Hadestown: An Analysis by Mira Cohen

Introduction 

Hadestown is a sung-through musical written by Anaïs Mitchell based on Greek mythology. After being turned into a concept album after its 2006 premiere in Vermont, the musical went through years of workshops and rewrites before premiering on Broadway in 2019. It received eight Tony awards in 2019, including Best Musical. The musical tells the tragic tale of Orpheus and Eurydice while intertwining parallels with the love story of Hades and Persephone. 

Synopsis 

The story begins with Hermes introducing the characters (“Road to Hell”). Afterwards, Eurydice and the Fates describe the harsh winter they’ve been going through and how rigid the weather has been (“Any Way the Wind Blows”). Orpheus, instantly enamored by Eurydice, insists that Eurydice marry him (“Come Home With Me”). Eurydice is hesitant as they both live in poverty. Orpheus shares that he is writing a song to bring spring back (“Wedding Song”). 

Orpheus sings the first draft of his song (“Epic I”). Persephone comes above ground and celebrates summertime (“Livin’ it Up on Top”). Eurydice starts to fall in love with Orpheus, after being on her own her whole life (“All I’ve Ever Known”). Hades comes early to take Persephone back to Hadestown. Eurydice is intrigued by the rich praises sung by the Fates as well as the promise of protection that Hadestown offers (“Way Down Hadestown”). With Persephone gone, the harsh winter returns, and Eurydice begs Orpheus to finish his song quickly while she searches for food and firewood (“A Gathering Storm”). Orpheus continues to work on his song (“Epic II”), while Hades and Persephone argue. Hades claimed he built Hadestown all for her (“Chant”). 

Hades goes above ground to find someone who will appreciate what he has built in Hadestown. He comes across a desperate Eurydice, who he invites to Hadestown (“Hey, Little Songbird”). The Fates urge Eurydice to join him (“When the Chips Are Down”). Eurydice sees no other choice to protect herself, and opts to go to Hadestown. The Fates address the harsh reality of choosing self-interest over love (“Gone, I’m Gone”). Orpheus returns from writing his song, without noticing that Eurydice left. After hearing from Hermes where she went, Orpheus sets out to rescue Eurydice. Orpheus follows Hermes’ instructions on how to get to Hadestown (“Wait for Me”). Eurydice officially becomes a worker in Hadestown (“Why We Build the Wall”).

intermission 

Persephone laments on being stuck underground (“Our Lady of the Underground”). The Fates show Eurydice the consequences of going to Hadestown: she will soon become forgotten and can never leave (“Way Down Hadestown (Reprise)”). Eurydice sings of her regrets as her memories of the world above slowly begin to fade (“Flowers”). 

Orpheus finds Eurydice in Hadestown, and invites her to return home (“Come Home With Me (Reprise)”). Hades discovers Orpheus’ presence and shares with him that Eurydice willingly signed her contract (“Papers”). The workers are ordered to attack Orpheus, and the Fates tell him to give up (“Nothing Changes”). Orpheus vows to free Eurydice, rallying up the workers and catching Persephone’s attention in the process (“If It’s True”). 

Inspired, Persephone pleads with Hades to let Eurydice go by reminding him of their own love (“How Long?”). The workers become restless and start to question their place, as Hades gives Orpheus the chance to sing his song (“Chant (Reprise)”). Orpheus sings his song, reminding Hades of his love for Persephone (“Epic III”). Hades and Persephone dance. Eurydice and Orpheus promise to stay together (“Promises”). Hades struggles with a dilemma, aided by the Fates: if he kills Orpheus and keeps Eurydice captive, they become martyrs, but if he lets them go, he loses control over his workers as they have begun to agitate for their freedom (“Word to the Wise”). Hades decides to let Orpheus and Eurydice go, on the condition that he walks in front and she walks behind. If he turns to look back, she will return to Hadestown forever (“His Kiss, the Riot”). 

Hermes shares the conditions with Orpheus and Eurydice, and they worry that it is a trap. They begin their journey as Persephone and Hades decide to give their relationship another chance (“Wait for Me (Reprise)”). Orpheus becomes overcome by doubt and turns around right before reaching the end (“Doubt Comes In”). Hermes reflects on the somber tale and why it must be told, saying “That spring had come again, with a love song”. The story and set resets to the beginning as Hermes prepares to tell it again. (“Road to Hell (Reprise)”). After the bows at curtain call, the cast raise a cup to honor Orpheus (“We Raise Our Cups”). 

the end. 

