Musicals—14

We’ve reached the 60s in our exploration of musicals. As always, we’re examining the genre for a reason—so that you can know a bit about the history of the genre as you work on writing your own musical.

The defining characteristic of 60s film musicals is that they come from Broadway. It is a decade absolutely bursting with Broadway musicals: West Side Story, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, Bye Bye Birdie, The Sound of Music, Oliver…all were hits on the stage before being adapted for the screen. And all were successful BOTH on the stage and on the screen. Is this the beginning of Hollywood betting on sure things? Because if something has already been validated as a hit, it’s easier to greenlight it as a film, isn’t it? As a studio/director/producer you’re not taking as big a risk as if you decided to back an untried musical that was created directly for the screen.

This tendency in the film business—whether we’re talking about a musical or a comedy or a drama—to go with a sure thing is huge. It is, after all, a business. And who wouldn’t want to back a proven winner instead of take a chance on an unknown commodity? It’s this thinking, alas, that has led to less originality in films of all kinds today, but it is the way it is.

SO many successful Broadway musicals became successful films in the 60s. But my favorite, hands down, is Funny Girl [1968] by Isobel Lennart. Take a look at the trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzOFC4XiqL0

Note the way they try to sell the film is by stringing together all the songs that a lot of people would already know because they’ve become popular from the stage play. It’s like they’re selling you the songs even more than the story, and touting the amazing new 6-track sound system you’ll hear them on in the theatre.

For my money, the scene that shows what the film is about is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHPE_BrctCo. The clip begins with Fanny being fired but not giving up, coming back to the stage and trying to get someone to really SEE her, to realize that she has talent but can’t seem to make anyone SEE that. This is the story of Funny Girl—a person who has amazing talent but is outside the sort of acceptable “package” that talent comes in and is therefore overlooked. This is a person driven to be on the stage, to SHOW people how good she is. And this song encapsulates that dilemma and gives us the promise of what is to come for this character.

When Funny Girl came out I saw it so many times in the theatre that I’d be embarrassed to tell you how many. I think because its theme is universal—we all have something inside us that needs to be said/showcased and it’s sometimes hard to get people to SEE that… and this is particularly true for artists/writers/performers.

So what universal theme could your musical serve? Could Funny Girl teach you a lesson that’s relevant for the theme you might want to explore in your musical?

Next week, we’ll look at another musical force in the 60s—the Beatles.

Copyright © Diane Lake

27Oct19

Email Diane a question to Diane@DianeLake.com