Theatrical Facts... In my Opinion

You might have noticed that I did not write a review of "Les Miserables" after everyone went to see it last month. The reason for this is simple - my mother always told me that if I didn't have anything nice to say, to go and tell her all about it (or something like that). Anyway, although everybody rants and raves about how great of a musical "Les Miserables" is, I don't think it's all that and a bag of chips. Granted, the music is fantastic ("Master of the House" is one of my favorite songs), but I just don't think it deserved the long run that it has enjoyed. This may seem shocking to many of you, but I actually have reasons to back up my opinion. I warn you however, that my reasons are the reasons of an extremist.

In recent years, I have pretty much been unimpressed with what Broadway has had to offer. The sad fact is that the majority of today's Broadway hits are not Broadway shows at all. They are transplants of British and French operas. That's right. Most of the "musicals" that you see on Broadway today are in fact not musicals at all, but operas. Before I progress any further, let me define my terms. If there's one thing I learned as a Speech & Drama major, it is that you must always define your terms:

Okay. Now that we can see a clear difference between a true musical and an opera, let us progress. In my extremist opinion, these Webber and Boublil & Shönberg imports have no place on a Broadway stage. Though I must admit that they are a valid form of theater, I still hold an animosity towards their genre. What upsets me about these Old World operas is that they have displaced and nearly killed the Great American Musical. The musical comedy is truly an American art form. Just as America is a proverbial salad-bowl, so too is the musical comedy. It is an amalgamation of all forms of performing arts.

Actually, now that I think about it, operas are an amalgamation of performing arts as well. Damn! That just shot a hole in my argument. Not that I care. As I said, I'm an extremist when it comes to this stuff. Extremists don't need logical arguments, their opinions are based on emotion, not logic. So let me tell you my emotional opinion. I really have no gripe against operas - I just like musicals better. (To set the record straight, I really did like "Les Miserables." I just stated that I hated it for shock value so that you would read on.)

In my emotional opinion, I am upset that the Great American Musical is dying. It also perturbs me (and this part here is fact, not opinion) when people, including the producers of these Broadway operas, confuse an opera for a musical. They are two entirely different things. Let's all make me a happy theater reviewer and call a spade a spade. Operas are operas and musicals are musicals. Oh well, I guess I don't have anything mean to tell to my mother after all.