This document discusses several musicals from different eras to analyze the use of drama, music, and dance in musical theatre. It summarizes that early musicals began integrating music into dramas in the 18th century. Dance was later added accidentally but enjoyed. Over time, musicals evolved to fully integrate all three art forms to varying degrees of success. Oklahoma! was particularly revolutionary in using dance to drive the narrative. The document analyzes several musicals to determine if they support the statement that equal integration of all three art forms leads to success.

1. ‘The success of a musical relies upon the perfect formula or dance, music and
drama.’
To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Over the course of many centuries, theatre has developed and changed a huge amount.
Within this essay I will investigate several musicals, all from different eras, to really pinpoint
the use of the different art forms and the success of the musical overall and in order to really
understand musical theatre and the correct formula of drama, music and dance.
Initially, centuries ago, theatre was only available in big cities, so only people who had money
and a means of transport were able to access the shows. The main place people would go to
enjoy any kind of theatre is New York City because that was the only place that would have
the same show running for several week intervals, much like Broadway still does. Whilst
America enjoyed these long-running Broadway shows, the British rather enjoyed
Melodrama’s, such as Operettas and Shakespearian plays.TheseBritishalternatives were also
only available to upper class social groups.
One of the first major theatre works that combined several mediums of entertainment was
‘The Beggars Opera’ in 1728. This performance inspired the popular family-loved Pantomime
by being the first drama piece to integrate popular music into it’s running order. Lyricist, John
Gay, changed the lyrics within already popular songs in order to give them a familiar feel and
encourage the audience to get involved and sing along,thus beginning the formation of music
within dramatic performances.
Dancewas added to this integration of art forms much later, inthe 1860’s.In fact,the addition
of dance to the now-popular drama and musical performance was accidental. The long-
running melodrama known as ‘The Black Crook’, was being performed in a theatre next door
to another theatre showing a full-scale Ballet. The theatre showing the ballet burned down,
meaning that the performers had to begin sharing performance space. During the daily
performances of ‘The Black Crook’, if the audience’s energy began to dip or they became
bored and distracted, the company sent on the Ballet dancers in order to entertain and boost
the audience’s attitude. On the first day the company tried this new integration of drama and
dance, the show ran for 5 hours as the audience enjoyed it so much! This new-found love of
dance as a form of entertainment, along with the already popular forms of theatre, began the
evolution of musical theatre as we know it today.
The 1860’s were the height of racial abuse and discrimination, this reflected in the values of
theatre during this decade. Although they had been circulating and growing for about a
century, in the 1860’s, ‘Black Faced Minstrel’ Shows became extremely popular. These shows
involved white actors painting their face black in order to portray a black character. These
shows became popular as they were relevant in society at the time. Throughout the civil war,
the Northerners wanted to rid the country of slaveryand pay the blackpeople for their labour,
however the Southerners wanted to keep the black people in slavery due to the high amount
of farm land and little wealth to pay the workers. After many years, companies performing
these shows eventually began to employ black actors to play black characters, although they
were still made to apply black make up and have to imitate their race in a negative manner.

2. Many of these actors did not object to this kind of discrimination as it meant that they could
still perform in front of hundreds of people.
After these advances in theatre, dance was becoming a dominant art form to include in shows
whilst popular moves and styles were sweeping the nation. There were specific dances that
people would associate with different shows. For example, Burlesque was a taboo form of
dance, aimed at the male gaze, used to sell sex and for women to show off their bodies. This
led to men objectifying women. Another style of dance used in theatre was Vaudeville,a more
family-friendly show-style. Finally, Revue was used in theatre whereby women would parade
around in costumes, much like the modern-day beauty pageant. There were many romantic
styles of dance that directors wanted to use to enhance romantic scenes during their shows,
for example, ballroom and pas de deux based choreography as these were seen as intimate
and romantic styles of dance.
