tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4146056913190816228.post8692476082195116464..comments2023-06-08T09:09:26.663-04:00Comments on THE CHARLEBOIS POST - MONTREAL: Theatre For Thought, November 12, 2011Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4146056913190816228.post-46677425781728201482011-12-06T04:46:00.811-05:002011-12-06T04:46:00.811-05:00I only read this article a month late, but a comme...I only read this article a month late, but a comment is a comment...<br /><br />First of all, I know that we are way the hell out in the west end of the island, but at John Abbott we put on a musical at least every two years (for 15 years it was EVERY year, sometimes twice a year). These productions come from both our Professional Theatre and Theatre Workshop programs. I don't see how we could be pulling our weight to promote musicals any more than that. While the restraints of the educational system (read: CEGEP) we are in restricts us from offering "specialized" musical theatre classes, at the very least we are trying to instil an appreciation for musical theatre, which should be taken into consideration.<br /><br />But as you are well aware Joel, I agree with your stance on musical theatre, and the perception of musical theatre in Montreal.<br /><br />I understand that not EVERYONE loves musicals. For some it has something to do with people breaking into song and/or dance spontaneously. For others the whole premise is marred in "non-realism". They probably feel the same way about musicals as I feel about action movies. You see, I don't buy into action films because I think those movies are not realistic. The physics of car chases are bogus. The chemistry of the explosions don't make sense. The astronomical odds of the protagonists' constant survival blow my mind. And to top it all off, space is a vacuum, so why the hell does the Death Star make such a ruckus?! Geez!<br /><br />So no, it is not realistic for people to break into song. But realism is not the only way (and not always the best way) to get a point across, is it? The art world is filled with "elite approved" non-realistic expressions of facets of the human condition. All of which are valid and many of which embrace and illuminate (not trivialize) what it means to be human and all of the foibles thereof.<br /><br />Music speaks to us on a different level than speech. Not on a better level or a worse level, just on a different level. It affects us differently, and that is just how it is. To divorce music (or singing) from theatre deprives theatre artists of a powerful tool for communicating our ideas and feelings.<br /><br />How is that trivial?<br /><br />(Oh, and I'm directing Oklahoma! this year with my Theatre Workshop class. Think of Oklahoma! what you will, but there are real, honest, human things going on for the characters in the play, regardless of its "entertainment" values. It's going up in March... so there you go!)Jason Howellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4146056913190816228.post-68038881242004625042011-11-15T14:48:11.614-05:002011-11-15T14:48:11.614-05:00A perfect example of a shows detailed in your four...A perfect example of a shows detailed in your fourth paragraph and one that was recently produced in montreal is Kander and Ebb's Kiss of the Spiderwoman.<br /><br />Much like many of the pieces above, it is an adaptation (of a play...of a movie...of a book who is to say for sure?) and yet even with sequins and dances, it is far from trivial.<br /><br />I find it so fitting that Art Spiegelman's work is also mentioned in this article, as comic art is often dismissed as trivial, except when you look at works like his.<br /><br />Also very important to Montreal's musical history would be one of the first and completely non-trivial adaptation of a musical: My Fur Lady.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com