For the average human being, Broadway musicals may seem like a waste of time, resources, energy, and money. In a downward economy, who needs musicals. Some of them are not what critics might call high art or superb culture. In fact, many Broadway shows are totally rip offs -- sometimes vulgar, sometimes corrupt, sometimes silly.
Although a case may be made that Broadway, or theatre in general, is not worth the effort, I will stake the claime that Broadway has its purposes. Behind the lights, costumes, songs, and showbiz there is a story, and in that story there is a truth. That truth may be filled with joy, plagued with sadness, are touching our hearts.
In today's upsidedown world, a good song can bring people back to where they belong. I think that sometimes every person wishes life were a musical -- not just because it would be fun, but because theatre is where people are portrayed as people. Real things can come from nonreal situations.
Perhaps if people took seriously taking the serious side of musicals, they would understand the world. As a future music educator, I hope that there will always be a Broadway, a critical world of wonderful creations, and a place where truth meets unreality so that reality sees the truth.
Image: http://buymusicals.com/
Well said. I mostly agree. While I don't believe that musicals can allow us to understand the world completely, or have THAT much of an affect, I think they can help. Musicals can do things that other forms of entertainment or communication simply can not. I think they generally have a very valuable place in our world, and I hope they never die or are forgotten.
ReplyDeleteI, myself, often wish life were a musical--in fact, it is one of my "mottos." As a future participant in the pedagogy of English and Literature, I very much attest to the fact that truth can be found in musicals--they are, of course, their own kind of literature (a "story," as you put it). That is theatre's (and literature's) purpose (one of them anyway)--to show truth, when it might otherwise be overlooked. I, too, hope that broadway will not be thrown to the curb any time soon. May the music never die.
ReplyDelete