As theatre performances and companies continued to progress and develop, choreographer,
Albertina Rasch wanted dancers whom would not just surely dance but be able to act as a
character too, thus influencing many other choreographers, such as Agnus DeMille, whom
would later go on to choreograph Oklahoma!.
Oklahoma! was extremely successful,toboth classicandcontemporary audiences,due to the
fact that it revolutionised musical theatre forever, proving that dance, not only entertained
audiences, but could be used to drive a narrative. This supports that Oklahoma! supports that
there is a perfect formula that makes a musical successful, as it contains all three art forms
equally.
Pirates of Penzance
Pirates of Penzance is an operetta with music by Arthur Sullivan. It premiered in New York in
December 1979. It was successfulwithboth audiences and critics.The narrative sees Frederic,
who, having completed his 21st year in service, is released from his apprenticeship to pirates.
He meets Mabel, the daughter of Major-General Stanley, and the two fallinstantly in love and
become inseparable. Frederic learns that he was born on February 29th so, technically, only
has a birthday once every 4 years. His indenture specifies that he remain apprenticed to the
pirates until his "twenty-first birthday", meaning that he must serve for another 63 years.
Bound by his own sense of duty, Frederic's only solace is that Mabel agrees to wait for him
faithfully. In the musical, movement is used to aid the comedic lilt by dangerously swinging
their swords whilst singing, entertaining the audience.
Comedy songs are quite common in operetta, with the purpose to heighten morale and
entertain the audience and Pirates of Penzance is no exception. ‘Major General’ is one of the
comedy songs featured in the musical. The song satirises the British Army and their views in
the 19th century. The convention of a comedy song is that it doesn’t drive narrative, however
it adds variety. The only link to the plot this song has is that he is singing about how he is a
Major General.

3. In conclusion, Pirates of Penzance does not support the perfect formula because although it
contains movement, it does not include choreographed dance movements, and also, no
dialogue or speech, making it only strong in music.
Showboat
Showboat, known as the ‘most revolutionary musical of all time’ at the time of it’s release, in
1927. It was the first ever book musical and featured the story of workers on the Cotton
Blossom. The musical integrates the three major art forms, drama, music and dance, each
with an obvious contribution to the narrative and entertainment values of the musical. The
music was written after the narrative, focusing the narrative heavily from the drama and
script, which was a first. The characters in the musical were three-dimensional, thus meaning
that the audience viewed the characters as real people and not as stereotypical roles, such as
the protagonist and ‘damsel in distress’-based characters. ‘Showboat’ was also successful as
it tackled many political issues.
The success of ‘Showboat’, redefines what is included in a successful musical as it does not
have the exact formula of equal dance, drama and music elements, yet is still successful in it’s
own right and is still known fro critics to be ‘as relevant and powerful as ever’.
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma is a book musical, written with the intention to entertain. After the war, America
was in a very patriotic state after the war and welcomed this musical, by Rodgers and
Hammerstein, representing ‘The American Dream’ with open arms. Oklahoma! was originally
a play about settlers on the western fringes of Oklahoma, which was once Indian territory.
However, the farmers vs. the cowmen plot was overridden by the love story between the
main characters. During the musical, there were elements of operetta with the comedic
couple being the villainous character wanting to be with a girl, alongside the more serious
main characters in a serious relationship.
This musical challenges codes and conventions of usual musicals. Usually musicals open with
a huge, chorus-based opening number, however, Oklahoma! begins with the main female
character, Laurey, sat alone, churning butter. This is very unusual of a musical.
One of the reasons that Oklahoma! became so successful is because it was the first musical
to fully integrate the three main art forms equally. Unlike other musicals, dance wasn’t used
for entertainment, but to actually drive the narrative forwards. The musical contains a dance
interlude called ‘The Dream Ballet’, in which Laurey falls asleep and dreams of Curly taking
her to a dance. Within the dream, they seem happy and enjoying themselves until Curly gets
killed by Jud, whom asked her to the dance first. She is then forced to marry Jud and spends
the rest of her life as a sleazy dancer for him. The music during the interlude has a very close
relationship with both the dance and the narrative. Each character has their own motif within
the music. For example, Jud’s ‘evil’ theme is a drum roll accompanied by percussion and brass
instruments, intentionally playing discordant notes. This portrayal of Jud through the music
stood as a warning to the audience.

