Listening to the way the music moves a storyline along in a musical brings me back to when I was nine years old and first saw the musical Wicked, featuring Idina Menzel; there’s three songs that stuck out so much with the emotion “No Good Deed,” “Defying Gravity,” and “For Good” these songs have been my all-time favorite since the first time seeing it. In many musicals the music tells the story throughout the whole thing with very little dialogue. The musical Wicked is one of many excellent musicals that does have more musical than dialogue, the way the show opens with music is with the song No One Mourns the Wicked, and it starts off later in time but then goes back to tell the story of how the wicked witch was made. The way that the singers …show more content…
I had been waiting a year to finally see this musical on Broadway, and when I did the way the theater hushed and was taken into awe with the way the show opens amazed me and I cannot ever forget that feeling. The room went dark and the air went cooler, all you heard was laughing and out of nowhere there was flying monkeys going around the whole auditorium laughing and picking on people in the chairs. Then when I heard No One Mourns the Wicked, and then her voice. Idina Menzel on stage singing, and then Kristen Chenoweth is on in a few moments. I realized how much this musical was my favorite. The way Idina sang it gave chills throughout my whole body, and I can still remember the feeling of it all, because I get it every time I see it. The girls sang amazing apart but when you put their voices together it’s a sound that you can’t ever forget, and even when I listen to music on my phone I get the same chills because the memory comes back of how it was. About five years ago I saw this musical again, but this time it was in Chicago and almost the exact same thing happened. The only difference was that it was different singers. The show was still absolutely amazing, and there was still flying monkeys flying around the auditorium. Just the atmosphere was amazing and the way everyone just stopped talking at once and the way the air just felt colder as the stage …show more content…
My first song is Defying Gravity, and its song with Elphaba and her friend Glinda. Elphaba and Glinda hated each other in the beginning of the musical and come together as friends. In the song before we find out that the wizard of Oz isn’t really a heroic figure, Elphaba becomes furious and plans to fight the wizard and stop him in his plans to attack the animals of Oz, and with this information she tries to get Glinda to help her bring him down, but Glinda refuses, and when she tries to talk her out of it Elphaba feels. During the song Elphaba enchants a broom stick and begins to fly on it, and talks about how she’s Defying Gravity and no one can bring her down anymore. This is when people of Oz begins to see her as Wicked and wants to “bring her down. The next song that I have picked is No Good Deed. This song is sung only by Elphaba towards the end of act two. Throughout the whole musical Elphaba has tried to convince everyone that she is good. During the musical Elphaba falls for someone name Fiyero, she also meets her favorite teacher Dr. Dillamond. In the song before No Good Deed we learn that Elphabas sister, Nessa, is dead and Glinda believes this is what caused her to stop trying to do good for herself. Elphaba begins to hate the people of Oz for seeing her as wicked. The song begins
After Dorothy was swept off of her feet into a tornado she then lands in an odd place she had never seen before. It was an old playground that had been deserted after the munchkins (children) had been stuck to the walls. When Dorothy landed she killed the evil witch by accident not realizing that was the one who stuck the munchkins to the wall. All of the munchkins were grateful and made sure that Dorothy knew what great deed she had just done. Later in the scene the munchkins sang and danced to a song called “He’s the Wizard”, which described who The Wiz was and how he could help her get home. There danced in sync as they performed around the playground with all of their voices harmonizing as well. They pointed her in the right direction and she began to go forward but when she looked back to ask another question they were gone. She then began to sing a song that described how all she wanted to do was go home and go back where she belonged.
I attended the performance of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” the new adaption by Wendy Kesselman, at the Stage Door Inc Theater in Pasadena at their Friday evening showing. This production is one that I could relate to because I read the novel in high school and while watching this live I remembered details from the novel that was incorporated into this production. The theater was an intimate proscenium stage. There were around 7 straight rows of seating that all faced the stage. The seats were raked so there was no problem seeing. The stage was small but the props and setting was beautifully made.
Overall, Wicked was an extraordinary show with very little flaws! It was such an enjoyable show to see and I would most definitely love to see it again! It is for sure a must-see musical. I assure you, you wont regret seeing it at all!! So what are you waiting for? Buy your tickets now!
In Gregory Maguire's novel, Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West happen before the novel by L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In Baum’s novel of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, portrays the role of the Wicked Witch of the West being wicked. We have no background or personal preference to understand her life of the Wicked Witch of the West (as known as Elphaba). But in Maguire’s novel, Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, shows how Elphaba traits of a monster are similar to a typical monster that portrays in people's eye. Elphaba is an ideal model of what we see in a monster would be like: abnormal, scary looking, and blunt behavior. She is a target of gossip to those who do not even know her. Typically in monster tale, usually, monsters characterize as: wicked, unstoppable, destructive, and evil. Surprisingly since birth to young adulthood, Elphaba did not portray a role of any wickedness of a monster expected to be, but a caring person and cares about what she thinks is righteous.
