kemathenga
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Les Mis to the rescue - newspaper article on musicalsLast week there was an article in a major german newspaper (Frankfurter Allgemeine) about a new musical "Hope" dealing with Obama. The opening lines were all about how musicals in general tend to feature sophisticated cats, lovesick trains or austrian royalties and no politics or social topics are to be expected from the genre at large.
Now today they published a letter to the editor - in the regional edition, btw, not the international - mentioning an important exception to that list: Les Miserables and how it offers politic, social critic and music of high quality AND a message of hope to the people long before Obama entered the stage.
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operafantomet
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Re: Les Mis to the rescue - newspaper article on musicals | kemathenga wrote: | Last week there was an article in a major german newspaper (Frankfurter Allgemeine) about a new musical "Hope" dealing with Obama. The opening lines were all about how musicals in general tend to feature sophisticated cats, lovesick trains or austrian royalties and no politics or social topics are to be expected from the genre at large.
Now today they published a letter to the editor - in the regional edition, btw, not the international - mentioning an important exception to that list: Les Miserables and how it offers politic, social critic and music of high quality AND a message of hope to the people long before Obama entered the stage.
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While I agree Les Mis is a gem when it comes to the combination of politic message and quality music and staging, I think that paper is targeting Andrew Lloyd Webber in an unfair way (not with "Sissi", obviously, but with "Cats" and "Starlight Express"). His "Evita" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" should not be underestimated when it comes to political content, and I think both (especially Evita) holds some of his best scores.
Lack of hope? Maybe. Depends on how you choose to interpret it. That goes for Les Mis too. Massdeath on the barricades, Javert's suicide and Valjean dying and all...
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Hans
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Re: Les Mis to the rescue - newspaper article on musicals | kemathenga wrote: | The opening lines were all about how musicals in general tend to feature sophisticated cats, lovesick trains or austrian royalties and no politics or social topics are to be expected from the genre at large.
Now today they published a letter to the editor - in the regional edition, btw, not the international - mentioning an important exception to that list: Les Miserables and how it offers politic, social critic and music of high quality AND a message of hope to the people long before Obama entered the stage. |
This is obviously nonsense, since musicals have concerned politics and social politics from Show Boat, through South Pacific, My Fair Lady, Fiorello and Cabaret to Assassins.
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kemathenga
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But it's nice somebody called Mes Mis to the rescue, isn't it?
I also missed "Hair". If ever there was a political musical it would be that one, wouldn't it?
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