4. Oklahoma proved to be extremely successful instantly and therefore future directors realised
that this formula of dance, drama and music was bringing in a wide audience and recognised
that this was very successful.
Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity is a musical, originally directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse
in 1966. In the musical, the narrative revolves around the main character, who is a dancer-
for-hire at Times Square Dance Hall and follows her romantic ups and downs and day-to-day
life. Of course, being based around a dancer, the musical incorporates dance into the drama
and music.
Fosse loved to include a dance interlude into his performances in order to entertain his
audience and show off his choreographic abilities.However, the dance interlude during Sweet
Charity differs very much to ‘The Dream Ballet’ of Oklahoma! in that it is not used to drive the
narrative but purely to entertain. An example of this is ‘The Rich Man’s Frug’ from Sweet
Charity. It is a dance based in a nightclub, split into 3 distinct sections.
The first section, ‘The Aloof’, containing isolations of the wrists and straight-backed
movements lead by the hips, causing the dancers to seem rigid and dance diagonally. Head
movements suggested an Egyptian element.
The next section was called ‘The Heavyweight’, this suggests a martial art or fighting element,
this is reflected in the use of bells in the music, suggesting a boxing ring. The dancers use arm
and wrist isolations to portray punching during a partner work section, imitating a real fight.
The finalsection, named ‘The Big Finish’,begins with atension of the whole body, only moving
the head and pivoting the balls of the feet. The choreography then bursts out into a section
of improvisation, causing organised chaos onstage, depicting a huge release of energy.
Although a fun, feel-good musical, Sweet Charity was seen as immature when released in
1966 due to the evolution of musicals prior to this and audiences saw it as a step back in
Musical Theatre. Audiences demanded stories with meaning, rather than an entertainment
value only. On the other hand, sincebeing recently revived, Sweet Charity has been successful
as contemporary audiences do now enjoy the pure enjoyment of a musical as entertainment.
West Side Story
Bernstein’s ‘West Side Story’, depicts the story of Shakespeare’s traditional play Romeo and
Juliet, however with a ‘modern-day’ twist, as of the 1950’s, when it is set. ‘West Side Story’ is
originally a book musical, written by Arthur Laurents. However, the concept for the 1957
releaseof the musicalcame from choreography by Jerome Robbins. This musicalhas a perfect
split of music, drama and dance, used to enhance relationships, feeling and drive the
narrative. With it’s unique use of Salsa, Jazz and classical features, ‘West Side Story’s’ score is
recognisable by performers everywhere. This is also a result of Bernstein’s intertwining of
different genres of music within the score, making the music interesting and very distinctive.

5. West Side Story is very much driven by dance. It is said that Tony and Maria fall in love in just
eight lines,and sothe best way to express their story was through movement, combined with
Bernstein’s memorable songs incorporating love themes such as the songs ‘Maria’ and
‘Tonight’. It was the first Broadway musical to feature such a heavy dance content. Whole
sections of the plot are made clear through Robbins’ explosive and expressive choreography,
West Side Story was a huge turning point for musicals as, for the first time, dance was used
as a huge medium and used to drive narrative, and musicals would never be the same again
meaning that this was very influential of later musicals, which adapted to this new structure,
using movement as a way of expressing a narrative.