On a Wednesday night I saw Texas State Theatre and Dance Department's performance of A Chorus Line. The main plot of the musical entails the audition of 17 dancers for several Broadway roles on the chorus line. However, during their auditions the director Zach asks for personal stories of each dancer's life. Though the plot of this musical is seemingly simple in its twist on the traditional audition, it explores themes that reveal the human experience, the search for individuality, and the sense of self.
Musical theatre is a type of theatrical performance combining music, dance, acting and spoken dialogue. Written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, ‘West Side Story’ is a classic American musical based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The through-composed score and lyrics are used to portray different characters and their cultures, the rivalry between the Jets and Sharks, and the emotions felt as the story progresses. This essay will be exploring the music and how effective the score is in realising the world and characters of the musical. Furthermore, it will discuss how Bernstein and Sondheim relate characters’ diverse ethnicities to particular musical ideas and motifs.
Singing was also very important in the play. Most often, the songs that were sung in the play were used in conjuction with lighting to create the mood. Deep, slow songs indicated that times were changing from good to bad, or from bad to worse. High, fast songs introduced happy scenes. Scenes were also changed according to song, such as the jail scene. The cast began to sing a song about freedom and the jail bars disappeared, indicating through song that the men had been freed. Also, song was important in the play because the songs were specific to the african american culture.
Based on a series of Brothers Grimm fairy tales, Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods (1987) focuses on fairy tale characters such as Cinderella, Jack and Little Red Riding Hood’s wish of life fulfillment. Numerous fairy tales are intertwined with one new tale in attempt to carry the childhood stories into an adult realm without ridding of their child-based sensibilities. (Knapp, 2009.) Little Red’s song, “I know things now” is performed after she escapes the wolf’s belly. It is a reflection song on what she has learnt from the experience of speaking to strangers. Sondheim cleverly integrates musical devises such as key, modulation, pitch, accompaniment, dynamics, motif and rhythm alongside language and literary devices to contribute to the development and growth of the character and story.
Also the songs really present the build up of certain situations on the stage and put a lot of attitude in the specific scene. For example the “ Jet Song” is the first song in the play. This is sung by a jet and it shows how much of a family they are. Another important song that is sung by Tony is “Something is Coming”. Tony sings this song to express his true feelings about the jets and how he has moved on from them. He has a gut feeling that something wonderful is going to take place soon in his life. Tony also sings a song called “Maria” which is about the girl he fell in love with at first sight. Maria sings a song called “ I feel pretty”. She sings this and explains how she is so in love with tony and she describes how nothing will tear her love with him apart. Riff sings a song called “cool” and it express his attitude and how he carries himself in fights, he means well and wants the best for the gang. All of these songs show how music can be a very powerful tool to express feeling and help be in that character 's
It was slightly disappointing not to hear any of the classic Cinderella songs in the performance, but the music, most of which came from the 1997 version starring Brandy Norwood, made up for the loss. The music was romantic and theatrical, the dancing, acrobatic, and every actor gracefully filled their character’s shoes… Especially the ones made out of glass.
Chicago When I first watched Chicago at the movie theater, I was not fully satisfied. I wanted more, so I went back to get some and watched it six more times with different friends and family members! Last summer during a visit to my native Mexico City, I had the opportunity to watch drag queens perform several numbers from the movie musical. They did an amazing job, without surpassing the outstanding performances of the actors in the film. Last year, I visited NYC for the first time and indulged in the rows of the Ambassador Theatre.
1. Riff- He is the leader of the Jets. Founded it with Tony. A wild man that acts like a punk and dies in a fight.
Music is an important element of any theatrical work. It sets up the setting, mood, and emotions for the audience. Different songs can tell stories whether sad or happy. In “As You Like It” by William Shakespeare, there are many scenes where the traditional play music can be replaced with modern contemporary and still give the story the same meaning. There are songs that describe the blossoming romance and friendship of Rosalind and Orlando and the theme of reality. And there are others that set up the mood for the setting. The songs that can replace the traditional songs successfully are Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me” and “Spring Waltz by Yiruma. Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” relates to and focuses on the scene in Act One where Rosalind and Orlando begin to fall in love for the first time. Here, we are able to utilize this song and get a different feeling for the scene with a modern perspective.
The Lion King musical is a well-known musical that has taken the stages of Broadway, West End and the rest of the world by storm (The Lion King, 1997). Regarding the process of the musical, Artistic Director Julie Taymor’s first thoughts for choosing the Lion King as the next big thing on stage, was classed as ‘impossible’ due to the film’s lack of theatrical material (The Lion King, 1997). Therefore, staging this particular work contained a great deal of uncertainty and the need for taking huge risks. Taymor (1997) suggests how ‘the Lion King was the worst idea possible to create a stage show.’ It has become evident that a number of significant barriers had to be overcome to secure the practicality of the production. In view of this controversy, this dissertation will critically analyse the success of the Lion King by exploring two significant aspects that have helped to make the musical a success. Firstly, the essential components that make up this theatrical production will be explored and secondly, the roles of each producer within the Lion King and their combined and individual influences they have had from the production will be evaluated. By analysing these two central themes, this paper will show how and why this musical has developed and achieved its phenomenal success.
The musical selections and songs that were sung told a story and narrated the almost the entire film, as is expected in...