Threaded Order | Chronological Order | Index
| re: Really? | |
| Posted by: ryhog 11:44 pm EDT 04/30/24 | |
| In reply to: re: Really? - garyd 09:55 pm EDT 04/30/24 | |
|
|
|
| I sometimes surprise myself by how obtuse simple thoughts in my head come out of my keyboard. I think the musical form is improving today but has a lot of making up to do. I used the word "pandemic" to refer to a phenomenon brought on by [the rest of the sentence], not COVID. Is that what threw you off? As I have written about before, I believe the "ill-effects" resulted from a decision that the genre could be largely frozen in the 50s-60s, and follow the "rules" that had produced the golden age. There is no art form that seeks stasis and survives in a healthy way. But we entered a very long phase in which we worshipped the pantheon and insisted on its rules. This has created a host of ill-effects and I don't want to write an entire thesis on the subject here, but I will mention a few that I think are critical. First, we have way too many revivals (in commercial theatre); in most art forms, these are what actual non-profits do. Second, someone (or ones) decided at some point that musical theatre is a rarefied art form and that popularity was a dirty word. Third, as a result, the great artists (writers, composers, directors, etc.) of a generation (and more) were told they needn't apply because they were not welcome. So they went and did other great things and came back to the theatre (if at all) in the form of jukebox musicals, one of the worst thing that has ever happened. And in parallel, we got our stories not from some organic place, but from the hijacking of sources that found popularity elsewhere. Now to be clear, there are some absolutely fantastic exceptions to this phenomenon. But even today, over half a century later, the lion's share of new musicals suffers from this dysfunction or, if you prefer, original sin. For every Justin Peck, who seems to have an innate understanding of the art form, we see choreographers still "in demand today" that are unloading the same bag of tricks that resonated when their grandparents were the prevailing trend. (And I don't mean to pick on choreographers; the same can be said in almost any discipline.) Resonance is also not a dirty word. If I have not helped you grasp my meaning, let me know; I am not averse to trying harder. :-) |
|
| reply to this message |
| re: Really? | |
| Posted by: garyd 12:48 am EDT 05/01/24 | |
| In reply to: re: Really? - ryhog 11:44 pm EDT 04/30/24 | |
|
|
|
| You have assisted my grasp enormously and I appreciate your response. | |
| reply to this message |
| Totally agree, ole chum... | |
| Posted by: Genealley 12:39 am EDT 05/01/24 | |
| In reply to: re: Really? - ryhog 11:44 pm EDT 04/30/24 | |
|
|
|
| Give us something more/different to see/hear/experience. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
Time to render: 0.016811 seconds.