One of the main, memorable moments in ‘West Side Story’ is the overture. An overture is
used at the beginning of a musical in order to set the scene and establish relationships
between, not only characters but art forms. The overture of ‘West Side Story’ is a perfect
example of the effects of an overture, it helps to establish the relationship between the two
groups of dancers, ‘The Sharks’ and ‘The Jets’. The music helps to make the differences and
rivalry between the two groups apparent as each group/gang has their own genre of music,
which is made obvious right from the start and continued throughout the entire musical.
When the Jets dance, their music includes feature of jazz music and the Sharks dance to
features of salsa. This also establishes the gangs culture and background instantly as an
American group and a Latin group. The relationship between music and dance is important in
this section as the overture allows the audience to make their own inferences and imagine
the nature of the musical and help them decide what to expect. The overture plays on an
audience’s curiosity and makes them familiar with each song, as it usually features a section
of each, thus subconsciously making the songs more memorable to an audience.
West Side Story is a prime example of a musical with the ‘perfect formula’ of dance, music
and drama. It supports the idea that a musical is successful when it contains equal amounts
of the three art forms. West Side Story was majorly successful due to its substantial amount
of dance content compared to what audiences had seen previously.
Grease
Set in 1959, Grease follows a group of high school seniors through their final year at Rydell
High School. The narrative revolves around the love story between new girl, Sandy
Dumbrowski, and leader of the ‘T Birds’, the most popular boy clique in school, Danny Zuko.
Its themes include love, sexual exploration, peer pressure and popular culture of the 1950’s
in America.
Along with Hairspray, Grease also has an incredibly memorable finale. Although, like
Hairspray, the song ‘We Go Together’ has a fast tempo and a fun light-hearted theme
featuring musical characteristics from 1950’s rock and roll. it also features an element of
sadness as it is the teen’s final song together as they leave Rydell High and move on with their
lives and grow up apart. The final scenes in Grease feature several dance breaks, featuring
relevant dance moves of the 1950’s, exploring popular culture.

6. Grease contains a high amount of all three art forms, primarily supporting the ‘perfect
formula’. The use of allthree art forms, music, dance and drama, helps to support the themes
of 1950’s culture and teenage lives.
Chicago
Chicago is an American book musical, premiering in 1972, written by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse.
The musical is set in Chicago during the prohibition era in the 1920s. It is based on a play of
the same name from 1926 by an American reporter named Maurine Dallas Watkins about
actual criminals and crimes she had reported on. The story is a satire on corruption in the
court of criminal justice and explores the concept of the "celebrity criminal" through all three
art forms, drama, music and dance. Chicago differs too many other musicals as it includes
much more dance than any other musical. It uses dance to animate the narrative and bring it
to life.
Perhaps the most famous song from Chicago is the ‘Cell Block Tango’, a tango-style song and
dance performed by the murderesses upon Roxie’s entrance into the Cook County Jail. Each
murderess performs a monologue in which they explain their crime and how they are
‘innocent’, as they are guilty of murder, however it is not deemed a ‘crime’ because of their
grounds.
Chicagohas many signature numbers that canbe easilyidentified using Fosse’s style.The ‘Hot
Honey Rag’ is an example of his distinct style. It is a dance duet, performed by Roxie Hart and
Velma Kelly, the two main characters. This duet is the finale of the show and shows the duo
performing as a double-act, continuing their aspirations of becoming famous after being
found innocent due to their ongoing popularity in the media following their arrests for
murder.
I feel Chicago explores social and political views through the medium of Musical Theatre. The
musical is very representative of the 1920’s era, the music showcases true 1920’s jazz
elements, a using a big band and instrumentation, which is common of this era. In the 1920’s,
in society, women were not seen as equal to men, the glass ceiling was very much in place
and men objectified women. I feel like this can be seen within Chicago because the musical
very much revolves around the male gaze, with many gimmicks, such as the doctor walking
out and zipping up his fly when lying to the press about Roxie’s pregnancy, as if he was
blackmailed with sex, showing that men use women for sex. This is a step back for women for
them still being used and objectified, however this can be reversed as I feel the musical more
often than not is empowering towards women. This is because, although glorifying murder
and crime, it shows the women taking control of their own lives and killing their male partners
showing their power. This also shows women manipulating men, which is the opposite way
round to the usual situation in this era whereby men would be manipulative towards women.
