By: Emma B.
Editor’s note:
This is the fifth article in a series about musicals both the popular and the
little known shows.
In the last couple of years, musical theatre has gained something
of a powerful following. The recent popularity increase started with Hamilton
has been speeding ever since. It feels to me as if everybody knows and talks
about musicals. Even though their fan groups aren’t the largest; people like
Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ben Platt are becoming just as famous as many movie
stars.
So when did this rise in popularity begin? Nobody can really tell
you the exact point when musical theatre began to take off. Some say Hamilton,
some say The Book of Mormon while others simply turn to shows based on
Disney stories. I believe there is a pattern with musical theatre and its
popularity.
So what is
the secret formula? Is it a writing trick? Is it all about the songs? Is there
even a pattern at all? Well to understand that question we have to go back to a
simpler time. A time when musical theatre was virtually unknown. A time when
musical theatre was almost forgotten.
The Rise and Fall of Musicals...Until 2011
Until about 1981, Broadway musicals were relatively minor in
regards to the vast world of entertainment.
They had a
presence, especially in big-budget movies of the 50s and 60’s, but they weren’t
considered the biggest genre out there. The closest things to smash hit musicals
before the 1970’s were My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music. Even
so, these shows only became smash-hits after their respective movies premiered.
You can see this effect with a musical like, The Sound of Music
especially. It debuted in 1959 but everyone only really knows the 1965 film
adaptation starring Julie Andrews. Musical theatre was liked well-enough but
was definitely more of a niche genre than it is today.
This all began to change in 1975 with the release of Chicago
in its original Broadway run. It made tons of money and ran for two years with
a total of 936 performances. It was also nominated for best musical at the Tony
Awards that year. Despite its success however, it still wasn’t enough to bring
musical theatre in the minds of the larger public consciousness. Then in 1981
something snapped and with the release of two musicals and pop-culture suddenly
knew about the genre. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats followed several years
later by its more famous cousin, Phantom of the Opera. These two
musicals were the final push needed to put both Andrew Lloyd Webber and musical
theatre on the map.
Both of these musicals
became pop culture icons. For a while, the only shows that could really compete
with them were musicals based on Disney properties and Les Miserables also
known as Les Mis. This meant people were talking about Broadway more than they
had for quite some time. Although after that point (despite the success of
these 80’s musicals), the pattern began to stagnate.
It seemed after the success of Andrew
Lloyd Weber’s work, every five to 10 years a new
musical would release and steal the spotlight but the popularity was short. Soon,
everyone would move on. Nowadays the opposite pattern seems to be true. The
audiences tastes in musicals being as varied as tastes in musicals. Back then
though, the musical theatre world was far more desolate. Especially to those
only watching from the mainstream. Once in a grand while big hits would come
out but back but big Broadway hits were few and far between. It was even worse
for Off-Broadway shows which really didn’t start getting major attention until
the early 2000’s.
Then,
almost eight years after the release of Wicked, the first big musical theatre
hit of the early 2000’s, something unexpected happened. A little show called The
Book of Mormon debuted. It was a massive hit. You couldn’t escape it and
people still talk about it to this day. You might be tempted to think that The
Book of Mormon’s story
would play out similarly to The Phantom of the Opera. It would be
well-known overall but only known by the masses for a little while. However, The
Book of Mormon started a change in the pattern. It would only take four years
for the next big musical of the decade to be released. It started with a small
following that grew to dizzying heights overnight. It’s a show people still pay
thousands of dollars to see and that musical’s name is Hamilton.
After 2015
Hamilton was released
at a time when musical theatre was at a crossroads. It finally shattered the
glass ceiling cracked by The Book of Mormon and The Phantom of the
Opera. It premiered in late 2015 when rap and pop were some of the most
popular genres in the country and with nearly the entire musical being rap or
pop, it caught on in a different way and with different people. Along with this
musical styles, Hamilton had three other advantages compared to other musicals
throughout history.
The first were
the fans. The fans of The Book of Mormon or Wicked were excited
to see a new musical to fill up their catalog. Plus, the musical had many
talking points in both history and analysis. So the discussions could be
endless. This in turn encouraged more people to jump on the bandwagon which
started the cycle over again.
The second advantage was the internet. Not only did Hamilton have very good marketing but
the album was quick and relatively easy to understand. You could understand the
story purely through the dialogue and, the album was available with a click on
iTunes or Bandcamp. This meant people were more likely to listen to Hamilton
on their phones while they were traveling or doing work for school. And the
internet also came with an unintentional advantage, fan discussion.
Hamilton is a great
musical but one can only talk about something for so long. I think, by 2016, the
same pieces of analysis started to get regurgitated over and over. This led to
new fans brought in by Hamilton
(usually of a teenage to college demographic) looking for new musicals that
suited their interests. This is why many of the big musicals to catch on were
shows like Heathers, Be More Chill and Dear Evan Hansen.
These shows focused on teenagers and their problems which were the exact
audiences who had embraced Hamilton.
The final
advantage Hamilton had was nostalgia. Hamilton had the fortune of coming out
right before audiences were feeling nostalgic about Broadway. What I mean is
that many people who grew up with musicals like Cats and The Phantom
of the Opera were looking for something nostalgic to fill that part of
their lives. Hamilton’s popularity
made it easy for nostalgic fans to get curious and give it a listen. Nostalgia
also played a part in the creation and interest in musicals like Heathers, SpongeBob SquarePants, Mean
Girls and Anastasia. All of these are nostalgic properties that
could bring in a bigger and different demographics to musical theatre.
All of
these factors only built up the snowball so much that when it crashed into Dear
Evan Hansen, there was no going back. But then that begs the obvious
question, will the musical go back to being a niche genre?
Where Do We Go from Here (?)
I think, right now, the musical genre is bigger than ever. The Tony Award broadcast, last year, had
more views than it’s ever had in its history. More obscure musicals like Bonnie
& Clyde, The Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder, and many more are growing more beloved
by the day. This all begs the question, what happens next? Obviously musicals
are not going to fall into the abyss but if you look at Google Trends there has
been a noticeable curve downwards. Even though there was a spike during the
Tony Awards in June, after that it continued downward. Not by much but still
enough to be noticeable. Musicals are still known but most have moved on from Hamilton, as popular as it remains. So
is musical theatre done for? Did Hamilton just get lucky?
I’d say no.
The difference between those other decades and the present is that
often it took 10 to 20 years for a new musical to come along and grab
everyone’s attention. This means that when a show fell out of extreme
popularity after two years, there was nothing left to fill the gap after it
faded. However, the musical theatre world is vastly different now. Due to
the massive success of musicals like Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen
and so on, the cost for a ticket to a musical has gone through the roof. Plus,
with the internet and often the discussions it causes being permanent, the
records of musical theatre and its influence on our current culture will never
go away.
I think, musicals are easier to make today with the growth in
technology. The biggest roadblock of the past was technical work and how to
bring a musical to life. But with technology advancing as rapidly as it is
today, that simply isn’t a limitation anymore which means people can roll out
musicals faster and more cost effectively. Musicals used to be a niche thing
for a niche audience. However, it’s a different world now. It is a world of
overnight marketing, technological progress and a huge fan base waiting for
more!
With all
that in mind, I think it’s easy to say that musical theatre won’t be slowing
down anytime soon.
If you would like to read more about in our
Theatre Thoughts series, click the links below.
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