Active Users:462 Time:15/12/2025 12:33:00 PM
Well, of course. That's what makes it awesome. Cockatiel of Doom Send a noteboard - 01/02/2010 04:57:07 AM
I can think of a few musicals that are serious: Phantom, Les Mis, even 1776 to a lesser degree. But it is true that musical theater is very often comic. Theater, though... theater is pretty serious business.

I can think of two plays that I'd call sf/f. Waiting for Godot is one, and No Exit is the other. They're precisely what I'm looking for, too: they both use the fantastic to remove preconceptions of the world and thereby explore characters in depth. It's interesting that both of them do this in a very similar way.



1776? Really? I was snortling all the way through that. Mostly at the "I'm high" song, but still.

I can think of lots of more serious musicals, though, and Phantom would actually be close to the bottom of the list. Ragtime and Assassins are two that immediately come to mind. Then of course there are the ones that start out light and feel like they can't move into the second act without showing that they are very important by turning "dark". That's a trap that SO many musicals, and straight plays especially turn into. (Doubt, History Boys, I'm looking at you.) I think some theatre is afraid that it's not going to be good if it's light in tone all the way through and doesn't have some horrible twist.

Cabaret and Fiddler do this to some extent in the musical world. Rent tries and fails miserably, because it is horribly executed from the get go.

Sorry, I seem to have gone off on my theatrical rant. I am not sure how I got there. I will think of Little Shop and be happy.
Taking a break from being Ella

Reply to message
Obviously I have musicals on the brain. - 31/01/2010 06:36:33 AM 960 Views
Musicals are tricky things to do - 31/01/2010 07:57:44 AM 694 Views
Dr. Horribles' Sing A Long Blog - 31/01/2010 08:37:37 AM 700 Views
I think so. - 31/01/2010 04:25:27 PM 663 Views
There is a musical episode of buffy.... - 31/01/2010 09:50:22 AM 797 Views
Very interesting question. - 31/01/2010 12:19:51 PM 915 Views
Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide stories were originally radio plays - 31/01/2010 06:16:42 PM 821 Views
Nonsense. - 31/01/2010 07:22:25 PM 679 Views
I feel like I'm a broken record, telling you to re-read what I actually said - 31/01/2010 08:40:17 PM 689 Views
Yes, well, it was a fairly weak defense when you started using it. - 31/01/2010 09:23:49 PM 796 Views
I think you're underestimating the number of theater fans - 31/01/2010 10:00:52 PM 709 Views
I'd have to agree with you - it has become more of a niche. - 31/01/2010 10:16:02 PM 703 Views
I don't know, I've seen a theater adaptation of The Hobbit, for instance... - 31/01/2010 10:11:47 PM 754 Views
Not quite sure what I was thinking about cinema either. My defense was that it was 3 in the morning. - 31/01/2010 10:26:03 PM 660 Views
Good excuse. - 31/01/2010 10:39:13 PM 836 Views
Yes it is. - 01/02/2010 02:25:44 AM 870 Views
I would definitely count Little Shop of Horrors among some sort of sf/f mold. - 01/02/2010 12:56:40 AM 841 Views
Definitely. But again, it's campy and ludicrous. - 01/02/2010 02:25:00 AM 744 Views
Well, of course. That's what makes it awesome. - 01/02/2010 04:57:07 AM 744 Views
Re: Well, of course. That's what makes it awesome. - 01/02/2010 07:58:32 AM 738 Views
There are tons of them - 01/02/2010 08:37:35 AM 894 Views
Good point. - 01/02/2010 10:28:07 PM 786 Views
It is 19th century and it is opera . . . .. - 02/02/2010 06:55:28 PM 801 Views
Return to the Forbidden Planet - 06/02/2010 10:45:49 AM 887 Views
Yes, Wicked does. *NM* - 07/02/2010 04:19:56 AM 276 Views

Reply to Message