In conclusion, Chicago does not fit ‘the perfect formula’ as the narrative in this musical is
portrayed through extravagant musical numbers, with an extremely high dance content. This
means the musical is more weighted toward the music and dance elements of the formula.
Although only majorly focusing on music and dance, Chicago has proved to be just as
successful, if not more so, that musicals that have ‘the perfect formula’, for example, Grease.

7. Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a musical based on a true story of a murderer in the 1840’s. Although it is
based on a true story of murder and revenge, many fictional elements have been added for
entertainment purposes. For example, in the musical, the victims are put into pies and eaten,
giving a slightly comical feel to this chilling tale. The musical, released in 1979, was written
entirely, music and lyrics included, by Stephan Sondheim. The themes portrayed throughout
Sweeney Todd are murder, anger and tension. This presents Sweeney Todd as a contrasting,
much darker musical than anything an audience had seen in a theatre previously. In
comparison to other musicals, Sweeney Todd portrays the narrative in a darker manner by
musicaldevices,such as dissonance.These clashing harmonies are used to make the audience
feel uncomfortable. Other devices used to promote a sense of unfamiliarity and suspense are
low, sustained notes, tremolo created on the strings and the presence of the organ largely.
This showed Sondheim’s influence from the Baroque era and J.S Bach in particular for this
musical.
One particularly memorable moment in Sweeney Todd is, in fact, the opening. The overture
of Sweeney Todd is very different to that of any other successfulmusicals.Usuallyanoverture
uses sections of popular songs within the musical in order to make it more memorable and
make the songs seemfamiliar when the full song is heard later on. However, the overture of
Sweeney Todd, has its own individual score which is not re-used in any other parts of the
production. Thus meaning that this overture is purely used to set the scene for the rest of the
musical and is a song in itself. Therefore, although the usual purpose of an overture is to
introduce songs from the musical, for example the overture of West Side Story, this is not
imperative as there are exceptions to the rule.
Following the overture is ‘The Ballad of Sweeney Todd’. This number begins the show, by
setting the scene and gradually introducing the audience to the character, Sweeney Todd.
The song uses dissonance and low pitch, much like the overture, but this time has lyrics sung
by various characters and chorus members whom all introduce this mysterious character,
thus telling an audience that he has a reputation already and essentially telling them how
they should feel towards Sweeney Todd, which is fear and unfamiliarity. The song begins with
a soloist, but gradually builds to a climax before finishing with Sweeney Todd singing the last
few lines as a solo. These opinions of the other characters before even meeting the person
whom they are singing about make the depiction of Sweeney Todd interesting as your mind
is already made up and judging him before you’re even introduced to the character himself.
It is found that the majority of musicals include one, if not multiple, chorus numbers as these
often become the most hard-hitting and memorable parts of a show. It is a huge climax,
wherever it is placed within the musical, it is powerful. It usually only requires drama and
music, not dance, as the use of standing and belting a song makes the tension higher and
essentially increases the dramatic quality of the song. Therefore, showing that using all 3 art
forms, all the time is not imperative and there is no perfect formula of these art forms.
Les Miserables

8. LikeSweeney Todd, a musicalthat proves that the combination of allart forms is not essential,
is Les Miserables.A musical, basedin the 1800’s French revolution, is sung-through, with little
or no dialogue and no dance numbers whatsoever. Thus proving the power of using only
vocals and drama can be successful. The musical was adapted in 1980 into a musical from a
novel of the same name by French poet and author, Victor Hugo. Les Miserables is now
currently the longest running musical worldwide, reinforcing that there is no requirement for
all art forms in order for a musical to be successful, if the longest running musical in the world
does not include all three areas of theatre.
