Monday, April 06, 2009
Easy to Sneer At and to Love
NYTimes.com: "IF the jukebox musical and the 1980s rock ballad are not direct siblings, they must surely share a common ancestor. Both tend to be bombastic and demand un-self-consciousness from their performers; both attract fans who mask their sincere affection behind a layer of irony. Both are easy punching bags for critics in their respective genres, and nobody is going to argue that Broadway needs more of them."
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6 comments:
This is the first time I've heard of 'Rock of Ages,' and while I am a little surprised to be hearing about it, I'm not surprised that it is still running. As far as I can tell, there will always be a fan base for juke box musicals. I'm actually curious to know where the plot lies within the mixture of songs the article was mentioning.
I agree with Brooke. Though there are genres of musicals that may not be as popular as others, there are some that will always have a following and will always bring in a respectable revenue.
I'm actually surprised that it is still running. I understand that people think its silly and a good time, but it just strikes me odd that it has such a large fan base. I was also thinking, like Brooke, where the story comes into play in this show. Is it through the themes in the songs, or possibly spoken text in between songs?
In my experience, I cannot stand musicals like this. The ones created from songs already present in the time the show as written--Movin' Out--for example. Musicals these days are just so glossy and somewhat deprived of deep meaning and context anyway (of COURSE there are exceptions), that I find it even more frustrating to not even create the music for a musical in the first place. So, I'm wondering how the story does fit in to all this.
I wouldn't mind the music itself though. But really, if they want to do something like that, why not just have a musical revue, rather than a "musical"?
While I do not believe that this kind of musical has the merits as one that stems from a story, it is true that it attracts a certain group of theatre goes who might not be. This is never a bad thing.
Surprised that it is still running? We just opened a few weeks ago. I work on this show and it is actually quite a fun show. There is a book to the show, which is a intentionally on the thin and cheezy side, but that doesn't stop anyone from having a good time. It is certainly not Mamet or Sondheim, but the show is not being marketed to that crowd anyway.
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