Quote of the Day:
"All this has happened before, and all this will happen again." - Battlestar Galactica
Ok, this country seems to be resembling a corny brick of poo lately, swirling slowly down the toilet (the world) into oblivion with the other bricks of corny poo (Europe, Japan, Middle East), leaving little behind but some streaks of poo along the bottom of the porcelain bowl. But there is still one thing that keeps me positive (well, loved ones too, but my boyfriend seems to unintentionally increase my depression when discussing world affairs); one thing in particular that reminds me there are still good, wonderful, positive, creative, inspiring, enriching things in this toilet bowl of a world: Musical Theatre.
Now I'm sure this sentiment brings a lot of exasperated oh-how-pretentious moans and groans from some readers (or just my boyfriend, who I am pretty sure is my only reader.... you still read this, don't you boyfriend?), but for me, it's oh so true. I say musical theatre instead of just regular theatre for many reasons. So suspend your disbelief and come along with me and see what I see:
1. First of all, there's the most basic reason why musicals rule: pure escapism. The perfect sets. The perfect costumes. The perfect theatrical world for 2½ hours. There is little better in life than a world in which people can break into spontaneous song (backed by a full orchestra) and choreographed dance routines.
2. Secondly, in musicals, emotions are never suppressed or hidden. You always know exactly what the character is thinking. It is said that in a musical, characters break into song when an emotion becomes too big for spoken words alone. Most musicals (with the exception of crap like Legally Blonde, the Addams Family, and Spiderman) contain stories of enormous passions, enormous fears, and profound love. Spoken words cannot contain emotions that large. As a person who is virtually incapable of containing her own emotions at any time, I like that. I mean, try putting this into plain words and getting the same effect:
3. Love/Romance always holds the highest priority. There are very few musicals out there without at least one kickass love song. And they don't just mean it when they say they're in love in musicals; these characters throw out some of the most beautiful, poetic, saccharine, heart-wrenching mush you will ever hear. Stuff that would never get by in the real world. Musical characters in love bravely bear their souls and belt their passion to the world without shame. I can't think of too many times where a person could just say, "...Close to my heart she came, only to fly away, only to fly as day flies from moonlight.... Now, now I'm alone, still dreaming of paradise, still saying that paradise once nearly was mine..." Some all-time favorites include West Side Story, South Pacific, Light In The Piazza, Phantom of the Opera (by default), Les Miz (by default), and basically anything by Stephen Sondheim!
4. Musicals can be anything and everything. Tacky, elegant, insightful, touching, edgy, deep, extravagant, silly, clever, fantastical, and/or painfully real. Sometimes they can make absolutely no sense (i.e. Cats). When it comes to musicals, there is something for everyone.
I recently stumbled along a video that defends the arts against the ever-present threat to cut them out of America's budget. Mr. Spacey pretty much sums up why the arts are more important than ever. Kevin, you effing rule.... And Winston Churchill also rules (just keep listening, you'll hear it).
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
It's not just musicals in danger, it's our creativity, our culture, our, passion, our heart. I know that we have to be making cutbacks all over, but sometimes I wonder, to what end?
But to end on a positive note, here's a clip of one of the greatest musical numbers EVER! Fun Fact: The "Little Girl" is Lea Michele, of Spring Awakening and Glee fame!
