So this is another sort of different post for me and it's something I'd kind of like to delve into a little more... but I'm going to take one particular pop culture phenomenon- whether it's having it's moment now or if it already had its moment... I feel like a bunch of things become popular at the same time that are kind of connected in some way or another... whether they're loosely related or closely related... I just wanted to kind of mention it... I'll do as much research as I can on the subjects and I'll kind of explain a little more about them.
Hamilton (in Production since 2013)
So while the first official performance of the Broadway Musical Hamilton which we all know and love today... but before that there was a workshop and an off broadway run... some of these songs are a little different... there are versions in the Hamilton Mixtape of the original songs... the production you can see today is absolutely perfect the way it is... but I do love songs like Congratulations that I really love. And Lin Manuel Miranda was also writing the musical long before and even performed it at an event at the The White House in 2009.
But it became a cultural phenomenon by the Musical we know today. Everyone was really impressed because it's really unlike anything that's ever been out before. A hip hop musical, there's no real dialogue in the movie, the set is very unique and it perfectly encapsulates both the actual time period as well as hip hop with the turntables. The themes presented are all modern and things anyone could relate to. My dad has seen a lot of musicals but it's not really his favorite thing in the world... he doesn't even really go to the movies... but he really loved the musical and he said he wasn't even checking his watch or anything... he was pretty into it. And he's not into rap music either... so that was pretty cool.
Anyway aside from my personal love for this musical... it did get a lot of critical praise and when the Cast Recording was released- a lot of people were able to listen to it and get a feel for the play when it was pretty much impossible to get tickets... it was great. And since there a Hamilton Mixtape has been released- with songs inspired by the musical, songs from earlier off broadway productions, and some celebrity renditions of songs, and there's even a Hamilton Lullaby Album.
This definitely put a spark on Broadway that revolutionized the interest in musicals... in my opinion at least.
Moana (2016) and Frozen (2013)
Following the Success of Hamilton... Lin Manuel Miranda's first Disney Musical came out.... and I think this helped add to the buzz of the musical phenomenon... I'm sure not as much as 2013's frozen... but I think a lot of older adult audiences were probably more intrigued by the music of Moana... especially if they're like me and are huge hamilton and disney fans.
Pitch Perfect (2012)
I feel like the success of the Pitch Perfect franchise helped A cappella a lot obviously... but I think it helped musicals in general... I thought it kind of made musical movies more popular to a younger audience... and it was also a really funny look at a musical.
Pentatonix (2011)
So Pentatonix was on a show from NBC Called The Sing Off... and I think it's funny that they kind of outlived the show The Sing Off. Lol. I'm honestly not the biggest Pentatonix fan- but they are a huge cultural phenomenon and have definitely helped with the musical theme.
They were on James Corden and that kind of inspired this whole thing.
Carpool Karaoke (2015)
For some reason I think James Corden and Carpool Karaoke helped to... I loved Corden in Into The Woods... and I like him as a talk show host... and I think this is just kind of a fun thing that people are always talking about that relates to music and oftentimes it does relate to musicals too...
And Carpool Karaoke was a thing for longer than 2015... It's been on various different shows that James Corden has done... but it became a household name in 2015 I believe.
Disney Live Action Musicals
I think Beauty and The Beast specifically kind of heightened people's nostalgia for musicals... and very specifically for Disney Musicals... and that trend is only going to grow with all the other Live Action movies Disney has announced including Aladdin, Mulan, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Mary Poppins Returns... there is so much Disney can do with these and if they do them like they did with Beauty and The Beast- we'll get some really great ones!
Televised Live Musicals
The Televised live Musicals have been more and more popular recently. I think it started with NBC's The Sound Of Music... but it gained popularity with Grease: Live and the trend just kept continuing. I think the first one I actually sat down and watched all of was Jesus Christ Superstar... and they got some great stars for that... so I kind of want the star trend to continue with these musicals.
Rise
The last thing I'm going to mention is the show Rise, which is a look at a high school's production of the controversial musical Spring Awakening. I think the show is a pretty good representation of what I remember from High School play practice... except the kids in this are actually really talented.
And it's all over the broadway facebook pages I follow and they include cast recordings each week... it's just really interesting- especially if you love broadway. I don't know much of Spring Awakening... but I did listen to some of the soundtrack.