Connections to the Original Tale 

In the original myth, Orpheus was the son of the Muse, Calliope (and sometimes the god Apollo). A talented musician, Orpheus’ singing and playing were so beautiful that animals, trees and even rocks were said to join him in dance. Orpheus fell head over heels in love with the nymph, Eurydice, who returned his affection. Unfortunately, Eurydice passed away on their wedding night. Distraught, Orpheus traveled to the Underworld to retrieve her.

While Orpheus’ singing was beautiful enough to convince Hades to allow Eurydice to return to the mortal realm, Orpheus’ efforts were in vain. Part of the requirements of leaving were that Orpheus would not turn back to see if Eurydice was accompanying him. While Orpheus almost managed to lead Eurydice out, he could not help but glance back. Eurydice was returned to Hades’ realm, and Orpheus separated from her in the land of the living. 

In the musical Hadestown, Hermes narrates the story and serves as Orpheus’ mentor, in contrast to the original myth where Apollo is closest associated with Orpheus. In Greek mythology, Hermes serves as a messenger god between the gods themselves as well as the godly world and the mortal world. In Hadestown, Hermes serves as a messenger between the actors on stage and the audience. 

Additionally, Hermes plays a similar role to the Greek Chorus of classical Greek theater. Part of the role of the Greek Chorus involved commenting on the moral and emotional impact of the play. They acted outside the narrative to indicate which characters were morally correct, and which characters the audience should not sympathize with. Similarly, Hermes’ reactions to the characters indicate how sympathetic they are in the narrative. This is most apparent in Hermes’ relationship with Orpheus. Initially Hermes’ tone when talking about Orpheus was admiring and affectionate. As Orpheus grew more ignorant, Hermes became curt and cold towards him. It is only when Orpheus expresses his regret and his desperation that Hermes softens to him again and agrees to help. 

Lastly, Hermes serves as a psychopomp, a figure who guides souls to the afterlife. This is one of his roles in Greek mythology, and that is extended to the musical, most significantly when he gives Orpheus instructions on how to reach Hadestown. 

In contrast to the original myth, the Eurydice in Hadestown has agency over her own actions. It is of her own accord that she follows Hades down to Hadestown. The Fates preemptively chastise the audience for their judgment of this decision, assuming they will criticize Eurydice for choosing self-interest over love. Hadestown frames this decision as shaped by manipulation and made out of necessity. 

Orpheus/Eurydice vs. Hades/Persephone 

The love stories of Orpheus and Eurydice parallel that of Hades and Persephone, which Anaïs Mitchell takes creative liberties from the original myths to connect. “Chant” is a song sung by the two couples interchangeably, as two women face the reality of their partners. Hades and Orpheus are both consumed by their work; Orpheus shoves everything aside to work on his song to bring spring back for Eurydice: 

Poor boy working on a song…

he did not see the storm coming on

..while Hades builds up his factory in an attempt to impress Persephone:

Lover, everything I do 

I do it for the love of you

Orpheus is also directly impacted by the rampant discord between Hades and Persephone:

They can’t find the tune… 

they can’t feel the rhythm  /

That’s why times are so hard 

It’s because of the gods 

The gods have forgotten the song of their love

Their tension causes him to lose himself further in the struggle of writing his song, even as Hermes warns Orpheus to pay attention to Eurydice. As tension in “Chant” builds, Eurydice and Persephone are pushed further and further away from their lovers. Eurydice longs to give up and lay down to rest, while Persephone longs to go aboveground back to sunny life. 

At the end of “Chant”, Hades ventures aboveground (“If you don’t even want my love//I’ll give it to someone who does”), while Persephone sinks below the stage, left behind in Hadestown. As Persephone leaves the stage, she stares directly at Eurydice, as if she knows exactly what is coming for her. Although the stare could be interpreted as a glare of jealousy, I believe it comes across more as pity, as Persephone knows deeply just how much Hades can do. Persephone and Eurydice do not share as many direct connections as Orpheus and Hades do, but throughout the musical they make a lot of eye contact where they acknowledge each other’s presence, establishing an inadvertent connection. 

