-does not smell as sweet when you're busy scowling and being grumpy. It seems I find articles with information, only to later find pages that summarize it in simpler words that make more sense. It seems life is conspiring to keep my inference skills up to date, or whatever. Thank you, life, and kindly go take you care elsewhere.
Though I'm pretty sure I've covered most of what is in this page by John Kenrick, some things are worded differently, giving them a new spin, and others are new altogether.
He starts with the definition of musical theatre, which refers to a production using pop-style songs, dialogue optional (I thought dialogue was required...), to tell a story (book musicals) or showcase the talent in the cast or writers. They go by many names, too, too many to list here again, but enough to demonstrate how wide the variety reaches and how far their history extends.
So whereas I've been reliably informed previously that a musical consists of three things, being the book, music, and lyrics, Mr. Kenrick instead says a musical has three things, being brains, heart and courage.
Excuse me, Mr. Kenrick. Were you talking about a knight, or something else, perhaps?
He further elaborates that brains means 'intelligence and style', heart is 'genuine and believable emotion', and courage is the 'guts to do something creative'. It does indeed sound like the makings of a musical. Never mind.
Now apparently the ancient Greeks performed musicals as well. I knew they performed plays, but musicals? They incorporated song and dance, apparently, as early as 5th Century B.C. Some playwrights like Aeschylus and Sophocles made their own, but others might have used existing songs. They incorporated anything, really, to 'entertain the masses'. Jugglers, acrobats? Political and social satire and not unlike today, sexual humour.
The Romans of course copied them, like they did with many things, and then expanded further upon it. Whatever points they lost for copying the Greeks they made up by coming up with the first tap shoes, little metal chips called 'sabilla' that attacked to their footwear. The 3rd Century B.C. comedies by Plautus had orchestral accompaniments to their song and dance. And though they lacked the open air amphitheaters of the Greeks, instead performing in enclosed wooden structures, they 'stressed spectacle and special effects', which modern theatre echoes.
These musicals didn't really affect how modern musicals came into being, but rather just prove how long they've been around.
Fast forward, oh look, you're in the Middle Ages now, where some troupes travel to perform their light hearted comedy. 12th and 13th centuries there were religious dramas. In the Renaissance clowns were introduced to theatre, becoming stock characters, personas that were used in Western stage for centuries.
And them something I have heard about, the question of whether musicals are descended from operas. Seems strange, almost, considering one evokes majestic halls of grandeur and vibrating voices powerful enough to shatter glass, and the other bright flirty dances set to upbeat pop music. According to Mr. Kenrick, "contemporary musical theatre and film are not direct descendants of grand opera." Opera does come from classical theatre, though. Due to being part of the musical movement that occurred in the 1800s and 1900s, it did leave an impression in the musicals that would follow. Operas themselves were created when the Renaissance Italians tried to copy the Greeks, mistakenly thinking they were 'sung through', which would make operas the descendants of musicals, then!
And so, in analysis, I'm not really sure what there is to analyze. It's... pretty self explanatory... Although it seems people tend to repeat themselves throughout history... nice to know even back then they enjoyed sexual humour. That was sarcasm. But it's interesting to hear another's take on what constitutes a musical, and how it came to be (a nice abridged version). Considering they didn't have the technology modern day society has, they seemed to be pretty good at working their way around these handicaps. Of course, that was to lead into what has become modern forms of dance and theatre, but. So perhaps...
1) If possible, what kinds of workarounds could be created for things taken for granted, or necessary, even! Maybe having things so readily to us has made our minds lazy, so why not try to come up with ways to do things simply?
2) I had another question, but it's not coming to me. I'll come back to this later.
3) Do you think the author is right when he says what he says about operas and musicals and the like and what descends from what? I wouldn't know, and should probably look it up (is it even relevant?), but it sounded kinda... nevermind.
4) Greeks or Romans.
Kenrick, J. (Between, 1996 and 2003 sometime). A history of the musical: What is a musical?. Retrieved from http://www.musicals101.com/musical.htm
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