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Post by juliemadlydeeply on Apr 21, 2021 20:24:19 GMT
Two thoughts on both the ideas circulating here thanks to reverendcaptain : I'm glad juliemadlydeeply mentioned Chess, because I was unbearably curious when reverendcaptain was too polite to name names of musicals where the story disappointed.. I'd love to hear other examples! Isn't there also a distinction in musical theatre between numbers that are actually musical numbers (Lonely Goatherd, Edelweiss, So Long Farewell) vs. those that are expressing the plot but we don't actually think people performed them (Something Good, Climb Every Mountain, Confidence). TSOM seems to have more of the former but I guess that's because it's about, um, music . I just checked Wikipedia and I think this is related to the difference between diegetic and incidental music. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diegetic_music Yes, TSOM definitely has more diegetic music than most musicals of its time, or even now (in my opinion), excluding jukebox shows! Edelweiss, the opening Alleluia, and Do-Re-Mi are all good examples-- there may be an argument for Do-Re-Mi being non-diegetic, but I think that Maria teaching them the song makes it diegetic. I think that Edelweiss is arguably the best example of a diegetic song from any musical-- R&H did such a good job of making the song feel real that Ronald Reagan thought it really was! (Also, I really couldn't resist naming Chess in my post. Ha! But I'd love to hear other examples!) |
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Post by reverendcaptain on Apr 22, 2021 14:29:23 GMT
Another difference between TSOM and other musicals that I've recently noticed is that many musicals have a character or multiple characters that are so dimwitted that it is comical, usually to the point of abusurdity. No one in TSOM is easily tricked or fooled, which makes it a much more serious film than many others, in my opinion.
Take for example, The Music Man (which I love BTW). The school board can never get Harold's credentials because he tricks them into singing a song together every time they get close to him. It would be really different movie if you could just trick Zeller into singing and dancing and then walk away from him. Am I making any sense?
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Post by indigoblue on Apr 22, 2021 16:45:05 GMT
Yes, exactly. Because all the characters are so beautifully and subtly drawn, it means we care about them and are concerned about what they are thinking - their concerns and anxieties, their hopes and their joys.
Philip Larkin said that for a novel/film to work, the characters have to be believable, we have to care about them and we have to continue to care about them after the book or film have finished. I'd say this forum says it all!
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Post by reverendcaptain on Nov 3, 2022 19:17:08 GMT
We took the kids to see Wicked recently. We all loved it! The songs were good, the characters were entertaining, the main 2 actresses were just fabulous! Though, I couldn't help but notice that it was basically Wizard of Oz fanfiction made into a play. The characters were the same, but their personalities and the details were all changed to suit this new storyline. Don't get me wrong, I liked it. It just got me thinking about TSOM fanfiction that I have read, and what would make a good play.
So the question is, if you had the ability to make a new Sound of Music play, what would you do? A prequel (maybe G&M's lives were somehow intertwined before they met)? A Sequel of life after they escaped? A whole play about some missing moment of the movie? A remake of the original play that makes it more like the movie (which I believe is universally liked more than the play version)? Some offshoot about the children or Max or Elsa? Something completely different?
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