Hadestown

[Mik]

Just stunning. Great show.

[George K]

@Mik said in Hadestown:

Just stunning. Great show.

I love musicals. But you (now) know that.

[Mik]

See it if you get a chance.

[George K]

Speaking of musicals, one trend I haven't liked was the rise of the "jukebox musical."

In that category I'll put...

• Million Dollar Quartet
• Jersey Boys
• Beautiful (Carole King)

I would, perhaps, include "Mama Mia."

I enjoyed them all, but these shows are little more than showcases for highlighting and rehashing songs from the artists they're supposedly telling the stories of. This is not to say I didn't enjoy, but I want a bit more from a musical than a story cobbled around a set of pre-existing songs.

I put "Mama Mia" in a different category because the songs are "tacked onto" the storyline, but in a different way, with a different interpretation, than the original recordings.

Gimme original songs.

If you haven't found it, I recommend the course from "The Great Courses" on the American musical. Quite good.

[George K]

Also, gimme a song that becomes an ear worm as I leave the theater.

See: "A Weekend in the Country" from Sondheim's "A Little Night Music."

It's a masterpiece - complicated counterpoint, and yet...eminently hummable.

[Mik]

Sondheim..so much to say, too late at night.

Enjoyed Jersey Boys, but the music went along with the story. Beautiful a bit less. That’s the last one I saw. I share your disdain for recycling music like that. Write original music.