Musical Theatre

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For lovers, performers and creators of musical theatre (or theater). Broadway, off-Broadway, the West End, other parts of the US and UK, and musicals around the world and on film/TV. Discussion encouraged. Welcome post: https://tinyurl.com/kbinMusicals See all/older posts here: https://kbin.social/m/Musicals

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Gloria Estefan Is Writing Music and Lyrics for a New Musical Five Notes (playbill.com)

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Grammy winner Gloria Estefan has announced via Instagram that she and her daughter Emily Estefan are writing music and lyrics for a new musical titled Five Notes. The piece tells the story of Favio Chávez and Paraguay's Orquesta De Reciclados De Cateura (Recycled Orchestra of Cateura).

The Recycled Orchestra of Cateura is an orchestra made up of children from Asunción, Paraguay, using instruments made from landfill materials. The orchestra was formed in 2012, and since then they have performed internationally with artists including Stevie Wonder and Metallica.

Five Notes is based on the award-winning documentary Landfill Harmonic. The work will also feature a book by Karen Zacarías, and direction by Michael Greif. Ken Cerniglia serves as dramaturg, with music supervision by Alex Lacamoire.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What did you think of the score for Spongebob: the Musical? All its songs were done by popular writers.

It makes me sad that theatre is no longer the popular thing everyone knows but a small niche, makes me worry about it actually thriving as an artform instead of being something where almost all the people in it have to have some side job waiting tables to support themselves, because most of the theatre attendees are theatre hopefuls themselves unless you’re on Broadway.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I have to confess I've never listened to, or seen, the Spongebob musical. Although I hear it's actually pretty good.

I too get pretty depressed about theatre sometimes. The economics of the business mean it's increasingly an artform for the well-to-do (I mean the prices on Broadway for example are obscene, and London's becoming more and more expensive as well), and despite the mainstream success that shows like Les Miz, Phantom and Hamilton enjoy, these are the exception rather than the rule. But I suppose people have always been pessimistic about the state of the industry - Kaufman and Hart coined the phrase "the fabulous invalid" way back in the 1930s because people were pronouncing the theatre as being close to death even then.