Info about Musicals
Information about Musicals
Musicals are a form of theatrical performance which focus around singing and music, which plays a far larger part than in other performances such as stage plays. Elements of dance are also incorporated into musicals, and the aim is to create a visual and audio spectacle for the audience. They are a culturally universal area of performance, and are performed all across the world. One of the most famous places to take in a musical is Broadway in New York, which has become an icon of musical theatre since its development in the late 19th century. In London, the equivalent West End provides many top musicals for customers, who will often pay large amounts for the prestige and social status attached to attending a West End show.
Other countries, such as those in Latin America also enjoy musicals, and many different countries have their own unique style of performance which usually draws from their cultural heritage.
Musicals date back into ancient times, when they were performed in the theatre of the ancient Greek civilization. This later grew as the Greek culture was absorbed by the Roman Empire, and many Roman comedies featured song and dance routines which formed an early precursor to the musicals that we enjoy today. The development of musicals around this time was not limited to Mediterranean Europe, it also began to develop in India and other parts of Asia during ancient times. Studies have proposed that musical theatre evolved from singing and dancing rituals which would have served as entertainment and a mating ritual in the more distant past, giving a reason for the apparent spontaneous appearance of musicals across a number of early cultures. In a time when there was no electronic entertainment or special effects, musicals also enabled the audience to visualize better the scene that the play was trying to project, and enabled the used of clever sounds that transformed the stage into the environment that it was playing the role of.
Musicals as they are known in the present day grew out of the musical comedies which first appeared in the middle of the 19th century. These musicals were a type of theatre aimed at the lower classes, who were seen to have a lower education and therefore enjoy broader types of entertainment. As a result, many of the upper classes turned their nose at the idea of musicals, and this was an attitude that stuck for a long period of time, well into the 20th century. In the USA, these attitudes evolved quicker, and Broadway shows were quickly seen as prestigious- and their starts were soon paid as such.
In the modern era, writers such as Andrew Lloyd Webber continue to keep the tradition of musicals alive, composing new pieces such as Joseph and the Technicolor dream coat which can be enjoyed by people of all ages and from all walks of life.
Musicals are a great way to brighten a young child’s life that hasn’t seen any music on the big screen or in performances. They may have gotten disillusioned from boring old dramatic performances, and they may be seeking more in their entertainment resources.