And that's all I'm going to talk about right now... I know there are many, many more reasons why Musicals have been gaining more and more popularity the last few years... but that's all I'm going to mention right now... I know this is kind of clunky and unnecessary... but a lot of these things are what sparked my love for musicals or what helped it continue, even if its not directly musical related.
Byeee!
-Shannon
Hamilton (in Production since 2013)
So while the first official performance of the Broadway Musical Hamilton which we all know and love today... but before that there was a workshop and an off broadway run... some of these songs are a little different... there are versions in the Hamilton Mixtape of the original songs... the production you can see today is absolutely perfect the way it is... but I do love songs like Congratulations that I really love. And Lin Manuel Miranda was also writing the musical long before and even performed it at an event at the The White House in 2009.
But it became a cultural phenomenon by the Musical we know today. Everyone was really impressed because it's really unlike anything that's ever been out before. A hip hop musical, there's no real dialogue in the movie, the set is very unique and it perfectly encapsulates both the actual time period as well as hip hop with the turntables. The themes presented are all modern and things anyone could relate to. My dad has seen a lot of musicals but it's not really his favorite thing in the world... he doesn't even really go to the movies... but he really loved the musical and he said he wasn't even checking his watch or anything... he was pretty into it. And he's not into rap music either... so that was pretty cool.
Anyway aside from my personal love for this musical... it did get a lot of critical praise and when the Cast Recording was released- a lot of people were able to listen to it and get a feel for the play when it was pretty much impossible to get tickets... it was great. And since there a Hamilton Mixtape has been released- with songs inspired by the musical, songs from earlier off broadway productions, and some celebrity renditions of songs, and there's even a Hamilton Lullaby Album.
This definitely put a spark on Broadway that revolutionized the interest in musicals... in my opinion at least.
Moana (2016) and Frozen (2013)
Following the Success of Hamilton... Lin Manuel Miranda's first Disney Musical came out.... and I think this helped add to the buzz of the musical phenomenon... I'm sure not as much as 2013's frozen... but I think a lot of older adult audiences were probably more intrigued by the music of Moana... especially if they're like me and are huge hamilton and disney fans.
Pitch Perfect (2012)
I feel like the success of the Pitch Perfect franchise helped A cappella a lot obviously... but I think it helped musicals in general... I thought it kind of made musical movies more popular to a younger audience... and it was also a really funny look at a musical.
Pentatonix (2011)
So Pentatonix was on a show from NBC Called The Sing Off... and I think it's funny that they kind of outlived the show The Sing Off. Lol. I'm honestly not the biggest Pentatonix fan- but they are a huge cultural phenomenon and have definitely helped with the musical theme.
They were on James Corden and that kind of inspired this whole thing.
Carpool Karaoke (2015)
For some reason I think James Corden and Carpool Karaoke helped to... I loved Corden in Into The Woods... and I like him as a talk show host... and I think this is just kind of a fun thing that people are always talking about that relates to music and oftentimes it does relate to musicals too...
And Carpool Karaoke was a thing for longer than 2015... It's been on various different shows that James Corden has done... but it became a household name in 2015 I believe.
Disney Live Action Musicals
I think Beauty and The Beast specifically kind of heightened people's nostalgia for musicals... and very specifically for Disney Musicals... and that trend is only going to grow with all the other Live Action movies Disney has announced including Aladdin, Mulan, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Mary Poppins Returns... there is so much Disney can do with these and if they do them like they did with Beauty and The Beast- we'll get some really great ones!
Televised Live Musicals
The Televised live Musicals have been more and more popular recently. I think it started with NBC's The Sound Of Music... but it gained popularity with Grease: Live and the trend just kept continuing. I think the first one I actually sat down and watched all of was Jesus Christ Superstar... and they got some great stars for that... so I kind of want the star trend to continue with these musicals.
Rise
The last thing I'm going to mention is the show Rise, which is a look at a high school's production of the controversial musical Spring Awakening. I think the show is a pretty good representation of what I remember from High School play practice... except the kids in this are actually really talented.
And it's all over the broadway facebook pages I follow and they include cast recordings each week... it's just really interesting- especially if you love broadway. I don't know much of Spring Awakening... but I did listen to some of the soundtrack.
And that's all I'm going to talk about right now... I know there are many, many more reasons why Musicals have been gaining more and more popularity the last few years... but that's all I'm going to mention right now... I know this is kind of clunky and unnecessary... but a lot of these things are what sparked my love for musicals or what helped it continue, even if its not directly musical related.
Byeee!
-Shannon
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