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!
In Changed for Good: A Feminist History of the Broadway Musical, Stacy Wolf notes contradictory trends in 1970’s theatre – a focus on the individual versus a focus on community, reflecting greater interest in both personal fulfillment and social movements such as civil rights and environmentalism. Chicago’s (1975) Roxie seeks the spotlight above all else, making no distinction between fame and infamy, whereas The Wiz’s (1975) Dorothy forms a new family on her way back to her first one. Godspell (1976) and Jesus Christ Superstar (1971) both present the groups of followers formed around the central figure of…well, Jesus. Even the likes of Grease (1971) and Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? (1979) – two shows that became popular choices for community theatre – are as much about the experience of growing up, about being part of a class, a generation, as they are about Danny and Sandy or Eddie and Becky.
Certainly the decade’s biggest hit split its attention more evenly than usual among its ensemble rather than tracking the relationship between a pair of leads. A Chorus Line (1975) recognizes that every character is the protagonist of their own story, but ironically they compete to distinguish themselves in order to be chosen for inclusion in the mass of identical supporting dancers. Even so, if this is the means by which they can follow their artistic passion, they consider it a life well-lived. The show ran for a new record of 15 years.
What are your favorite/the most memorable examples of musical theatre from the 1970’s? If you’re not very familiar with this period, are you interested in changing that? Why or why not?
My favorite 70’s show is the first resulting from the legendary decade-long partnership between composer Stephen Sondheim and director Harold Prince, and it so happens to fit right in with Wolf’s juxtaposition of the individual and the group, right down to the title. Company (1970) follows the unmarried Bobby as he fills his days with casual dates and friendly get-togethers, the couples he knows like mosaic pieces forming a picture of what a more serious commitment might look like for him. And to quote Seth Rudetsky, what’s more 70’s than this album cover?
Best Musical Tony winners:
1970 – Applause
1970 – Company
1971 – Two Gentlemen of Verona
1973 – A Little Night Music
1973 – Raisin
1975 – The Wiz
1975 – A Chorus Line
1977 – Annie
1978 – Ain’t Misbehavin’
1979 – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
1979 – Evita