For the last three Sunday nights we have watched a three part series that tracked the history of the musical from the early twentieth century through the present. It reminded me of why I was so moved by musicals and even had ambitions to create rock musicals when I was a teenager.
In my case, other things distracted me and I never followed through with my ambition. What I discovered watching this series was exactly how amazing the intervening years have been. I have remained vaguely aware of many of the productions and even saw the movie versions of some of them, for example Rocky Horror Picture Show and Rent.
The thing that is almost universally true, however, is that a live performance will almost always put a filmed performance in its place. The energy of a live performance, complete with its high points and its occasional blemishes is unmatchable by the canned performance that a movie presents.
I was also reminded of all the wonderful musicals that I had somehow never managed to see, either on the stage or screen. Shows like Cats, Miss Saigon, and Avenue Q. I hope they will be revived by touring companies so that I can catch up on some of them.
Sweet dreams, don’t forget to tell the ones you love that you love them, and most important of all, be kind.