essay

Are BAME musicals just as effective as mainstream musicals?

In this essay I will be discussing if BAME musicals are just as effective as mainstream musicals. BAME means Black, Asians and minority ethnic groups, musicals include The Lion King and Hamilton. By mainstream musicals I mean Wicked, Matilda and the Phantom of the Opera. I wanted to research this topic as I have noticed more BAME musicals are within the West End, in recent years Dream Girls and Tina Turner have both been successful. As a black female, it is important to see cultural differences on the stage and the growth in the theatres as we are the up and coming generations. The research will include the history of how both Caucasian and BAME musicals came about. How their theatres may affect their success, reviews and questions from theatres around London. I aim to show how the journey of musical theatre has adapted and grown over time and success of BAME performing musicals. But is it really just about the musical itself or has the context of the play got something to do with it?

The history

Musicals originated in ancient Greece where music and dance included light comedies and tragedies, within the Roman times, they used tap shoes to make dance steps more audible. It then soon emerged into Western theatre in the 19th century; stories with music could be between thirty minutes to three hours long, usually with two acts of Copera being sung. The first black people to arrive in the UK were probably an African platoon stationed by the Roman army on Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland in the 3rd century, but records of performance start from the 13th century, when crusaders brought Moorish musicians to the UK from North Africa. They introduced new instruments such as the cymbals and the kettle drum. To continue evidence of black performers can be found in the painting of the 'Ommeganck: The Triumph of Isabella', which shows a great street pageant featuring many performers in Brussels in 1615.

In 1505 African Americans performed in Edinburgh in front of the court and the King himself Henry VII who employed a black trumpet for just eight pence a day; he near enough performed for free however I feel his talents would have been fantastic to perform in front of the king.  The numbers, of black people were growing that by the 18th century there were between 10-15,000 black people living in London. The development of the slave trade from the mid-17th century brought many more African people to the UK. However not all black people at this time were slaves, this is evident as in 1783 William Hogarth’s prints of life in London feature black performers in pageants as well as black actresses and dressers. The picture 'Strolling Actresses in a Barn' shows a group began touring actresses in various states including ‘The Devil to Pay’ in south London, which began to show real progression of black performers. Before the late 1890's, the image portrayed of African-Americans on Broadway was ‘second hand vision of black life created by European- American performers. This was a stereotype of coon songs, which were extremely popular. Blackface was also common whereby white people would paint their faces black in order to portray black people and mock their ways of life. This was a very common way of performance during that time. Will Marion Cook and Bob Cole were written musical comedics in Broadway in 1898, Cooks Clorindy produced the origin of the cake walk, it was a one hour sketch first all-black show performed in the prestigious Broadway house Casino Theatre roof garden. By the 19th century black actors performed regularly, the first black actor famous Ira Alridge he was a US citizen but moved to England to become a UK citizen Samuel Morgan Smith. Theatre for black people had adapted as even an American anti-slavery novel ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ was adapted on stage in London Adelphi Theatre in 1852. In the 20th century a musical ‘In Dahomey’ took on both New York and London stages including the Shaftesbury Theatre 1903, new dances called the Catewalk and the Charelston became popular within that time.

The middle ages consisted of travelling minstrels and performing toupes offering singing, comedy, musicals and morality. During the renaissance period musicals evolved into commedia Dell’Arte which was Italian masked theatre based on sketches. To continue the Tudor period which included the greatest writer Shakespeare and with Ben Johnson, they both wrote plays which included masque like sections. Writers Gilbert and Sulivan were the first authors in Britain to write musical stage works (1871-1896).

Broadway was introduced in 1866 with show ‘The Black Crook’ production by William Wheathley, he manages to make a gross of $25,000 which was unheard of at the time. In 1980s big stage musicals became more fashionable, showing the longest running shows in the west end. Les Miserables (1985), Miss Saigon (1989), ‘Phantom of the Opera (1986), Lion King (1997), Wicked (2003) and Billy Elliot (2005).

What makes a successful musical?

Different shows have different seating capacities meaning the more seats they hold the more potential they have to sell more tickets which are a big factor. It shows that the highest grossing musicals are Lion King with $1,463,250,222 and a total performance of 8,519, followed by Wicked with $1, 90,774,930 and total performance of 6,046. In addition, The Phantom of the Opera grossed in $1,150,057,053 and had a total performance of 12, 574. Finally, Mama Mia, $624,391,693 with total performance 5,772. This information shows that an African musical is the most successful, in theatre this could be due to it not only being one of the longest running musicals but because of its phenomenal production. I have had the privilege of watching the lion King and it catches you from the beginning with its culture and African themed songs, the bright colours and detailed costume and set really allows me to appreciate theatre. I have also been researching the different plays and how their tickets, seating and reviews may determine their success.

