Muddled Medley
February 23rd, 2009
If you caught the Oscars last night, you might have heard the declaration Hugh Jackman sputtered at the end of a belabored Baz Luhrmann mish-mosh of show tunes:
The musical is back!!!
No doubt there was a lot of talent on that stage, and everyone worked hard up there… But instead of feeling excited or proud after that number, I felt sad…
To reduce a show to a few lyrics and bars (and blown way out of context) isn’t any way to fairly represent any or even one of those shows, and isn’t going to foster any kind of appreciation amongst an audience — reminding them of the thrill of seeing a musical live in the theatre.
And then to announce that the musical is back because a few shows made it to the “big” screen!!! The whole point of going to the theatre is that you get that live energy that you can’t get on TV or film. You watch people, LIVE people, right before you eyes.
You can have a screen the size of a football stadium, projecting the most lavish movie ever made, but that won’t ever match a living, breathing person right before your eyes on a stage merely feet away.
Instead of making musicals seem so big, maybe we should focus on their immediacy and intimacy.
–Sue
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