What Makes A Musical?

[Alatar]

I started thinking about this the other day, prompted by my own and others comments on another board that "The Lord of the Rings" is not "really" a Musical. So what constitutes one?

I have an old cassette tape of Howard Keel in Concert, where he contends that "Cats" and "Les Miserables" are not really Musicals, they're Operas. Is "Jesus Christ Superstar" a Rock Opera, a Musical, or both? What about "Jekyll and Hyde"? How does that gain "Modern Opera" status when the majority of dialogue is spoken, not sung.

Then of course, we have the issue of the "Jukebox Musicals", like "Mamma Mia", "We Will Rock You" and the like, where a bands' songs are taken and moved into a new context. Some would suggest that these are not "real" Musicals. However, if these are not "real" Musicals, then surely the same is true of "Anything Goes" or "Crazy for You" as the songs used in those shows were composed for other shows.

Finally, you get to the biopic shows, where the songs are merely part of the life story of the artist, like the "Buddy Holly" musical, or indeed "Jersey Boys" (Disclaimer: I haven't seen Jersey Boys yet, so I may have this wrong.)

So, what makes a Musical?

Dictionary.com says:

mu·si·cal 5. Also called musical comedy. a play or motion picture in which the story line is interspersed with or developed by songs, dances, and the like.


Mirriam-Webster says:

musical
2: a film or theatrical production typically of a sentimental or humorous nature that consists of musical numbers and dialogue based on a unifying plot

Encarta says:

play or movie with songs: a lighthearted play or movie that has singing, music, and often dancing in it as important devices for developing the story and characters

Now according to those definitions, I think its safe to say that "Smokey Joe's Cafe" and "Five Guys Named Moe" aren't really Musicals. They're probably considered "Musical Revues". Likewise with Sondheim's "Side by Side" or "Putting it Together".

Having already said that "The Lord of the Rings" is more a "scored play" than a Musical, I'm going to correct myself. According to all the definitions above, its a Musical, and more so than many other shows which lay claim to the name. It "consists of musical numbers and dialogue based on a unifying plot". Its a play "in which the story line is interspersed with or developed by songs, dances, and the like." and its a play that "has singing, music, and often dancing in it as important devices for developing the story and characters".

In fact, according to the definitions above, the one place where it falls down is that its not lighthearted, sentimental or humorous. At least, those aspects are there, but the overall piece is far better described as dramatic. Similarly, Les Miserables and Jekyll and Hyde are hardly barrels of laughs. Even earlier, would anyone describe "Cabaret" or "Fiddler on the Roof" as comedies? Certainly, they have their comic moments, but are they "Musical Comedy"?

Sorry, for the long rambling post, but I though it was an interesting topic. Any opinions?

Martin

[MithLuin]

I must admit to being surprised that the definitions of 'musical' lean heavily towards 'comedy' - I did not think the type of drama (tragedy or comedy or mixed) was important to whether or not you have a musical.

Perhaps early musicals were mostly comedies, leading to that identification? I really don't know when musicals split off from operas, to be honest. But I certainly consider Les Mis and Miss Saigon to be musicals, and neither of those is a comedy (even if they do have comedic elements).

My own personal 'working definition' is that song and dance routines are an important part of the story telling - the main characters sing. There also has to be a clear story - it's not just a collection of songs. It is distinct from opera because it is in English, not German or Italian I know, that is completely arbitrary, but it is how I think about it. It's not an opera without operatic singing *shrug*. Musicals are akin to plays, just with songs. And plays can be tragedies or comedies, so why not musicals too?

Based on my definition, the only 'iffy' musical is Cats, and that is because you'd be hardpressed to come up with a plot or storyline for that musical. I mean, you could say that it is a snapshot of a meeting of cats, in which they have to decide which one gets to go to the Heavyside Layer, and thus the life stories of the various candidates are showcased. But...that would be pushing it . It would be equally fair to consider it simply setting various poems to music as a 'showcase.' I have not seen the Queen or Billy Joel musicals, so I don't know how well they tie the existing songs into a story, but I am presuming it's not just a concert with people acting out music videos .

[Primula Baggins]

I saw Jesus Christ, Superstar during its first tour (I was a young teen), and it was definitely not a musical then. It was not staged at all; the musicians were on stage with the singers. No scenery, no blocking, no costumes beyond what rock musicians generally wore then.

I've listened to the recording many, many times and played through the piano score, but I haven't seen it in such a long time—my impression is that there weren't even spoken lines, and the story was told entirely in music.

I would call it, not a rock opera, but a rock oratorio.

[Crucifer]

For me, the difficulty is differentiating between a musical and an opera.

Take "Candide" for example. Even Bernstein couldn't tell anyone whether it was a musical, and Opera or an Operetta.

I was very surprised to see such emphasis on the comic aspect of musicals too. As people have said, "Les Mis" is hardly comedic, and "Fiddler on the Roof", despite its gags, is surely a tragedy.

It is distinct from opera because it is in English, not German or Italian

What about "Peter Grimes"? "Treemonisha!"?

Could we say that a musical is "a play in which music has an integral part, often with a central recurring theme or themes"? Most operas I'm familiar with wouldn't have "recurring" themes to the same extent as LoTR has, say "Lothlórien/wonder" and "Hobbity" music (Road goes on/Cat in the moon).

[MithLuin]

Oh, I forgot all about operettas! Certainly Pirates of Penzanze is indistinguishable from most other musicals in, well, style. They sing and dance and tell a story, and it's very funny. I can't recall any spoken dialogue, but then, Les Mis has one spoken line (Gavroche: General Lamarque is dead.), and Cats has none.

To me, what makes something an operetta is that it is written by Gilbert and Sullivan Everything else is a musical, unless it's weird, in which case, it's an opera. If it has no music (or only background/ soundtracky music) it's a play.

I know that's no sort of definition, but it is how I think. I was mostly joking about the German/Italian thing, but just to make the point that to me, almost all operas are in a foreign language that I can't understand a word of . LotR does have some songs that are in elvish and thus incomprehensible to the audience (or it did in Toronto...I forget if they rewrote those for London).

[axordil]

There is a difference in performance style between G&S and American Musicals, or used to be at any rate. It was much closer to opera.

[Primula Baggins]

There used to be a lot of American operettas, some of which were made into movies by Nelson Eddy and Jeannette MacDonald back in the 1930s.

Victor Herbert's Naughty Marietta (which includes "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life!" made famous again in Young Frankenstein) springs to mind. Through modern eyes they are classics of unintentional humor, but they're really entertaining, too.