Theatre Nerds: Everyone has heard of smash-hit musicals such as Hamilton and Wicked. They’re big, exciting, and earn a lot of publicity. Unfortunately, there are tons of amazing musicals that for one reason or another never reach the level of fame they deserve. Here are a few of them.
4 comments:
I agree full heartedly with this article. All of these musicals are ones that I know pretty well and I'm surprised that it would make an article like this because shows like Hunchback and Parade are soon to be classics in the American musical cannon. Not only are these shows that have incredible worth within American history and culture, the music is beautifully crafted by genius' like Jason Roberts Brown. In particular, Parade, is probably the most over looked Brown musical, probably the only show he's written with any mainstream issue portrayed onstage. My reasoning for it is that no one wants to talk about a story about innocence with a guilty verdict, we are taught to trust the law and anything different is simply a narrative that can't be believed. This is the reason why shows like the Scottsboro Boys are completely under looked and avoided by broadway communities. In order to bring these shows to the spotlight, we need to reconsider what we as a society believe to be of importance on stage.
As someone who got into theater later in high school, I never really got out to see a lot of shows, even hugely popular ones like the lion king and wicked. Really, the only shows that I knew well were the ones I worked on in school, plus a couple Shakespeare plays and shows at local theaters. This inexperience is why I really appreciate seeing articles like this one, which helps me learn about shows I had no idea existed until now. Parade and Bonnie and Clyde strike me as the most interesting, and I want to check them out and see what they look like on stage! I feel like one of the biggest things I have begun to gain at CMU is a greater knowledge of shows, between the multiple shows I have seen here and those I have had the privilege of going to, such as the tour of Wicked. I feel that learning about new shows is integral to the development of my understanding of theater, so learning about shows that are more off the beaten track is really useful for me in achieving that end.
This article naming four musicals that “never got a chance” makes me really sad to hear about great musicals that never could run longer than a few months. Everyone has different tastes and it sucks that the people who probably really loved seeing that musical were so crushed when they found out it was being cut short on time. I understand that if not enough audience members come the show can’t afford to keep going but that doesn’t mean it was unliked or there wasn’t potential for a new generation to come, see it, and love it so much. We should set up a program to revive old musicals that shut down before we got to see them. I m a theater nerd so the four musicals mentioned in this article are not unknown for me; however, I can’t even imagine how many other shows were finished before my time that I have never heard of.
There is so much to consider when putting on a musical. The audience that will likely attend, how they will respond to the material, and whether or not there is actually funding to allow the project to pick up. In a perfect world, theatre could be something that is experimental and allowed to have those slower, imperfect starts. However, we aren’t in a perfect world. I think that we have a responsibility, as people who appreciate and devote our lives to theatre, to do our best to support shows that maybe aren’t having the most incredible debut but have true potential. We need to make sure that we prioritize bringing forward a balance of shows that challenge us, entertain us, and enrich us. It is so important that we learn about the widest variety of shows that we can, so we can be a true part of this community, and work towards appreciating and enjoying those works this might’ve gotten less than they deserved.
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