On Writing a Musical Part 5

A few weeks ago I came across a blog entitled "Can Ordinary People Burst into Song." The blog discussed, among other things, the problem of moving from dialogue to song in a musical. In real life, people don't just burst into song, so when this occurs in a musical, it can disrupt the audience's belief in the reality of the play.

Though this can be problematic, when handled carefully it is not as big a problem as it seems. To begin with, when one goes to see a musical, one expects to hear the actors burst into song. The mere expectation of song makes the actual occurrence less jarring. Also, there are certain conventions and techniques for how a composer can work into a song: a soft instrumental background introduction, a recitative-like vocal introduction, an opening with sprechstimme (words spoken in rhythm and on pitch or approximate pitch).

Another technique involves the spoken setup before the music begins. There are textual clues an author can put in the script that let an audience anticipate that a song is about to begin. These clues can be enhanced with an actor's speaking style, blocking, and staging.  Again, the expectation of song eases the transition for the audience.

For me, a bigger problem than the transition into song is the question, why put a song here in the first place? What is it in the text that can justify a disruption of the plot so that a song can take place? As an actress might say, "What's my motivation?"

Songs can perform certain dramatic functions that make them more beneficial than just giving the audience a tune they can remember. Here are a few thoughts on how that can work with examples from West Side Story.

Songs can intensify an emotional moment such as in a love song. The emotions of a character compels him or her into song ("Maria," "There's a Place for Us"). Songs can act as a Greek chorus, giving voice to what an audience is feeling, what a group of characters is feeling, or commenting on the drama ("Cool"). Songs can help with pacing. A nice lively song can perk up an audience after an intense but slower paced scene ("America"). They can function like an aside to the audience, letting them know the inner thoughts or feelings of a character ("Something's Coming"). Songs can provide comic relief in a way that wouldn't be as effective as spoken text (the circus-like music in "Gee, Officer Krupke").

There are also cases where songs serve the drama in ways one would never expect. One wouldn't normally think that a song would be a good way to win an argument, yet in "A Boy Like That," Maria's convincing Anita to help her is more believable to the audience because it is sung.

I am certainly not an expert on musicals, and I am sure that others can add much more to what I've written. I would be interested in hearing other thoughts and opinions on the subject.