Tuesday, December 01, 2020
On TikTok, Fans Are Making Their Own ‘Ratatouille’ Musical
The New York Times: With Broadway and theaters across the country idle because of the coronavirus, some actors, producers and prop designers have found an unlikely outlet for their talents: a musical version of the animated film “Ratatouille” that is playing out in exuberant 60-second increments on TikTok.
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3 comments:
I have obviously been keeping up with this trend on tik tok and I frankly really love it. I think the article gives it much more credit than it actually deserves, but it seems to be a really fun given the level of boredom thats come out of living in this pandemic. It really is bringing together actors, singers, dancers, costume designers, lighting designers, sound designers, scenic designers, composers, and so many more people to the table. I even saw a tik tok from Ken Davenport, a successful broadway producer talk about the marketing for the show(it was a joke). What I love most about this trend is the fact that people are making sketches out of it and really showcasing a lot of theater in a goofy way. I think that it goes to show that there are so many elements that go into making a musical a production and a lot of friends of mine that saw it were really impressed by the artistry and the different sects of theater from stagehands to designers that make theater happen.
I’ve been watching this thing unfold on Tik-Tok over the last couple weeks and it’s been really fun to see what kinda of things people come up with. I think with the lack of actual theatre going on due to the pandemic, all of the actors, designers, etc. have needed something to use their creative talents on. And sort of like an actual show, it’s bringing together a whole bunch of people from different disciplines to make a thing. This Ratatouille Musical is a pretty good example of how creative types will always want to be making things, and that a for-profit motive is not the only thing that breeds creativity. People are just doing what they love to do in a community that supports them. I also know that some people are hoping that this show will actually become a realized thing on broadway; which is a nice dream but I don’t think that’s going to happen. Especially with Disney’s copyright stuff that would need to be dealt with, etc. But overall, it’s really cool to see this thing grow and shape.
This is one of those projects that just restores a lot of faith in the theatre community. I have been scrolling through these videos over the past few weeks and just love that all these people have come together and created what something unique and special. The best part about it is that there is actually some quality content out there! Of course, I hate to say that I don't see this coming together as much as I hope it would, due to Disney being, well, Disney. There was, if I remember correctly, an arts management student who broke that news on the app discussing how much of a legal mess this would actually be in the "real world". But on the app, this kind of parody/fair-use/just-for-fun content is something that everyone can enjoy. In the meantime, I will enjoy the tangos, duets, chorography, playbill graphics, and even technical design of this tik-tok musical.
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