Hades, too, addresses his connections to Orpheus: 

Son, I too, was left behind 

Turned on one too many times 

Hades was left behind by Persephone every summer to be with her mother, while Orpheus was left behind by Eurydice (although arguably he was the one to leave her behind). 

In “Epic III”, Orpheus performs the finished product of the song he’s been working on over the course of the show for Hades: 

King of shadows 

King of shades 

Hades was king of the Underworld 

[HADES, spoken] 

Oh, it’s about me?

Although Orpheus sings the love story of Hades and Persephone in “Epic III”, he draws lines from “All I’ve Ever Known”, a song sung previously between Orpheus and Eurydice as they truly start to fall in love: 

All I’ve Ever Known 

“When I saw you all alone there against the sky It’s like I’d known you all along” 

“Suddenly I’m holding the world in my arms”

Epic III 

“You saw her alone there, against the sky It was like she was someone you’d always known” 

“It was like you were holding the world when you held her 

Like yours were the arms that the whole world was in” 

The lyrics of “Epic III” apply to Orpheus’ own life: 

See how he labors beneath that load 

Afraid to look up, and afraid to let go 

In the context of Hades, he is so afraid of losing Persephone that he loses himself in building the factory in Hadestown. Similarly, Orpheus’ fear clouds his judgment as he ignores Hermes’ direct warning to look up at what is happening to Eurydice. 

He’s grown so afraid that he’ll lose what he owns

Both men are so terrified of losing their lovers that they end up pushing them further away. 

But what he doesn’t know is that what he’s defending 

Is already gone 

Orpheus didn’t know what had happened to Eurydice until after she sang “Gone, I’m Gone”. 

As Orpheus and Eurydice prepare to leave Hadestown, Persephone prepares to leave for spring. In “Wait for Me (Reprise)”, she asks Hades to wait for her, a callback to Orpheus’ cry to Eurydice to wait for him: 

[PERSEPHONE, spoken] 

Hades, you let them go 

[HADES, spoken] 

I let them try 

[PERSEPHONE, spoken] 

And how ’bout you and I? 

Are we gonna try again?

[HADES, spoken] 

It’s time for spring 

We’ll try again next fall 

[PERSEPHONE, spoken] 

Wait for me? 

[HADES, spoken] 

I will

Hades’ final deal with Orpheus forces Orpheus into the same situation Hades himself has experienced: Orpheus will have to confront doubt. This is the ultimate test of trust, of patience, of love. Hades is forced every summer to fear what will happen if Persephone doesn’t return, or worse, she returns despising him. His test for Orpheus is arguably the most difficult situation he could throw at him: he put the eternal future of Orpheus’ lover into his own hands. And in the end, Orpheus fails his test. He looks back, and Eurydice’s fate is sealed. 

Analysis 

Hadestown is a sad story. We are warned of this from the very first song, “Road to Hell”: “It’s a sad tale, it’s a tragedy!” 

Although this lyric is sung with a cheerful tune, Hermes is not kidding. He reiterates his point throughout the song, almost as a warning for the audience for what they are getting themselves into. Yet, the show builds and builds on hope. 

While there is plenty of hope littered throughout the lyrics, there is just as much foreshadowing the tragic ending, too. 

“Any Way the Wind Blows” is the first song where we really get to learn about Eurydice. In addition, we learn more about the future situation: 

Wherever it was this young girl went 

The Fates were close behind 

These lyrics show how Eurydice is the closest character to death in the show. 

People turn on you just like the wind 

Orpheus later turns around to look back at Eurydice, sealing her fate in the underworld.

When your body aches to lay it down 

When you’re hungry and there ain’t enough to go round 

Ain’t no length to which a girl won’t go 

Eurydice later decides to go to Hadestown out of desperation. 

In “Wait For Me”, Hermes gives Orpheus instructions on how to get to Hadestown: “Keep on walkin’ and don’t look back” 

Even audience members who are familiar with the story sit in shock when Orpheus looks back in “Doubt Comes In”. Even Hermes, who narrates this story, day in and day out, can’t seem to figure out why it happened: 

Don’t ask why, brother, don’t ask how 

He could have come so close 

The song was written long ago

Hadestown circles back to the same motifs. This is not only seen as the story starts over at the end of the show, but in the numerous song reprises throughout the musical. There are five reprises in the soundtrack, and each one draws from its original song while also showing how the characters have changed. They all take place in the second act, after Eurydice has descended into Hadestown—one of the biggest shifts in the story. 

