On Demand
Rock Musicals
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
The musical "Spring Awakening" was showered with Tony nominations this year, but rock musicals don't always bloom so brilliantly. Why does one show rock for ages on Broadway, while another gets "unplugged?" We talk with Elizabeth Wollman, author of "The Theater Will Rock: A History of the Rock Musical From Hair to Hedwig ," and Jim Farber, pop music critic for the New York Daily News.
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Intersting episode.
I've never heard music from a "Rock Musical" that actually rocked. It all sucks. Listen to "Hair", then go listen to the first Led Zeppelin record and tell me if "Age of Aquarius" holds up in comparison. Or anything from "Rent". It ends up sounding like commercial jingles.
As Jim Farber said, there are very different sensibilities. I think a big difference is that Rock N' Roll is descended from the blues and while often far removed still contains a lot of blues elements - especially the vocals.
Showtunes are largely devoid of those elements and come from a European tradition. At the risk of making racial stereotypes, showtunes are very "white" sounding.
Another big difference is that all good rock n' roll is wild and unpredictable. When it get's too choreographed, it becomes stilted and dull (like a lot of modern "rock" bands like Hoobastank that are Pro-Tooled to death and therefore don't rock). Obviously, musicals represent the apex of choreography.
My $0.02.
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