What Happened to That Hummable Showtune?

It's surprising to me that I've now written two posts about musicals- I'm generally more of a fan of straight plays- but I've noticed an interesting trend in terms of musicals that I've been wanting to discuss- the evolution of the musical.

In the recent musical "The Drowsy Chaperone," the main character, Man in Chair, opens the show by speaking to the audience in pitch black, discussing what it used to mean to go to a Broadway musical, mentioning that it used to be exciting- an escape into a new world. You left the theater humming a song from the show. These have become instant classics that any theater buff knows, at least by name. I'm talking about "A Chorus Line," "Bye Bye Birdie," "Chicago" etc. Man in Chair goes on to compare these days of musical yore to the present, where he says the main thought of any theatergoer is "Dear God, Elton John, must we continue this charade?"

This comment is funny because of its truth- it seems like Broadway has become a breeding ground for commercialization. This means that very few original musicals are actually original. "Billy Elliot," the Tony winner for best musical and practically everything else as well, is inspired by a movie of the same name. The same goes for the cavalcade of musicals produced by Disney ("The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," "Mary Poppins.") Even the undisputed best of these Disney shows, "The Lion King," leaves a feeling of remorse. Yes, it's beautiful (thanks to Julie Taymor) but it's still Disney. And this trend of Disney musicals has expanded outside of Disney now. Other producers have jumped on the idea- hence "Shrek the Musical" has come into existence, and "Coraline" has started an off-broadway run. For the grown-ups, most of the choices may have original stories, but unoriginal music. "Mamma Mia," "9 to 5," and "All Shook Up" are just examples of the many shows based on the music written by popular musicians. While these can be fun, especially for the fans of that music, these often come across as disjointed in plot, as their sole purpose is to showcase the music. This makes the shows feel more like concerts than actual theatre, certainly not original, and usually not good (as evidenced by the recent atrocity "Rock of Ages.")

The only original musicals in recent years have also been unconventional. For example, you'd never have seen "Avenue Q" back in Broadway's glory days. This past year, the only really original musical (under my qualifications) nominated for best new musical was "Next to Normal," featuring an all rock score and pretty bleak subject matter. "Next to Normal" is about SPOILER ALERT a woman with a mental illness who believes her dead son is still alive. The whole musical is bleak- the mother undergoes electroshock therapy, the daughter develops a drug addiction, etc. This is a far cry from the day when "Oklahoma" premiered and was thought to be too dark because a character was killed (the first time in theater history.) That's right- audiences thought "Oklahoma" was too bleak. With its fucking fields of wheat.

All of this is fine, but there is one real problem, and that's the real point of this article (finally.) These "new Broadway musical" conditions will never produce a classic, like the ones mentioned earlier in the post. The hottest show of the past few years was undoubtedly "Spring Awakening," which, while hated by many, was absolutelt idolized by even more- and managed to create the closest Broadway has come to a sensation in quite some time. Even "Spring Awakening," with its centuries old text may not be considered new, but with the score, cast, and overall energy of the production, I feel it can't help but be indicative of this wave of "new musical." Despite "Spring Awakening"'s immense popularity, I highly doubt we will ever see this show revived. The script and music are simply not appealing enough to justify it. In these new musicals, what everyone goes to see is the production itself, and that is something that can't be recreated in years to come. The shows that we now see as fun and spoofy, such as "Avenue Q" and "Urinetown" will also possibly lose their edge and originality if they were to be revived on Broadway too many years into the future. "Rent," for example, was being referred to as dated only five years after its premiere. Compare these to "Guys and Dolls," which has been revived just this past year. Granted, the production has received very poor reviews, but nobody really cares. They go to it to see a Broadway classic, and that's what they get.

This age of the Broadway musical is not really a bad thing, but I worry that it's not something that will ever live on as previous musicals have. I long for those hummable showtunes we used to have- the kind that people will want to see and hear again and again, many years into the future.

Fun on a Shoestring: The Genius of John Rando

Last night, I had the privilege of watching "The Toxic Avenger," a musical based on the cult classic camp movies from, I believe, the 70's. I'd check, but the point is, frankly, irrelevant. "The Toxic Avenger" seemed doomed right from the start. This is, rather inexplicably, the third time a musical has been mounted based on the D-List horror movies, and neither of the previous two productions have been successful either commercially or critically. Granted, this version had some strong people behind it. The rock score is written by David Bryan, one of the founding members of the band Bon Jovi. The cast too (mostly relative unknowns) has one veteran: Nancy Opel, best known for her powerhouse performance as Mrs. Pennywise in the original cast of "Urinetown." Also from "Urinetown" is the director, John Rando, and it is chiefly because of Mr. Rando that this show was one of the most enjoyable nights at the theatre I've had since, well, since "Urinetown."

John Rando has become a fairly established director, despite a relatively short career. He has directed a few plays, such as the ill-fated "A Thousand Clowns" starring Tom Selleck in 2001. But his forte is undoubtedly the "stupid musical." This strength lies in Rando's ability to go all out. "Toxic" has some scenes that could come off as trashy had they not been exhaggerated to such a comic effect. For example, the ingenue is blind, and often delivers soliloquoys to the scenery, or even off the stage altogether. Another scene where she serves the title superfreak breakfast in bed becmes a whipped cream doused romp that you can't help but love. The production reinforces the idea that, if those involved in a production are enjoying being a part of it, the audience will enjoy watching. Nothing is more present on stage than unintentional tension. In "The Toxic Avenger," the characters are all having so much fun, you can't help but be sucked into their world.

Even better is when Rando has very little budget. Rando is able to effectively utilize the cheapness of his productions. For example, in "Urinetown," if a ghost of a character were to speak, there would always be a visible arm of a stage hand holding a spray can. Rather than try to pull off an effect that he knows would never work, Rando works with what he has, to tremendous comic effect. The small theater at The New Stages, where "Toxic" is being performed has limited lighting space, and a spotlight is provided by a cop holding a flashlight in one scene.

A third strength of Rando's (by no means his last strength, but at the very least, the final one to be mentioned in this post) is that he makes the band/orchestra present in a musical. Too often, the musicians in musicals are completely hidden, occasionally not even present whatsoever. Watching this music being produced, however, gives the audience a deeper appreciation of the music. Take "The Fantasticks" for example- the longest-running musical in the world, and longest running production in the United States period. The music, entirely played on piano and harp, is so integral to the play, that it is inconceivable to imagine a production where the pianist and harpist were not on stage. In "The Toxic Avenger" the band is onstage the entire time, often interacting with the performers (the aforementioned Mrs. Opel makes out with the guitarist after a powerful rock ballad.) They were even costumed appropriately to match the performance.

"The Toxic Avenger" is loads of fun for several reasons, but more than that, it is an exhibition of directing at its finest. Rando has managed to work with a script that will never win a Pulitzer, and managed to turn it into fine theater. His ability to find every moment he can, and make sure that nothing falls flat is incredibly admirable. And you don't need to be a slimy green toxic monster vigilante to realize that.