“Even the darkest night will end, and the sun will rise” – a famous quote from the world-renowned musical, Les Miserables.
There is no question that music has always been a great way of conveying emotion and stories. We hear it to this date in the plethora of songs released. The well thought out, and carefully curated blend of lyrics and background music can move people to tears, make them smile in a moment of adversity and sometimes give the space to breathe.
Over time, a new form of storytelling evolved. One that included a story line, dialogue, dance and music. Music has been a part of dramatic presentation since ancient times, but Western Musical Theater emerged during the 19th century. The Western musical in Britain was kicked-started by W.S Gilbert and Fred Sullivan- the Victorian-era theatrical partnership between the dramatist and composer. Together they created fourteen comic operas between 1871 to 1896. Their first collaboration was Thespis, a piece written for the holiday festival in 1871. The duo returned with Trial by the Jury, a satirical piece about the legal profession which gained great acclaim and put the pair in demand. In the United States, Edward Harrington and Tony Hart are credited with the rise of musical theater. Together they performed nearly seventeen shows over seven years. Their plays were spoofs of everyday folk, and hence despite the addition of stage business and dance over the years, they ensured that ordinary people could afford to see these shows. Their breakthrough was a song and sketch in 1873 called the “The Mulligan Guard”.
At the turn of the 20th century, Edwardian musicals and the works of American creators like George M. Cohan gained more popularity as they include optimism, good energy and advanced plots while keeping the stories centered around common man.
From the times of West Side Story through The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Hamilton and more, the diversity of musicals has expanded. Today it is not just a simple collaboration of drama and music but a billion dollar industry. Stephen Sondheim, a well-acclaimed American composer and lyricist, commented, “ Today there are two types of musicals: revivals and the same kind of musicals over and over again… it will never die out, but it will never be what it was.”
The 21st century has seen producers take new and creative material to create new plays like Urinetown- a satire on legal profession-(2001) and Hamilton. Hamilton was launched off-Broadway in February 2015 and was an instant hit. The show moved to Broadway in August of the same year and received critically acclaimed and an unprecedented earning at the box office. Hamilton incorporates several genres of music from R&B to rapping, making it a stellar show. Some producers take the safe route to create rivals of familiar fare like West Side Story, Gypsy and more. Other create an adaptation of proven literary material like The Scarlet Pimpernel, Wicked and more. Wicked is one of the highest grossing musicals after The Lion King and The Phantom of the Opera. Based on a novel by Gregory Maguire Wicked: The life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West, published in 1995. The musical is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz before Dorothy arrives in Oz. The musical includes several references to the movie and showcases the contrasting personalities of the two witches of the land.
The highest grossing musical, however, is The Lion King. Based on the Walt Disney Animated Movie, has a gross revenue of over 1.5 billion USD and has been in production since 1997 with no signs of closing any time soon. Several other Disney movies have been adapted into musicals including Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins and more.
The change for the Elizabethan era of musicals to the 21st century has been vast, and not just in terms of commercialization. Today’s musicals are mostly created for entertainment and used as a tool to attract tourists, while in the 19th and 20th century the musicals were keenly focused on the issues of everyday people using satire and comedy. Primarily during wars and the great depression, musicals reflected society and a beckon of comfort. The 21st-century musicals are either revivals or adaptations of already successful story lines. Not just that, today musicals have taken the form of TV shows and movies as well. Mamma Mia!, High School Musical, La La Land, The Greatest Showman, Glee are examples of how the world of musicals has left the theater and taken to the screens. Having said this, the originality of content and representation of society usually lacks amongst musicals today.
India has a long-standing tradition of musicals including an entire gamut of sensibilities from folklore to contemporary. In ancient times, Sanskrit dramas were staged at seasonal festivals, celebrations and in the courts of the Kings, especially between the 15th to the 19th century. For instance, in the 18th century, the tamasha folk theater was patronized by the powerful Peshwas of the Maratha kingdom. The Maharajas of Travancore and Mysore also competed with each other to establish the superior talent of their drama troupes. The Maharaja of Banaras was the producer and patron of grand Ramlila, a 31-day play based on Ramayan with spectators numbering in thousands. Although it seems like it, musical theater in the 21st century in India is not dead. Several small scale groups continue to produce musicals based on the age of old epics. In February od 2019, The Hindu newspaper publicized a Pune-based band called DesiRiff for its musical theatre production on Rabindranath Tagore’s libretto.
Musicals have the power of conveying convincing stories. Just think about it- drama, dialogue, dance, music and story. The right portion of these elements can create groundbreaking stories and start a domino effect on society. Having said this, I do not think we should go back to the 19th and 20th century to regain the glory of musical theater, but instead, we should aim of finding a balance between the need to telling truthful, hard-hitting stories and entertainment. As a member of an audience, I also believe it is our responsibility to support these forms of art and accept stories that reflect society more openly. These art forms rely upon open audience approval and if at all consider ourselves “progressive” then its time to showcase that. Being open to new ways of art that convey meaningful stories give creators the courage to create content that will make a difference and hence bringing back an essential piece of theatre and music- purposeful entertainment.
By Rasika Muralidharan
Chords & Co. 