Post by Talissa on Jan 28, 2005 23:00:02 GMT 11
This is very long and probably rambles all over the place, but it started writing itself in my head today, so I put it on paper whenever I had a chance at work. I hope it makes some sense.
Now, I know this is ground that’s been covered very thoroughly especially in the past twelve months, but listening over a couple of things recently has made me realise that one of the reasons we most need our own style of musical is that, talented as our people are, we don’t truly fit the other major moulds; that of the Great British Musical (GBM) and that of the Great American Musical (GAmM).
Admittedly, we do the GBM (Also widely known as the Cam Mac Musical for some strange reason) very well, as has been witnessed in productions like The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and of course Oliver. Globally acclaimed productions of each of these have been put on (relatively) recently, and were great successes, and I feel that a large part of this is because the overall feel of the show is similar to what the Great Australian Musical (GAusM) would be. Okay, so not so much PotO as the other two, but think for a moment about all the words usually associated with being Australian; mateship, battlers, laid back, true-blue… Now, I could be wildly wrong here, but I can’t help but think that (jukebox musicals aside) what Australians would want to see is either a grand spectacle, or something about ‘real people’, struggling through life. Oh, and Australian history’s a taboo. Look at the recent Ned Kelly movie. Even that cast couldn’t make it a unanimous hit. So really, coupled with the media’s dismissal of the show, it should hardly surprise us that Eureka had such a hard time in Melbourne last year. Now, that’s not to say it shouldn’t open in Sydney this year (though perhaps without the Sydney references. I can’t see them going down too well). It’s a show with amazing potential, and much better than a fair few international musicals I could name, and if it does win over the media and the public, which I am certain it has the potential to do, it would pave the way for more Australian writing to confidently hit the big stages, preventing uncertainties like those surrounding Sideshow Alley, which I am still waiting for an opportunity to see, especially after hearing Adam Murphy sing Eyes of a Child at the Australian Musicals forum last year.
What would work, then? Perhaps something like The Castle put to music (No, I’m not actually suggesting that someone do that rashly. While it could be an amazing success and spell the future of the GAusM, it could more easily turn out really really badly. Best not to try unless you’re sure yours would be the right hands. No, what I meant was something in the same spirit; light-hearted and not over-the-top, just something people can relate to. I’m still in parentheses, aren’t I? One moment.) There, that’s better. But we do need one resounding success so that people put faith in our writers. So what could it be? With all my heart I’m hoping it might be Eureka, though that relies far too heavily on the Sydney press. Otherwise, what is there? Paris? I can’t think of anything else big enough to have the necessary impact. Yes, there is more call these days for small-scale musicals, but even they really depend on one big hit to give the cynics faith.
Gosh, I can talk. And I haven’t even gotten to what prompted me to start writing this in the first place; Australia’s ability to put on the Great American Musical. Okay, so The Producers was a hit in Melbourne, and I loved Urinetown, but when you compare them to American versions, there seems a great deal lacking in some respects. (And this does happen the other way round. Look what they did to Boy From Oz) One part of this is that, despite all the ‘Americanization’, Australian humour is very different from that of Americans. So many jokes that set American audiences rolling from their seats fall flat in Australia. Hell, I could name a fair few of those in The Producers alone. And since so many American shows rely heavily on their humour, this is a great handicap.
Also, we simply don’t produce the right types of actors. Have you noticed that more Australian actors give West End a try than head up to Broadway? Yes, we have a few ‘American soprano’ types (the cute, blonde ones, often acting and singing with really squeaky voices, though mostly less squeaky here, thank goodness) scattered around, but there’s a crucial lack of a lot of the other types. For instance, the comic tenor. Perhaps I’m sorely overlooking someone, but Matt Hetherington is the only one I can think of who truly fits this type, and yes, he fits it very well, and I would love to see him in a good comic tenor role some time soon (Perhaps something TPC?). Otherwise, we mostly seem to cast actors and comics who can sing passably, and this tends to be all too obvious when it happens. Now, I’m not saying I don’t think we have comedic ability amongst our singers. I'm certain we do. It’s just that if they’re not going to be cast in these musicals, something needs to change. We have such resounding talent in this country, as I exclaim so very often. Why then is it such a pleasant novelty when I come across a cast in which every person is a strong singer, especially in an American musical?
Anyway, this is far longer and more rambling than it was in my head, but I’ve made the point I wanted to make, and if anyone disagrees with me on any of these points, go ahead. If I wasn’t open to discussion and disagreement, I wouldn’t have posted it, would I?
