BackStage Utah

IMHO, as far as the general theatergoing public is concerned, musicals are indeed the "shorthand" pieces of theater. We live in a fast paced society, mass entertainment is simple, people don't have to work at being entertained anymore. That is the beauty behind most musicals. Plays take work from an audience, which today's society just doesn't want to do anymore. That is the sad fact. That is why, even on Broadway, musicals are the moneymakers. It's a sad and tragic fact.

That's my two cents worth. I totally disagree with this sentiment in the public though. I think the public is lazy and is missing out on a rich cornucopia of wonderful entertainment by sticking to musicals. Musicals are great and they have their place, but there is so much more out there. And sorry, I have to disagree, IMHO bad acting is even more harder to hide in musicals. OMG! If you can't make the process from script to music and then back to script beliveable, I'm outta there in a New York minute. Bad acting ruins musicals every time! Music is only the tool to move a plot along and to express something that cannot be expressed in words alone. No more no less. The acting IMHO has to be at the top of its game for it to work! That is why so many productions, not the material itself, suck!

Tshep wrote on Jun 19^th, 2008 at 9:16am:


Well, lucky for you then, because the U is doing it in November!  Of course, they have to start taking a serious interest in Martin MacDonagh AFTER I graduate, but such is the nature of flux within this world...

I personally love straight plays almost as much as musicals. Unfortunately, I usually get cast in musicals because I can sing and fake dance, and as such I've developed a lot more familiarity with musical theatre than non-musical theatre. Some of my most fun theatre experiences, though, were doing things like Caucasian Chalk Circle or Cash on Delivery! in high school, and if I thought I could get cast in plays as often as I'm cast in musicals, I'd audition for them much more often. But, just like musicals, straight plays rely mostly on type; and most theatres, especially in Utah, rely on familiar faces. At stops like SLAC or Plan-B or USF, I'm still just a college student without his Equity card, who, 90% of the time, doesn't fit the role. And on top of that, there are much better actors going for the roles. So, my resume ends up dominated by what I know best: musicals.

Here's just a theory:

Pace is one of the more complicated and advanced things in theatre, I think. Learning to act on the line, taking the air out, driving the rythyms of a scene. It's vital in "straight" plays to have that sense of pace, but it's something that's lacking in many productions, especially in venues where tyere's less training and/or experience.

In Musicals, much of that pace is done for you. I realized when working on a recent musical that there wasn't much we could do to shave time off the show. Tightening the dialog will only do so much, as a great majority of the running time is determined by the music.

In "straight" plays, the pacing is usually up to the actors and director to find. In musicals, that's largely the creation of the composer, and the musical director's interpretation of the tempo notation. It's a bit easier to control pace in a musical, and that means it's generally a more enjoyable experience for the audience.

Toddy wrote on Jun 19^th, 2008 at 8:43pm:


there is no smiley face that lets me applaud this quote. My sentiment exactly. There are SOOOOOo many wonderful plays out there that mainstream america totally misses because of mass media and the easy access we all have to entertainment. It is soooo sad. Don't get me wrong, I'll be the first to admit that I love the occasional season of next top model or project runway or american idol, and especially don't get me wrong...I ADORE musicals. I have done more musicals than plays, and it is a top passion in my life...but I think that highschools and colleges should be required to learn or should at least suggest that their students read the pulitzer prize winning plays of the past years. Such a rich canon of american art. Such a rich cultural experience. I feel bad for people that don't know these wonderful plays.