One particularly powerful moment in Les Miserable is the song ‘On My Own’. This song is a
solo, sang by Epinine, about her unrequited love for Marious, her best friend. Solos are often
included in many musicals because they give an insight into a character’s thoughts and
feelings. Solos are powerful and emotive as they show an audience their deepest thoughts,
emotions and possibly their intentions, thus foreshadowing future narrative. The melody in
‘On My Own’ is simple and repetitive, making it memorable to an audience as it gets stuck in
their mind. It is also a very emotional song, therefore making you feel sympathy towards
Eponine as she is in love with a man whom she is watching fall for someone else, leaving her
alone. This song is also very memorable as it allows the actor playing Eponine to show off
their vocal range and abilities. The song features 3 key changes and several long, difficult
notes. This also helps the song to be memorable as this kind of vocal ability is hard to come
across and will leave an audience shocked.
Les Miserables,much likePirates of Penzance, includes a comedic song. This time it is ‘Master
of the House’. The comedic value in this song comes from the irony of the lyrics as the couple
sing about how honest they are whilst stealing from their customers. This song is an important
turning point in the musical as itdistracts the audience from the severity of the situations that
the main characters are experiencing, lightening the audiences spirts and raising morale
whilst carrying on the entertainment. This is reflective of the situation during The Black Crook
whereby the dancers came on to entertain and keep the audience in a positive and uplifted
frame of mind.
Another extremely memorable number, often a showstopper, in Les Miserable, is ‘One Day
More’. A showstopper occurs when a song is that successful that the audience’s reactions,
like applause or shouting, stops the whole show for a few minutes. One Day More is a huge
chorus number that accumulates and grows throughout the whole song.The song begins with
each character singing an individual solo, however their solo is sung to to melody of their
character solo or duet from previously in the musical but with different lyrics. Thus provoking
a cathartic response from the audience, as this number reminds them of all of the previous
songs that they have already heard, therefore it is very memorable, also reminding them of
the emotions they previously felt towards all of the characters. With the gradual build of
instruments, vocals and harmonies, the song becomes such a spectacle for the audience,
provoking intense emotion as all of the characters are united.
Overall, Les Miserable is evidence to support that a musical does not need ‘the perfect
formula’ in order to become successful. It is one of the longest running musicals in the West
End and on Broadway, however, it only primarily contains music and drama.

9. Phantom of the Opera
‘Phantom of the Opera’ is a book musical, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, set in France and
based on the French novel ‘Le Fantôme de l'Opéra’ by Gaston Leroux It’s major narrative
revolves around a beautiful soprano, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a the
mysterious musical genius whom lives beneath the ‘Opera Populaire’. This mysterious
narrative is reflected in Lloyd Webber’s music, especially within the song ‘Music of the Night’,
which reflects the life of the Phantom whom is shunned from society regarding his abnormal
face.This solo is based around his love and longing for a woman, Christine, whom he has been
watching and admiring, causing an unrequited love. The reason this song is so memorable
and successful within the musical is because it gives a deep insight into the characters
thoughts and feelings.This solo involves, singing,drama and movement as the Phantom sings
to Christine whilst guiding her around the room and embracing her.
Rent
Rent is a book musical, loosely based on Giacomo Puccini's opera, La Boheme, whereby the
story, although has no set narrative, follows young bohemians living in Paris during the 1800’s
and their love interests and relationships. The rock-gospel musical, Rent, is set in the 1970’s
in New York city, and like La Boheme, follows a group of bohemians living in the loft of an old
block of flats, soon to be demolished. Rent is a rock musical with gospel elements, which can
be seen in many of the chorus numbers. The lyrics and book were written by Jonathon Larson,
an American composer and playwright noted for exploring the social issues of
multiculturalism, addiction, and homophobia in his work, which can all be seen within Rent.
