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 never too late for fun and larks
A jolly old flame has lots of sparks!”
– Lord Brockhurst (The Boy Friend, lyrics by Sandy Wilson)
This past Sunday was Grandparents’ Day in the US, a time to celebrate relationships with and the contributions of elder generations. Young adults often take center stage in musicals, seeking a greater purpose or their first love, but life doesn’t stop at 30 or even 40, 50, or 60, nor do its complexities and storytelling potential. Who are your favorite/the most memorable older characters/actors from musical theatre?
A tragic example is Fräulein Schneider from Cabaret. Older characters often have a spotlight moment reminiscing or offering advice to the leads. Schneider does both of these things but is not totally defined by her relationship to Sally and Cliff. She and Herr Schultz prove Lord Brockhurst’s claim that it’s never too late to fall in love, but they unfortunately live in a time and place that also makes it dangerous. With her afraid to stand alongside Schultz as hostility towards Jewish people grows, they break their engagement. Her tired surrender to circumstances, seeking to keep her head down and herself safe – settling for what she can get, as she sang earlier – parallels Sally’s determinedly cheerful insistence that the problems are irrelevant or even nonexistent.