Okay, here's the troof: I don't like a lot of musicals.
I almost always like the stories and the lyrics, but not the music.
To put a finer point on it, I don't like a
certain kind of orchestration--AT ALL. It's that Chicago/Annie/banjo-y/marimba-y/muted trumpet-y
sound that I can't stand. So the reason I don't like a lot of musicals is
because alot of them have THAT GODFORSAKEN TIMBRE. Every Thanksgiving, the Macy's parade people haul out at least one medley of numbers from a hot new musical with that
timbre. That Putnam County one does too--sorry, sister Rossi. The lyrics
are clever, the story is great, but I think the orchestration is what
makes some people say they hate musicals because everyone's always breaking out
into a damned song!
So what am I doing, wanting to write a musical?
Well, it's because I do like many musicals, and ADORE a handful. JC Superstar,
Godspell, Hair--love these. They have that cool 1960s sound--mellow acoustic
flute and guitar mystic crystal revelations or funkadelic bass-heavy libido,
where the music paints as accurate a picture of the counterculture movement as
any Life Magazine photo essay ever could. Andrew Lloyd Webber--I love a lot of
his stuff, although there is a question
as to whether it's HIS stuff that I love. Wicked, Les Mis, Miss
Saigon--beautiful music. My mom raised me on Rogers & Hammerstein. I love
The Sound of Music, LOVE. The Wizard of Oz is a musical, isn't it? Gilbert
& Sullivan--that's brilliant stuff. Of the Disney musicals that are being
churned out regularly in this day and age, I have only seen The Lion King, and
I thought it was pretty good. The song "He
Lives In You" was not in the movie and was composed for the musical,
and it's brilliant. It's the song that comes to mind when I hear about mothers
and fathers being killed in Afghanistan. Anyway, I have seen all the Disney
movies, so I know how I feel about the music without having seen the shows. Oh,
and The Wedding Singer. That was, like, totally bitchin'.
So maybe I should forget this idea of asking for
suggestions for musicals to study. I am familiar enough with several musicals
to have a clear idea of what I love and what I don't. And maybe I should forget
this idea of waiting for the blogosphere to give me ideas. That seems like
something to do once a whole lot of people know you and follow you. Oh,
wouldn't that be cool--for someone who is widely-known and loved for being
creative to invite anyone who'd be interested to a collaborative brainstorm for
the (not my hyperlink-->) next project!
That person is not me, today. Today, I am a
stay-at-home mom who is talking to herself in this blog. Today, when the
support of a number of people would really inspire me and make me accountable,
I have to do it all on my own.
The idea that's been simmering for years is to
compose an Irish-American musical. Nine of my sixteen great-great-grandparents
were Irish. In the United States, Irish heritage is a big deal. Of all our
American holidays, only one celebrates another nation, and that's St. Patrick's
Day. I see Taco Bell trying to edge in with Cinco de Mayo, and that just makes
me think about a restaurant back in my hometown, Virginia Beach, called Carlos
Murphy's. Until there are loads of parades in several US cities on May the
fifth, I'm going to say that the Irish are still unique in this way. So Irish Pride
is not hard to come by in the USA. It means that we (Irish-Americans) know the
music and history of our heritage. The History Channel serves it up
every March 17th. Do they still? This family dumped cable two years ago and
have never regretted it for a single second. We've no shortage of love for and
exposure to Irish music here--U2, Sinead O'Connor, The Cranberries, The
Waterboys, Enya, and more traditional
music recorded by bands such as The Chieftains. One of my favorite movies, This Is My
Father, has all but gone ignored, and I don't know why. It's a great story
that I think a lot of people would really like, especially if they're
Irish-American. I just happened to come across it about twelve years ago while
wandering through the video store.
Irish music can sound as ecstatic or as sorrowful
as it is possible for music to sound. I'd love to find or make up a really
riveting story that brings together the sounds that have come out of Ireland for
hundreds of years. I'd love to use Irish dance as a character in the story. I
think that I've resisted this idea for so long because it seems way too big and
dear to me.