“Way Down Hadestown” focuses on Hades as a ruler/boss as Persephone descends for wintertime and shows Eurydice’s interest at Hadestown’s promise of protection, while its reprise depicts Eurydice’s discovery of the reality of Hadestown after her own descent. 

“Come Home With Me” is the first time Orpheus meets Eurydice. His first words to her are “Come home with me”. In the song’s reprise, Orpheus arrives in Hadestown, his first words to her in the Underworld being the same as the ones when they first met. In “Come Home With Me (Reprise)”, Orpheus shares that the song he spoke of in “Come Home With Me” was successful: 

Come Home With Me 

A song to fix what’s wrong Take what’s broken, make it whole A song so beautiful 

It brings the world back into tune Back into time 

And all the flowers will bloom 

Come Home With Me (Reprise)

I sang a song 

So beautiful 

Stones wept and they let me in And I can sing us home again 

In “Chant”, the workers sing the same chant mindlessly (“Low, keep your head, keep your head low//Oh, you gotta keep your head low//If you wanna keep your head”) while

Orpheus works on his song, Eurydice struggles to survive, and Hades and Persephone argue. In the song’s reprise, the workers repeat the same chant, however, they become increasingly agitated. Orpheus has opened their eyes to their reality, and they begin to question their situation: 

Why do we turn away when our brother is bleeding? 

Why do we build the wall and then call it freedom? 

In “Chant (Reprise)”, not only are the workers made aware of their blindness, but Orpheus is, as well. In “Chant”, Orpheus ignored Eurydice as he lost himself in songwriting. Now, he realizes that he can become a voice for the people. “Chant” shares indirect parallels between the two couples, while its reprise directly connects Hades to Orpheus (“Young man, I was young once too//Sang a song of love like you”) 

In “Wait for Me”, Orpheus sings the chorus alone as he travels to Hadestown to rescue Eurydice. In the song’s reprise, Orpheus and Eurydice sing the chorus together, enforcing their devotion to each other. In both songs, the Fates vocalize Orpheus’ doubts about his journey (“Who are you? Who do you think you are?”). Both times, he feels unworthy of what he is attempting to accomplish. However, in “Wait for Me (Reprise)”, Orpheus has the audible support of both Eurydice and the workers behind him. At the end of the reprise, Eurydice repeats Orpheus’ refrain in “Wait for Me”, showing their role reversal; in the original song, Orpheus follows Eurydice down to Hadestown (“I’m comin’ wait for me”), while in the reprise, Eurydice follows Orpheus back to the mortal world (“I hear the walls repeatin’”). 

The last reprise in Hadestown is of “Road to Hell”, when the story as a whole starts from the very beginning. Both songs begin with Hermes saying “a’ight”, although in the reprise, he is much more subdued, still recovering from the tragedy. Despite this, Hermes still retells the story. He repeats lines from the original song (“It’s a sad tale//it’s a tragedy”), but now, we can see what the effects of the tragedy really have on him. Hermes is not the cheerful version of himself he was in the first song, even though many of his words are the same. He himself is recovering from the events of the musical, and throughout “Road to Hell (Reprise)” he builds up the strength and confidence we initially saw from him. 

In “Road to Hell (Reprise)”, Hermes addresses why we tell the story again and again: 

‘Cause here’s the thing 

To know how it ends 

And still begin to sing it again 

As if it might turn out this time 

I learned that from a friend of mine

This is sung by Hermes while Eurydice repeats her same lines from the beginning of the musical, signaling that the story has already begun again. As the audience, we know how the story will end. The ending never changes, but there is always hope for a better result. We hope against hope that Orpheus will prevail, that he won’t look back. And everytime we are disappointed, even as the story resets itself before the audience even leaves their seats. 

See, Orpheus was a poor boy 

But he had a gift to give 

He could make you see how the world could be 

In spite of the way that it is 

Orpheus gave Eurydice hope for a better world. His unfettered optimism contrasted her seasoned realism, and that fostered a timeless love story. However, without Orpheus’ presence during the harsh winter, she was forced to once again see the reality of the world and was confronted with the hardest decision of her life. As a result, she chose to protect herself by going to Hadestown. Although she didn’t know the consequences of her decision, she felt at the time that that would be her best chance of survival (although arguably not survival because she died?). 

