Welcome to the Musicals Thread, the Avocado’s space for anything and everything related to musical theatre! Every month I’ll post a discussion prompt, but please feel free to comment on other topics, from new discoveries to old favorites. If you have ideas for future prompts or would like to write a feature for the thread, let me know!
It’s August, and theaters are promoting their upcoming seasons, sending out both digital and paper ads outlining their scheduled shows for the year. It’s always interesting to me to look over the small collection of titles and to wonder how they were chosen – what balance of thematic cohesion, available resources, appeal to local audiences, and personal preference was struck. This month, then, I thought it would be fun to imagine being the one who gets to make those choices!
If you could choose 3-6 musicals to be produced over the course of a year (for you to either watch or participate in), with all necessary money, cast and crew, theater space, performance rights, etc. provided, what would they be? Here’s my lineup:
Sunday in the Park with George (I can’t see the final tableau in “Sunday” come together in person too many times. And where I live it can still get plenty “Hot Up Here” in early fall)
Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 (Another one it would be amazing to attend live. And imagine stepping out into a cold snowy night afterwards just like Pierre *wistful sigh*)
The Mystery of Edwin Drood (These next few are shows I haven’t seen or listened to but would like to – this one in particular is similar to Great Comet in being based on a work by a “classic” author and having a significant audience participation factor)
Mack and Mabel (I missed the chance to see this one years ago and I’m still not over it)
Parade
Into the Woods (Bookending the season with two Sondheim favorites about human connection – the first about the difficulty of establishing and maintaining it, the second about the inevitability and complications of it)
Are any theaters you know of promoting their 2022-2023 seasons? How do they look? What would your dream season be?