Assignment 2-1: Written Weekly Analysis 2

I admire many icons in the world of musical theater. There is Cameron Mackintosh who has been producing hits from 1967 to today such as Miss Saigon, Les Mis, The Phantom of the Opera, and Disney's latest Mary Poppins. There are the artists, such as Sarah Brightman, Michael Crawford, Lea Salonga, and Colm Wilkinson who bring the characters to life. The composers and lyricists, Alain Boubil, Claude Michel Schonberg, Andrew Llloyd Webber, and Tim Rice who give us the showtunes we can't get out of our heads. Most important though, is the story.

The music and lyrics, stars of the show, and the best production team must be successful at bringing the story to life. These stories appear to be born out of myths. There are musicals about good and evil such as Jekyll & Hyde and The Phantom of the Opera which feature men who wrestle internally with good and evil. There are myths of romantic love Beauty and the Beast which suggest love can overcome any atrocity. There are religious myths such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat which retells the tale of the prodigal son. There is the American Dream as portrayed in Miss Saigon as the engineer baudily sings and acts out his vision of this lifestyle. Actually almost every musical has some element of love, good vs. evil, religion, etc. and most have a protagonist or a hero and or heroine that the audience roots for as they overcome obtacles and find the freedom to live as in the monomyth. According to Browne, myths are merely "attempts to get along with oneself, society, and the world" (2005). Obviously some myths are false there is no nanny flying in on her umbrella to save the family (Mary Poppins) or a Wicked Witch of the West, who might've been less wicked and more misunderstood after all (Wicked), but these are the myths that make it easier to explain our humanity. These musicals explain our very human qualities such as lack of self control (the Phantom, Wicked), our family issues (Joseph, Mary Poppins), and our struggles with right and wrong (Jekyll & Hyde) by appealing to our need "to create an existence" in which we can feel vicariously through the characters, music, and movement brought to life on stage (Browne, 2005).

References:
Browne, R. (2005). Profiles of Popular Culture: A Reader. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press.