Dream Girls is performed in, the Savoy Theatre with seats up to 1,158, having a big theatre is important as it allows you to sell more tickets to sell out the theatre. The tickets start from £15 and go to as high as £150.00, which is also a factor as the higher the tickets the more money going to the box office. The musical was given on average given 4 to 5 stars. Awards, for best book of musical, best performance by leading actor/ actress in musical. Best choreography, 2017 best actress in Musical, best supporting actor in musical. Whilst speaking to my uncle and auntie who had seen the show I asked what their experience was. They said 'It was absolutely brilliant', how the character of Effie White's voice was breath taking and everybody in the room was at the tip of her fingers. Furthermore, speaking to my friend who had also watched Dream Girls, she explained how it was ‘so amazing, oh my gosh you need to go and watch it the whole thing is incredible’, expressing how well the performance is but together is a sign of how well it is doing. Then we have Motown which is based in Shaftesbury Theatre containing 1308 seats, tickets start from £22- £139.00 and it was given a 4.6-star rating, which is also a very good rating. The musical was given awards for Theatre world award, outstanding male dancer in Broadway, which shows the level of skill and accuracy that the cast has to produce. In addition, I spoke to peers who had seen the musical, they spoke highly of the musical how it takes them on a musical journey of the legends and old soul and leaves you feeling a good soul vibe of the 60's and 70's. I feel it shows the real, journey of soul music and icons such as Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and Michael Jackson that led the path for many others. Finally, Tina Turner the musical is located in the Aldwych Theatre with seats of 1,176, tickets start from £22.75- £174.25 and it was given 5 stars, Tina Turner was also asked how she rated her own musical and said she didn’t know what to expect of the show because she is a perfectionist however "But when I look and see it done so well, I feel proud. And I feel like I'm sending someone - sorry I'm getting emotional - I'm really sending someone out that's going to do a good job and make me proud." Expressing that the west End, has mastered their skill in portraying Tina Turner’s life and was able to entertain their audience. Lion King is also one of the longest running musicals, performed in the Lyceum Theatre with a seat capacity of 2,100 and tickets start from £37.50 to £294 Great show! Took my 80-year-old grandmother, who picked the Lion King rather than any other, this was an amazing show! The costumes are fantastic, so well designed and colourful and the cast deserve extra kudos for managing so well with all their costumes/props! Great show! I have also watched the Lion King twice and both times were mesmerising I loved the stage production and the detail to show Africa was amazing, each of their costumes were beautiful and I love how they used different materials such as wood to create the animals such as the tigers.

Our college was privileged to see Hamilton and the Victoria Palace Theatre and the performance was spectacular. I loved the use of rap and spoken word with songs through the whole play. The cast was built up with Black, Asian, mixed race and white actors in a time where there would not have been so much cultural diversity. After looking back at who the founding fathers of America were they were all white males, so it was interesting to me why the cast was BAME. However, whilst watching the performance I did not think about the colour of their skin but rather the message in itself. Which made me think why isn't their more blind casting within theatres and what are the reasons behind these decisions. When the cast of Hamilton came into our college for our Q&A, I asked the question of it they felt blind casting was important and if there is enough of it within theatre. They answered by saying the industry is definitely improving and they it has been a big problem for many years. However, there is still a lot of work that is needed to be done, to get BAME actors out onto the stage. I felt the performance was cultural in some aspects, as you had BAME performers rapping and beat boxing which reminded me of London/US Schools when the children all want to show their talents. I feel Hamilton was a stepping stone in the right direction to inspire many young actors like myself.

