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!
The 1990’s optimism for the new millennium had been solidly dashed, and shows like Urinetown (2001) and Spring Awakening (2006) reflected that cynicism and suspicion of authority. Other shows, like The Producers (2001) and Shrek the Musical (2008), were still cheeky but more lighthearted, drawing from popular films. Still others, like tick, tick… BOOM! (2001) and In the Heights (2005), were directly informed by their creators’ personal experiences.
The hit of the decade, though, was Wicked (2003) – and for good (pun intended) reason. Based on Gregory Maguire’s novel but also taking considerable cues from The Wizard of Oz, it embodied multiple trends of the time while following in long-held theatrical traditions. For example, Stacy Wolf observes in Changed for Good: A Feminist History of the Broadway Musical that the show ends with a community reprise of an earlier song in classic fashion. In this case, however, it’s a bittersweet closing number highlighting that the wider community is still in the wrong and the protagonists will each remain to some degree isolated from it. Along with this critical eye toward the powers that be, Wicked offered the spectacle of a megamusical, the recognizable imagery of a well-known movie, a powerhouse of a female performance at its center, and the familiar beats of a relationship developing from animosity to adoration. Like The Producers, though, while romance exists as a subplot, it’s a hard-won friendship that forms the heart of the show. Stephen Schwartz even consulted his daughter about her bond with her best friend when writing the lyrics for Glinda and Elphaba’s 11 o’clock duet.
What are your favorite/the most memorable examples of musical theatre from the 2000’s? If you’re not very familiar with this period, are you interested in changing that? Why or why not?
Years ago, an amateur cover of “On the Streets of Dublin” led me to A Man of No Importance (2002). The show follows Alfie Byrne in his efforts to organize a production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome by his church theatre group in 1960’s Dublin. Another title based on a movie, though with an original run of about three and a half months, it was hardly a case of name recognition drawing in the crowds.
I’m curious about a different sort of show business story, the “The Red Shoes” retelling Hot Feet (2006).
Best Musical Tony winners (listed with the years of their original productions):
2001 – The Producers
2000 – Thoroughly Modern Millie
2002 – Hairspray
2003 – Avenue Q
2004 – Spamalot
2004 – Jersey Boys
2006 – Spring Awakening
2005 – In the Heights
2005 – Billy Elliot the Musical
2002 – Memphis