Comments on: Musical Theater

By: Music and dance

Music and dance — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:03:14 +0000

[...] ago. Something about the beat and the amplification and the crowd enjoying it together. It is part of the reason musicals are so [...]

By: Sol

Sol — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:48:22 +0000

shawn, it's not the version I heard first I like best -- in many (most?) cases, I didn't hear the original first, but it is my favorite version now. For that matter, several times now I've successfully convinced my wife to switch allegiance to older recordings of material which she had come to love.

I should add, it's not a property specific to Broadway, either -- it's the original cast which is best, and only sometimes is the original cast the Broadway cast.

(I will concede it is probably stubborn familiarity which leads me to prefer the original Broadway cast of My Fair Lady to the original London cast recording featuring the exact same leads and better recording equipment.)

By: Jacob

Jacob — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:57:51 +0000

Song evokes something in the deepest psyche of humans. We sing to babies to soothe them and it works. Songs on the radio randomly recall people and events from long ago. Interpretation of music is intrinsically tied to the hippocampus, an area of the brain tied to memory, learning, and emotion.

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro99/web1/Sancar.html

The staging of a successful theatrical production is very different from the requirements for what passes as a successful theater. Plays and musicals must engage the audience directly and the give and take from the actors and audience should not be lightly discounted. As a former stage actor, the audience is the whole reason to be there, and I know that I gave a better performance when the audience was more responsive.

Film, however, does not rely on this interplay. Good film requires the plot to keep moving, tight shots with narrow focus, and larger ensemble casts rarely work.

By: simpsonian

simpsonian — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:05:11 +0000

For me the experience has a lot to do with sound quality and volume.

By: vidyohs

vidyohs — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:12:59 +0000

For all my fun poking but true comments above, I understand those who are moved by live performances over canned. I just happen to be one of those that do not see any difference between a live stage musical or a canned one, they both seem devoid of personality to me.

Now music is another thing. I typically hate large concerts. You can get me to go to a club or a performance in the open, such as a park; but, only if I know there aren't going to be thousands there.

My wife and I frequently attend Blue Grass festivals in the small towns around houston and because of her experiences in Sweet Adelines we find the best music is in the parking lot before and during the stage performances. In the parking lot you find the musicians "wood-shedding" (acoustical jamming) with participants from other groups on songs that they may or many not do on stage. They don't have their performance faces on and are doing what they love. Far superior to what is going on inside the music hall. And the listeners do not suddenly break out in spontaneous, yet coreographed, dance routines as we join them in song.

Musicians jamming late at night after the gig is done and before the bar closes is when you hear some of the best music you'll ever hear.

The answer to Russ's question all comes down to the fact that humans truly are individual and we are all generally moved by different things, or the same things in different fashion. No mystery there.