From ‘42^nd Street’ to ‘Chicago,’ a musical evolution

By TERRI SWAN

Copy Editor

The basic premise of a musical is as follows: break into song, in unison with other people, usually while dancing.

Sure, they might sometimes seem corny and unrealistic, but musical films have been bringing people into theaters for years.

Musicals have been a time-honored tradition. Not only do some become classic movies, but they also have unforgettable soundtracks with songs that people fall in love with and are sung for generations to follow. Who can forget singing songs from Grease at a high school dance?

“After working stage crew for years at high school musicals, the songs are so catchy you just can’t get them out of your head,” said junior Kerry Greenstein.

Musical theater, which includes these popular songs, has been around for centuries; however, it was not until the advent of sound in movies, 75 years ago in 1927 with The Jazz Singer, according to The Internet Movie Database (IMDB), that musicals became a type of film.

They were great to bring to film because unlike musical theater, where space is limited, movies have the luxury of showcasing many different scenes.

The first musicals drew heavily on Broadway, and many theater actors came from NYC to Hollywood to act on the big screen.

Warner Brothers was the first studio to make musicals that broke the traditional stage conventions. In 1933, they produced three of the first, 42nd Street, Footlight Parade and Gold Diggers of 1933, which actually had its musical scenes added after the success of 42nd Street, according to IMDB.

Many times, musicals deal with serious issues, but since they are set to music and often include dancing, they are simply fun to watch. The scenarios may never happen in real life, but they are still amusing.

“Musicals can take real-life situations and make you look at them in a different light,” said sophomore Kayla Pacan. “That’s what makes them so unique.”

Have you ever walked to a city corner and seen a man dancing around and singing with his umbrella? Probably not, but in Singin’ In The Rain, Gene Kelly makes this look like an everyday occurrence.

How about seeing members of a gang prowling around town singing and dancing together? The Jets and Sharks, two rival gangs in West Side Story, voice their disagreements through song, which seems perfectly normal in this case.

Many musicals grow to become a part of American culture. Rapper Jay-Z’s hit song, “It’s a Hard Knock Life,” samples one of the most popular tunes from Annie. This verifies the fact that musicals are ingrained in culture.

Since musicals are different than movies, many people usually do not take them seriously. However, the genre indeed has churned out many masterpieces of its own. West Side Story, Oliver!, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady and Gigi have all won the Academy Award for Best Picture, along with various other Oscars, in past years. Other musicals, such as Mary Poppins, Cabaret and The King and I, have also won numerous awards.

Towards the end of the 20th century, it appeared that musicals were losing their popularity, since not many were being produced and those that were did not gain the following of musicals of the past.

However, this changed in the summer of 2001 with the release of Moulin Rouge, a musical that was five years in the making. Producer, co-writer and director Baz Luhrmann hoped to revive what is known by many as the “big movie musical” with his creation.

According to Ewan McGregor (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace) in an interview from the Moulin Rouge DVD, although the stars of the film had never done musicals before, they came to grow and love being involved with one.

“I think we hear music on a different emotional level than we hear dialogue,” he said. “So to start singing actually really nails the drama and focuses everything.

“Some of the lines are so simple—you could never speak those lines because they’re too simple, you know, but to be sung, it suddenly becomes really, really beautiful because of its simplicity.”

The difference between Moulin Rouge and its predecessors is that not of all its music is original. Nicole Kidman, who plays the courtesan Satine, sings a medley of songs with McGregor’s character, Christian, including The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love,” David Bowie’s “Heroes” and U2’s “Pride (In The Name of Love).” Other songs included in the musical are Elton John’s “Your Song,” Sting’s “Roxanne” and Madonna’s “Like A Virgin.”

The film even pays homage to past musicals when Christian and the Bohemians sing “The Sound of Music.”

If Moulin Rouge’s three Golden Globe Awards is any indication of what is to come, musicals may be on the verge of a long-overdue comeback.

In fact, work has begun on a theatrical adaptation of the Broadway musical Chicago, starring Richard Gere, Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah, according to E! TV.

Through the years, these movies have shown they can make an impression that lasts for years, and hopefully there are many new classic musicals to come.