 To continue, Wicked Performed at the Apollo Victoria Theatre tickets with 2,304 seats and tickets from £22.00-£202.75 and has the highest price of a ticket on this list, this could be due to its successes and one of the longest running West End shows which was given 5 stars, for its fantastic show, production and of course singing. After looking over the reviews from their site it was filled with overall positive feedback from 'Spectacular shows, fantastic singing', 'My daughter and I were spellbound from start to finish'. In 2011 London, Broadway, and both national touring productions all broke the record for the highest weekly gross. Both the West End production and the North American tour have been seen by over two million patrons. In the last 10 years they have won 17 awards spreading from favourite new Theatre moment with the song "Defying Gravity", London show has been the recipient of five Laurence Olivier Award nominations, winning one, BBC Radio 2 Audience choice award. The awards won shows how worthy this production is and how deserving it is, I feel they would have a wide audience as a lot of the reviews explained how happy their children were to see the show but also because the story it is based off Wizard of Oz is a classic and that will attract a lot of people. Furthermore, Matilda Cambridge Theatre includes 1231, tickets from £30.00- £114.00. Positive reviews such as 'An evening of unadulterated bliss', someone else said 'utterly exhilarating, gleeful, grotesque, fun and heart tugging poignancy'. Finally, 'the quest for a great new musical is over'. 'What a talented group of performers! We all really enjoyed the performance and would definitely recommend it! "Spent a lot of money for our 3 generational family groups. My parents (mum is a Ronald Dahl fan) were bored as were I. The show only engaged one member of our family- my ten-year-old who was absolutely scared". However, despite the review in October 2011, Matilda won Best Musical and Best Actor (Bertie Carvel) in the Theatre Awards UK and in November 2011 it won the Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical as part of The Evening Standard Awards. The production was nominated in all 10 categories for which it was eligible at the 2012 Olivier Awards. Finally, Les Miserables Queens Theatre with 1098 seats and tickets from £33-£115.05, it’s been called a 'fabulous production' and a 'amazing unforgettable evening' and they

 audience was 'blown away'. 'This is the eighth time I have seen the show, couple of times in Manchester, rest in London, now introducing my granddaughters, one of which was her second time. Never disappoints. Surprised and quite delighted to see a black cosette' which could indicate the production is taken into considering blind casting. From 1985 Les miserables won the Laurence Olivier Award for best actress in Musical Patti LuPone and again in 2012 and 2014 for Audience award for most popular show. 

It is evident that all Musicals listed are very successful, although it seems success wise the Lion King and wicked seem to take the lead slightly. This could be due to their long lasting reign within the West End however it is undeniable that their Musical is not grown breaking, they hold the most seating capacity and their highest tickets are within £200 meanings, the more tickets in a bigger theatre means the more money they are creating, not forgetting sharing their work with many more people to see. One is an African based musical and the other based off a classic movie, so why are people so attracted to coming to see this? I think both have a wide audience to perform in front of, Dream Girls may not be appealing to a younger audience, who are not aware of the original film my nephew went to go to see the show and he said there was 'too much singing', but my auntie said it was fantastic so it could appeal to different audiences, the same goes for Tina Turner show the younger generation may not appreciate the life of the Legend compared to others who were able to enjoy her music. Matilda may also be more for a family based audience as a lot of comments were speaking on much their children enjoyed the show. The amount of shows each have are in average all around the 1000's however in total the black musicals have more seats, this can give them the advantage for their box office. 

To conclude I believe that BAME musicals are just as successful as mainstream musicals, this is because of their high ratings that they are able to achieve and the stories that they bring on the stage, all musicals tell a story however I believe BAME musicals also bring history and how that particular event/ time period shaped and developed the culture to where it is now, I feel black vocalists have so much soul and power in their voice which I love to listen to on a stage, and I strongly agree other members feel the same. I feel musicals can all be successful as long as the story their telling is powerful, gripping from the beginning and of course the songs have to be entertaining throughout. I feel BAME musicals have come a long way and reach some tops shows like Wicked. 

References

The editors of Encyclopedia. (2017), Black Theatre: American Theatre. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/art/black-theatre (Accessed 17/11/18)

McIntosh, S.(2018), How does Tina Turner rate her own musical? BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42691880 (Accessed 19/11/18)

What's On stage. Available at: https://www.whatsonstage.com/shows/west-end-theatre/dreamgirls_88128 (Accessed 19/11/18)

The Apollo Victoria Theatre. Available at: https://theapollovictoria.nliven.co/tickets/series/wicked?_ga=2.126731661.1284412054.1544398724-1462386590.1544398724&_gac=1.23815496.1544398724.CjwKCAiAl7PgBRBWEiwAzFhmmoPMtvjEHYEf1f3dsRhtk_MxLXPpsMpwco4asuoQXCyhaROKtr7H2RoCzCwQAvD_BwE&startDate=12-01-2018#mapView (Accessed 19/11/18)

 Gardner, L. (2011), Matilda review. The Guardian. Available at:   https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/nov/25/matilda-review (Accessed 3/12/18)

Matilda the Musical. Trip Advisor.Available at: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186338-d2642613-Reviews-Matilda_the_Musical-London_England.html (Accessed 3/12/18)