and even NEXT TO NORMAL? I'd give the phenomenon known as RENT the credit.

Lin-Manuel Miranda on seeing RENT and how it influenced him.

“Rent” rocked my perception of what musical theater could be in several ways. It was the first musical I had ever seen with a cast as diverse as the subway riders I saw on the way to school. It was the first musical I had ever seen that took place in the present day, and sounded like the present day. The characters were worried about the things I worried about: finding a community, being an artist, surviving in New York.

More than anything, it gave me permission to write about my community. I grew up in a predominantly Spanish neighborhood in Upper Manhattan that burst with music and characters, and “Rent” whispered to me, “Your stories are just as valid as the ones in the shows you’ve seen.” These were not Phantoms or revolutionaries in Paris, or cats. They lived in the Village. Right downtown.

I began writing one-act musicals in high school because of “Rent.

This is a really good question.

In style/structure: Oklahoma!, Hair, A Little Night Music (the complexity of those lyrics, wow - I love how lyricists attempt to follow Sondheim's patterns, e.g., Fun Home, which Lisa did wonderfully), Beauty and the Beast (THE Disney musical - inspired so many others).

Social impact: Wicked ($$), RENT (I love that Lin quote @A Director posted), In the Heights (that diverse cast and Lin's rapping - I loved it), Les Mis, The Phantom of the Opera ($$), Grease, Hamilton (the diverse cast, but I can't see it necessarily impacting Broadway in terms of style; I thought that would happen with "In the Heights" and it never did; but Hamilton might? I don't remember a show receiving this much buzz in a while.).

I know I'm forgetting many, but these are the my top ones so far.

Updated On: 8/20/15 at 12:20 AM

Say what you want about the show, but didn't CATS start the mega musical trend from the 80s?