The Age of the Pre-Packaged Musical

In the 1940's a new phrase was coined to explain what was happening in movie land. Films were being made with a soundtrack featuring mainly pre-existing/well known songs of the day looped around a dramatic and/or romantic narrative. The phrase coined to explain this 'phenomenon' was 'Jukebox Musical'. Famous examples include Meet me in St Louis, A Hard Day's Night, Singin' in the Rain and The Blues Brothers. As this continued into the modern day it started to trickle into our theatres too, spawning a trend which is currently blazing a trail through London's West End and igniting a civil war between those who adore it and those who abhore it.

It's easy, particularly for theatre makers working in the subsidiary sector, to fall into the latter category. While jukebox musicals aren't a risk-free venture -they are, after all, still theatre- they certainly have easier access to a ready-made audience than, for example, new writing or revived classics do. Not only that, but they also appeal to that potential audience much-desired by theatre makers the world over: the current non-theatregoers. Attracting new audiences is a constant battle in theatre but its well documented that, by simply using a famous name in your show title, you can attract hordes of people who wouldn't even vaguely consider spending a night at the theatre in any other circumstance. These shows are also seen as lazy creations since they depend so heavily on simply stringing a storyline or a band's biography around someone else's hard work. You can see why its a particularly bitter pill for theatre companies attempting to create something new and exciting, and living hand to mouth in the process, to have to swallow.

My opinion on the subject? Well, until recently, my opinion was as follows:

As much as I strongly encourage attracting new audiences to theatre, I can't really see how doing so by marketing it towards people who only wish to see Disney movies live or hear their favourite band performed tribute style (often regardless of how well/badly they are performed) is, in the long term, a worthwhile exercise in terms of cultivating new theatre punters for the future. And it's certainly looking like that's all people want. I mean today alone there were performances in London's West End of: Million Dollar Quartet, Jersey Boys, Thriller, We Will Rock You, Mamma Mia!, Rock of Ages, Priscilla- Queen of the Desert.......the list goes on. I know this doesn't matter in commercial theatre. I know that, as long as it goes on being so financially successful, the jukebox musical is here to stay. I also know, however, that the British theatre scene places the utmost importance on fighting to be seen as the cultural hotspot in comparison with rival scenes in countries around the world. Ultimately I can't imagine we're ready to forgo Dame Judi Dench at the RSC in favour of making sure we have the top production of Jersey Boys. It's whether or not these will continue to be able to exist side by side that I question.

Okay so I've thrown my hat into the ring and said my piece as a concerned member of the industry but, as a theatregoer, I've seen and enjoyed a number of these shows. I've also seen and hated a number of them. In much the same way I sometimes like or dislike any other piece of entertainment in fact. The thing is- when I enjoy a jukebox musical its normally because there is something about it that I feel elevates it above the simple, base concept of ripping off an existing work. Something novel that shows how revisiting a old concept can better it.

But I think I've changed my mind. I've finally sat through one of these shows absolutely riddled with all the things I'd normally complain about...

e.g. A heavy dependence on in-jokes and famous songs
A very silly storyline riddled with holes and ridiculous characters
A couple of below-par performances
A lead role played by TV names not famed for their stage skills

...and yet I walked out with a spring in my step and a smile on my face. Why? Because I suddenly realised how FUN these shows can be. In a way that new material can't, these riffings around a common theme can draw people together through nostalgia, memories of happier times and long-forgotten in-jokes. I went to see Rock of Ages for no reason other than that I had free tickets. There was so much wrong with the show that I was ready to get on my high theatrical horse and have a moan. Then I realised how much fun the cast, the audience... everyone was having. People were laughing, singing along, waving lights in the air and cheering almost panto-style as the silly storyline developed.

A week later the show was panned by the critics for all the things I've already mentioned. But I was there. I saw a massive theatre be pumped full of excitement, joy, fun and Londoners breaking the usual boundaries to chat and smile to each other. There was so much wrong with the show and yet, ultimately, it was a triumph.

Maybe we theatre people have more to learn than we're ready to admit.