Music and Spectacle

My, how times have changed. Music and spectacle have always been part of theatre. In his classic Poetics, Aristotle lists them among the six major elements of theatre, namely plot, character, thought, diction, music, and spectacle.

Plot and character are traditionally the most important elements of a play; thought and diction are next; and in the classic sense, music and spectacle have usually been relegated as the least of these elements.

But look at Broadway today. In my Denver newspaper, each week is a listing of Broadway offerings, and of the 20 or so shows listed, most are large-scale musicals, a few are revivals (usually of large-scale musicals), a couple are one-persons shows (can these really be considered 'plays'?), and maybe there is one straight play.

According to the tastes of Broadway, music and spectacle are the key elements worth considering. Miss Saigon, for example, a Vietnam-set adaptation of Madame Butterfly, includes a helicopter flying on stage. In Cats, there is little story line; rather there are colorful costumes and lots of songs and dancing. Rent has a plot, but the music and dancing really carry it.

It seems Broadway is relying on spectacle to compete with movies, and relying on music to compete with (or piggyback upon) the recording industry.

There was a time when the appearance of Oklahoma was heralded with sneers that a show about singing cowboys would never last. Musicals were viewed as novelties that would quickly get lost among other stage flops.

Wrong.

Musicals are a very big business, one where it seems huge budgets are again in vogue.

Even the play publishers I work with are eagerly looking for new musicals, or for songwriters who can turn some straight plays into musicals. For schools, they are ideal because more people can participate, especially if the school orchestra is used. For schools where orchestras are not available, the publishers can usually supply a tape to be sung with.

Some people believe that collaboration is no more important than when writing a musical, where the lyrics and music are a joint effort of two talents. So, for first efforts you may want to consider a writing partner.

But when it comes to spectacle, dive in carefully. While Broadway may put on shows with elaborate sets and helicopters, that's not the norm. And when you look at regional or local productions before your masterpiece is ready for New York, remember that their budgets are much more modest.

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