Musicals...live or movies?

The musical theatre genre has been around for ever; both in live theatre stage musicals and the big screen musical films. But, have you noticed the more recent trend in the last couple of decades? Let's see how many of us can name the big movie musicals of late!

Hmmm...there's Grease (1970's), Xanadu (1980's) and Mrs. Santa Claus (1990's). Not an exhaustive list by any means.

Looking at musical theatre for the stage one is immediately inundated with choices from "Phantom" to "Les Mis", "Beauty and the Beast" to "The Lion King" and "Rent" to "The Party". There is no shortage of musical theatre on the live stage, that's for sure!

So why has Hollywood all but abandoned musicals as one of the main theatre genres? Didn't we all love "The Wizard of Oz", "Singin' in the Rain", "The Sound of Music", and the vast myriad of choices that were once arriving one after the other?

It appears that audiences tastes are changing. No more do the vast majority of movie goers wish to sit through the fantasy world of the musical where characters sang and danced away their troubles or celebrated their joys in song. Today's audiences require more of their movie experience. It is the psychological thriller that has taken the mainstage along with action films and the ever popular comedy.

Perhaps we are becoming too cynical to accept the musical? Or is it the lack of depth in most of the plots that cause us to stray? Or is it simply that the Hollywood musical has outlived its usefullness in our high-tech world?

The one alternative to the musical lies in movies that use the performing arts as their subject matter. Take, for example, a recent film, "Centerstage", whose characters were accepted into the gruelling world of ballet school. There was enough dancing but the story went beyond using dance as a way for character's to express their feelings. The dancing didn't provide viewers with fantasy entertainment; rather, it was the centrepiece of the story. "Little Voice", featured a plot revolving around an amazing girl who could imitate a wide variety of singers. The catch was that she could only do it in the privacy of her own bedroom. Again, the music was not a way for us to escape along with the characters...it was an integral part of the entire story.

So why then, has the "Broadway" musical managed to survive? This author believes that the energy of large 'song and dance' production numbers can be captured best in a live venue. Who can honestly say that they preferred watching their "Cats" video better than being in the theatre for the live performance?

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