Now, I know this is ground that’s been covered very thoroughly especially in the past twelve months, but listening over a couple of things recently has made me realise that one of the reasons we most need our own style of musical is that, talented as our people are, we don’t truly fit the other major moulds; that of the Great British Musical (GBM) and that of the Great American Musical (GAmM).
Admittedly, we do the GBM (Also widely known as the Cam Mac Musical for some strange reason) very well, as has been witnessed in productions like The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and of course Oliver. Globally acclaimed productions of each of these have been put on (relatively) recently, and were great successes, and I feel that a large part of this is because the overall feel of the show is similar to what the Great Australian Musical (GAusM) would be. Okay, so not so much PotO as the other two, but think for a moment about all the words usually associated with being Australian; mateship, battlers, laid back, true-blue… Now, I could be wildly wrong here, but I can’t help but think that (jukebox musicals aside) what Australians would want to see is either a grand spectacle, or something about ‘real people’, struggling through life. Oh, and Australian history’s a taboo. Look at the recent Ned Kelly movie. Even that cast couldn’t make it a unanimous hit. So really, coupled with the media’s dismissal of the show, it should hardly surprise us that Eureka had such a hard time in Melbourne last year. Now, that’s not to say it shouldn’t open in Sydney this year (though perhaps without the Sydney references. I can’t see them going down too well). It’s a show with amazing potential, and much better than a fair few international musicals I could name, and if it does win over the media and the public, which I am certain it has the potential to do, it would pave the way for more Australian writing to confidently hit the big stages, preventing uncertainties like those surrounding Sideshow Alley, which I am still waiting for an opportunity to see, especially after hearing Adam Murphy sing Eyes of a Child at the Australian Musicals forum last year.
What would work, then? Perhaps something like The Castle put to music (No, I’m not actually suggesting that someone do that rashly. While it could be an amazing success and spell the future of the GAusM, it could more easily turn out really really badly. Best not to try unless you’re sure yours would be the right hands. No, what I meant was something in the same spirit; light-hearted and not over-the-top, just something people can relate to. I’m still in parentheses, aren’t I? One moment.) There, that’s better. But we do need one resounding success so that people put faith in our writers. So what could it be? With all my heart I’m hoping it might be Eureka, though that relies far too heavily on the Sydney press. Otherwise, what is there? Paris? I can’t think of anything else big enough to have the necessary impact. Yes, there is more call these days for small-scale musicals, but even they really depend on one big hit to give the cynics faith.
Gosh, I can talk. And I haven’t even gotten to what prompted me to start writing this in the first place; Australia’s ability to put on the Great American Musical. Okay, so The Producers was a hit in Melbourne, and I loved Urinetown, but when you compare them to American versions, there seems a great deal lacking in some respects. (And this does happen the other way round. Look what they did to Boy From Oz) One part of this is that, despite all the ‘Americanization’, Australian humour is very different from that of Americans. So many jokes that set American audiences rolling from their seats fall flat in Australia. Hell, I could name a fair few of those in The Producers alone. And since so many American shows rely heavily on their humour, this is a great handicap.
Also, we simply don’t produce the right types of actors. Have you noticed that more Australian actors give West End a try than head up to Broadway? Yes, we have a few ‘American soprano’ types (the cute, blonde ones, often acting and singing with really squeaky voices, though mostly less squeaky here, thank goodness) scattered around, but there’s a crucial lack of a lot of the other types. For instance, the comic tenor. Perhaps I’m sorely overlooking someone, but Matt Hetherington is the only one I can think of who truly fits this type, and yes, he fits it very well, and I would love to see him in a good comic tenor role some time soon (Perhaps something TPC?). Otherwise, we mostly seem to cast actors and comics who can sing passably, and this tends to be all too obvious when it happens. Now, I’m not saying I don’t think we have comedic ability amongst our singers. I'm certain we do. It’s just that if they’re not going to be cast in these musicals, something needs to change. We have such resounding talent in this country, as I exclaim so very often. Why then is it such a pleasant novelty when I come across a cast in which every person is a strong singer, especially in an American musical?
Anyway, this is far longer and more rambling than it was in my head, but I’ve made the point I wanted to make, and if anyone disagrees with me on any of these points, go ahead. If I wasn’t open to discussion and disagreement, I wouldn’t have posted it, would I?
