I Am What I Am...a little bit of something else...

Hi everyone, hope you’re all well. Yet again, today’s post is going to be slightly different from the normal review type of post that I do; it’s more of a discussion point, if that makes sense. As I’ve mentioned in the previous few blogs I’ve been really busy writing essays and, well, this post sort of relates to one of those essays.

For our drama work this semester, we have been studying contemporary theatre and focusing on playwrights such as Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill, Sarah Daniels, Tanika Gupta, Eve Ensler, Claire Dowie and Caryl Churchill…if you’re into plays I suggest you take a look, although be prepared to have your eyes opened by some of them…let’s just say Sarah Kane’s Blasted is not for the faint hearted! Well, for part of our assessment we were asked to write a piece about what theatre is for and whether it can modify society. I won’t go into all I wrote on here as this is a bit of fun…I bet you don’t want to see references popping out from here, there and everywhere :p. However, this got me thinking, about what musical theatre is for and whether it can modify society.

In my opinion the simple answer is, yes it certainly can. I know that there are some high up in the world of drama that have little regard for musicals and their purpose; Schechner (2002:38-39) says that, ‘A Broadway musical will entertain, but little else.’…oh Christ I just referenced in a blog, well it was kind of important so you can forgive me for that J. I have to say though, that maybe these people who see musicals as simply entertainment are really not looking hard enough.

Let’s make a list of all the musicals that are known for having a message to say (this is just off the top of my head so please feel free to let me know anymore that you know of):

·        Spring Awakening – comments on abortion, homosexuality, rape, child abuse and suicide.

·        Hair – not only for the obvious Vietnam War message but this musical, also, was a key force to changing theatre due to its involvement with the abandonment of the censorship laws in 1968!

·        Billy Elliot – informing people about the miners’ strike and speaking of acceptance of individuality (ooh I forgot to put Expressing Yourself in my last post…please click here to view).

·        Children of Eden – teaches the Christian creation story and the first few books of the Bible…oh and look there’s a message of acceptance there as well.

·        Hairspray – the segregation and integration policies in America… oh and acceptance too.

·        Cabaret – makes a comment on the beginning of the Nazi regime…with a little bit of acceptance thrown in there for good measure.

·        Les Misérables – part of the French Revolution…and much, much more; too much to say here.

·        Miss Saigon – the Vietnam Conflict…and there’s that message of acceptance again.

·        Witchfinder – the Salem witch trials…oh and look here’s our old friend acceptance.

 

So that’s nine musicals off the top of my head that can explicitly be seen to be teaching their audience about something. Oh and I bet you noticed that acceptance was a reoccurring theme in the majority of shows mentioned. Well, actually if you think about it, the majority of musicals all have something to say about accepting either one area of society or just in general…take Priscilla (you knew that was coming didn’t you :p), which could be said to be a load of cheese and just a show for fun but if you actually look under all that glitz and all those sparkles it's a story about three people searching to be accepted for who they are, also, when Mitzi/Tick says, ‘No matter how tough you think you are, no matter how immune you think you’ve become, it still hurts’, at the start of either Both Sides Now or True Colours, it always reminds me how everyone is a person with feelings and even those who appear not to care what others say, really do…just like in Wicked when Fiyero says to Galinda about Elphaba (this may not be exactly word perfect but it’s near enough), ‘She really doesn’t give a stuff about what everyone else thinks’ and Galinda replies, ‘Oh she does, she just chooses not to show it’. To me, it is this message that people really need to hear; it is this message that really has the potential to change society…something as simple as looking at another person and just seeing a person and accepting them for who they are.

So the message IS there in the majority of musicals but do they really have the power to change society? Firstly, yes they do because for me they have created a society…please may I draw your attention to the wonderful Musical Theatre Appreciation Society on Facebook…a place where people who like musicals share ideas, thoughts and news about musical theatre.

Secondly, the amount of people who go and see a musical is rather immense…have you ever tried getting tickets for Matilda at short notice not to mention the Book of Mormon? Come to think of it the Priscilla tour has been sold out at quite a number of venues with Wimbledon selling out for the whole week! Just think about that amount of people seeing a musical, people who may not find any other type of theatre accessible…well if just one person’s views are changed per show, that’s seven people a week for one musical…it is my opinion though that there will be a few more people who see the world a different way, and more importantly, see people a different way, after seeing a musical. I know changing one person’s views doesn’t mean society is changed but it only takes a spark to light a fire if you see what I mean.

And, finally, but probably most importantly, what has musical theatre done for me? Well, Wicked and Priscilla has seen me through some of the darkest times in my life…they’ve taught me to hope for a better world, to know that sometimes other people may not agree with what you believe in but as long as you’re doing it for the right reasons then it’s ok. Musical theatre has taught me to stand up for myself, to fight for what I believe in and to see that when the world around me is crashing in there is a better time for all of us. Musical theatre has made me laugh, cry, brought me some great friends and some enemies too but it’s given me the strength to fight these and not let them get to me, it’s made me happy and it’s made me sad and, I’d like to think, it’s made me more accepting of people (though I can’t really be the judge of that). All in all I have to say that musical theatre has made me who I am today and it’s given me the courage to stand up and say I AM WHAT I AM! Yes I am just one person, no I am not society but I believe that if musical theatre has had this much of an impact on me then I bet it has on some other people too.

And it is because of this that I truly and deeply believe that musical theatre can change society!

Well, I hope you enjoyed that…I’d be really interested to hear your points of view on whether musical theatre can change society…but more importantly on what musical theatre has done for you. Please let me know by either commenting below or tweeting me at @GreenGirlsRox.

Thank-you for reading J

Love

Kat