Not a playlist this week but a look at the current musical season. Big hit musicals like WICKED or the LION KING have one thing in common....Five or six good songs along with a concept that is attractive to ALL audiences and if you look back over the last decade all Big Musicals have the same ingrediants. Go further back and you find that shows like PHANTOM,MY FAIR LADY, LES MIS,EVITA,OKLAHOMA,THE KING AND I have a dozen or so hit songs in their scores. Arguably, the record charts assisted these earlier musicals but I feel, these shows would have succeeded even without the chart success they acheived.
Everything these days is concept and hit-film based without any discernable care about really excellant melodies and singable lyrics. SISTER ACT...no great songs....LOVE STORY....pretty but forgettful....GHOST...modern with one good song...Unchained Melody...and that doesn't come from a current songwriters pen.BETTY BLUE EYES....NO ALBUM RELEASED YET....THE JERSEY BOYS....old Four Seasons music,etc,etc. American new shows on Broadway follow the same pattern with even Andrew Lloyd Webber's LOVE NEVER DIES not opened yet. I suppose it still needs work.I think it needs more melodious songs. There have been four enchanting songs written for the WIZARD OF OZ why not LOVE NEVER DIES.
I suppose you could say it's a great financial gamble to put on a musical in these times, but so far all the new ones that have appeared recently have a play-safe feel about them. Play -safe.....I don't think so....Take a chance. It is more likely to work.BOOK OF MORMON took a big chance on Broadway with it's controversial and extraordinary concept. You just can't get a seat!!
I will be playing tracks from GHOST the musical next Sunday. It opens this week in the West End.
TUDNOFM.107.8 OR ONLINE AT TUDNOFM.CO.UK AND CLICK ON THE LINK.
MAGIC OF THE MUSICALS...SUNDAY AFTERNOONS 2-4PM
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