Ronee Penoi – Wait, you call that a musical?

In this post from Stage Banter – The Arena Stage Blog, Ronee Penoi ponders the question of what defines a musical. An excerpt:

“Whether its in the aisle leaving the show, in the lobby, or in the bathroom, I always listen to audience members’ responses following a ‘newer’ musical. And I guess by ‘newer,’ I mean anything later than the so-called ‘Golden Age’ of musical theatre- think Rodgers and Hammerstein, for instance. My favorite comment to hear is “it didn’t leave me humming anything” or “well it wasn’t very good -none of the songs were really catchy.” Or, on the flipside, you have “well it was fun and catchy, but not much else…”
Musicals seem to be different things for different people. One person’s innovation is another’s bad execution. I guess we can all agree that musicals tend to incorporate some combo of dance, singing, acting, and story. But the pendulum of balance swings wide. What the recipe is for a given show varies. Some add more spice, and others are maybe an acquired taste?”

Click here to read the complete post. For more on Arena Stage musicals that Penoi mentions in the post, click here.

Image in the post is of a scene Arena Stage’s Light on the Piazza.