Furthermore: Where the Headlines Take You

All Singing, All Dancing

Andrew Lloyd Weber’s new musical Love Never Dies (sequel to Phantom of the Opera) is getting some harsh criticism from London’s theatre bloggers and from “phans” from around the world – but, although it's likely the show will see some changes before it makes it to Broadway, it's not like everyone hates it.

But it is still true that among many folks, musicals have the reputation of being shallow or even hackneyed when it comes to plot and character development, and over-the-top in the song and dance department. Like many stereotypes, this one wasn't developed out of thin air – there are lots of lightweight or schlocky musicals, with unnecessarily frilly orchestration and highly emotional lyrics. But musical theater has an adaptable structure, and it's not too hard to find musicals with intelligent, thought-provoking plots, compelling characters, wry lyrics, and socially relevant themes. Here are some of my personal favorites!

Songs tell stories, and stories can be about anything – even the struggle between workers and bosses. Marc Blitzstein's musical Cradle Will Rock chronicles Larry Foreman and his fellow workers as they struggle to form a union in a company town (Steeltown, USA) controlled by wicked businessman Mr. Mister. Cradle Will Rock was commissioned by the depression-era Federal Theater Project, one of the put-America-to-work agencies of the Works Progress Administration. The Federal Theater shut down the production before the first performance, citing budget troubles, but it was widely believed that the show was really being censored for its left-wing political slant. Tim Robbins's 1999 film Cradle Will Rock tells both stories – the story of Larry Foreman vs. Mr. Mister in the play, and the story about the play's 1937 Federal Theater production, its cast, and how it was shut down. The film is poignant, funny, and a great history lesson, telling, as it does, the heartbreaking story of how the Great Depression affected the theater community, and the equally heartbreaking story of some of the political conflicts that eventually led to the 1950s red scare.

Stephan Elliott’s Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert follows a trio of female impersonators as they road-trip across Australia to a gig at a remote casino resort. Naturally this film features a lot of fabulous costumes, dance performance, and lip synching. But it's also great drama, with complex, challenging characters (even those with quite minor roles), unexpected plot twists, and breathtaking Australian scenery. And with master performances by Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving, and Guy Pearce (among others), what’s not to like?

I could really go on and on about this topic. But I don’t have space here to give you lots of detail about every single smart-and-sassy musical I’ve seen and enjoyed, so I’ll close with a terse list of further recommendations:

• When the Jack, the Pumpkin King, gets a chance glimpse at Christmas, he becomes obsessed with bringing this new holiday to the residents of Halloweentown. But will they be able to understand Christmas?  All is revealed in A Nightmare Before Christmas, directed by Tim Burton.

• I have a new theory that all movies in the 1960s are actually dream sequences – figuratively or literally. Dr. Seuss’s little-known live-action musical The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (directed by Roy Rowland) is literally a dream, or more properly a nightmare, about the machinations of an obsessive piano teacher.

• If you're sick of all the love songs and happy endings, you need John Cameron Mitchell's Hedwig and the Angry Inch – the loud, brash, and unapologetic story of an ambitious glam-rocker who escapes communist East Germany and comes to America seeking love, fortune, and fame.
• And, last but not least, a musical about musicals! And it’s a classic, from 1933: 42nd Street, directed by Lloyd Bacon and Busby Berkeley. What happens when the star breaks her ankle right before the opening night, and the last-minute understudy is rather woefully under-prepared?

Do you have your own suggestions of musicals sure-to-be-enjoyed-by-people-who-say-they-hate-musicals?  Send them our way!