Although there are sections of movement used, for example during the ‘Tango: Maureen’ and
within the song ‘La Vie Boheme’, the majority of the musical relies mainly on the use of voice
and music to promote the narrative.
Possibly the most famous song within Rent is ‘Seasons of Love’. This number is performed by
the entire cast, which is common for a chorus number. Chorus numbers are usually included
at the beginning of a musical, to introduce the characters or at the end to give a sense of
community and involve everybody. Seasons of Love is no exception, although not the final
number, the song closes Act 1, making the audience eager to see the rest of the show and
make them excited for Act 2 to begin. This may also encourage the audience to discuss this
number during the interval. This is a traditional upbeat chorus number, used to entice an
audience and bring them in, whereas ‘The Ballad of Sweeney Todd’ is dark and mysterious,
also enhancing the themes of the musical but with intent to make an audience feel
uncomfortable by the main character. The song is purely based on the vocal and musical
content. The cast stand in a horizontal line downstage to sing the number. The music begins
with a simple melody, repeated throughout the rest of the song. The cast all sing in unison to
begin with and throughout the song, slowly build with harmonies and the addition of more
instruments. Clearfeatures of gospelvocal techniques are heard with the belting of the soloist
over the top of the ensemble singing. It is common for chorus numbers to have a big climax.
The climax in Seasons of Love happens when Joanne belts a solo section which the rest of the
castaccompany with underlying harmonies and layers of previous lines of the song. This huge
collaboration finishes the piece as a collective and makes the audience and cast feel united.

10. This powerful number only utilizes vocal skills, thus reinforcing there is no perfect formula of
art forms that promote a successful musical.
Hairspray
Basedon the 1988 John Waters filmof the same name, Hairspray is amusicalset inthe 1960’s,
featuring music that is based around rhythm and blues of the era. The narrative, set in
Baltimore, follows plump, lively teenager, Tracey Turnblad, whom dreams of dancing on ‘The
Corny Collins Show’ alongside teen heartthrob, Link Larkin. After being scouted by Corny
himself, she appears on the show and becomes an overnight celebrity. However, when her
views of supporting integration of races on TV become apparent, the producers attempt to
get rid of her.
One of the most memorable numbers within Hairspray is the finale; a song called ‘You Can’t
Stop the Beat’. It is a fast tempo number with a clever use of syncopation and is very
repetitive, meaning an audience can still understand and remember the lyrics. The finale in a
musical is very important as it shows the reunion of all of the characters and leaves the
audience feeling rejuvenated.
Based around a TV show that focuses on the showcase of American popular dances of the
1960’s, Hairspray is strong in all three art forms, music, dance and drama, and has been
extremely successful and popular with contemporary audiences as the strong dance element
helps to bring to life the lively, over-the-top 60’s theme.
Conclusion
In conclusion, based on my exploration of a variety of musicals, I feel that there is no distinct
formula on how to create the ‘perfect musical’, and there is no set way on how the three art
forms should be integrated. I feel that musicals reflect society and the art forms represent
how the audiences perceive the musical. However, it can be seen that both classic and
contemporary audiences watch musicals as they enjoy escapism, as musicals are great at
leaving audiences feeling cathartic and rejuvenated.
In my opinion, a musical does require equal elements of drama, music and dance in order to
be successful. There are many extremely successful and long-running musicals that do not
incorporate all three of the art forms, for example, Les Miserables, Sweeney Todd and
Phantom of the Opera, that only include singing and drama. However, I personally enjoy
musicals that have a high dance element, possibly becauseof my background as a dancer, but
because I feel it truly represents modern musical theatre to have this exploration through not
only drama and music, but also movement. My favourite musical is Chicago. This is because I
really like and appreciate Fosse’s unique way of using movement and musical theatre
numbers to explore a narrative in a stylised way. Chicago is a musical that does incorporate
all three of the art forms, as discussed earlier, and it dos abide by ‘the perfect formula’
however, I don’t believe that this is the reason that Chicago was successful.