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!
“You don’t have to sing every line in a musical. Talking is okay, too.”
– Ottar, “Lyle the Kindly Viking”, VeggieTales
The book is the literally unsung hero of a strong musical, working in tandem with and supporting the songs for both to have the maximum effect. I always appreciate when a cast recording includes spoken scenes, preserving as much of the show as possible. Speaking and singing the same words in different scenes reinforces the equality of both means of expression in the art form and can serve as a miniature reprise – consider the recurrence of “All you have to do is move your little finger” in Assassins. A spoken line can act as the thesis statement for a song to build on (such as “So Big/So Small” in Dear Evan Hansen) or as the trigger for the singer to react against (“Back to Before” from Ragtime). It can be the sober and sincere ground in which the fun or grand sweep of the score can take root (Marian explaining her decision-making process to Harold before launching into “Till There Was You” in The Music Man). And of course, dialogue can be plenty powerful all on its own, without immediately leading to a song. It can be a punchy delivery system for a joke, draw out the tension of a dramatic moment, or simply and efficiently convey needed information. I love, for example, the wedding breakfast scene in Company and the portrait it paints of the personality clashes, insecurities, and love between a couple.
What are some notable spoken lines/scenes from musicals? Could they have worked as songs? Are there any songs that you think should have been spoken dialogue? What sort of balance or interaction between dialogue and singing do you prefer in a show?