Hadestown is a tragedy, one without a direct lesson. The characters do not become better people by the end of the musical. They are left shattered, until the pieces are reverse glued back together. 

As angry as I get at Orpheus, he is the reason there was hope at all within the story. Orpheus showed Eurydice how the world could be, in spite of the way that it is. And even after he ignored her descent into Hadestown and later sealed her fate down below, he is who is talked about. As the audience leaves their seats after curtain call, Persephone leads a toast to Orpheus in “We Raise Our Cups”. 

Harsh winters happen, but spring will come again, and again, and again. Hadestown teaches us to keep going, to get through. That is the draw of Hadestown: “Everybody looked and everybody saw//That spring had come again” Hadestown brings hope to the audience. Orpheus brings hope to the audience. Spring will come, “and we’re gonna sing it again”. 

Discussion Questions 

1. Whose fault was Eurydice’s fate? 

2. How much of an effect did the Fates actually have? Do you think they were real characters, or only representations of the individual characters’ inner thoughts and feelings?

Inspiration 

While Hadestown is very different from the musical I want to create, I want to focus on the theme of hope vs. reality in the show. I am interested in playing with the idea of being upfront with the audience; the audience knowing in advance that the story is not going to be tied up in a happy ending with a pink bow. However, I want the audience to cling on to the hope that it’ll all turn out okay in the end. In the context of my musical, my idea is that the musical builds on the audience’s hope that all of the seniors will become close and remain best friends for years, as the outsider, or the so-called ‘villain’ of the story hopes they will be. However, the real world often doesn’t work that way, and they will grow distant. But in my musical, I want to show the audience that that is okay. 

Video Clips 

1. HADESTOWN Wait for me (Reprise) Broadway 2020 Reeve Carney Eva Noblezada
2. Road to Hell (Reprise)/We Raise Our Cups – Andre de Shields/Jewelle Blackman 

References 

1. Hadestown – Wikipedia 

2. Anaïs Mitchell – Hadestown (Original Broadway Cast Recording) Lyrics and Tracklist | Genius 

3. Musical vs Myth: Hadestown 

4. Why Hadestown is the Most Brilliant Musical Ever 

5. Subversion and Hope in Hadestown 

6. The Love Stories of Hadestown: Orpheus/Eurydice vs. Hades/Persephone 7. ‘Hadestown’ and the Allure of Tragedies – The Science Survey 

8. Hadestown 2024 FULL SHOW – Isa Briones & Jon Jon Briones on Broadway 9. Hadestown performs “Wait For Me” at the Tony’s 2019 

10. Hadestown- Wait for Me (Reprise) Big Night of Musicals 2024 Performance 11. https://www.tumblr.com/anais-mitchell/186727683638/thoughts-on-persephone-an d-eurydice-duringafter

Rocketman! A Comprehensive Analysis by Aspen Rideau

Summary: The film Rocketman (2019) details the harrowing and influential life of international superstar, Sir. Elton John. 

The movie starts with John bursting through the doors of a rehabilitation center, still in his concert costume. He sits among a circle of recovering addicts, in which he is asked about his childhood. A child version of John appears in the room, in which John chases him out of the room into his childhood neighborhood. We see John’s (Birth name being Reginald Dwight) life; his mother wasn’t the nicest, his father returned from the army but didn’t love him, and his grandmother was the only person who truly cared. 

Years pass, John’s father abandons the family after he sees his mother cheating, and John starts attending the Royal Academy of Music for piano. John grows into a young adult, where he joins a touring band, playing music for an African American music group, where he then figures out he’s gay. After that, he goes to a music company, and meets Bernie Taupin where they slowly begin to collaborate. This takes them far enough to get to America where John becomes a huge success. John meets John Reid, a music manager and an evil man. John becomes addicted to drugs, is stuck in this abusive relationship with his manager, and is generally overworked. 

After a 3 day cocaine binge, he attempts suicide via drowning at a party at his house. Nothing comes of this, life goes on, John comes out to his mother. He marries a woman, it clearly doesn’t work out, they get divorced. John has an argument with mother and stepfather, then followed by him having an argument with Taupin over Taupin saying he’s going back home for a bit and requesting that John joins him. Following this, John goes home, does a bunch of cocaine, overdoses, and has a heart attack.

He is still then forced to perform at a concert. Before going on stage, John is about to snort some more cocaine, but he notices his nose bleeding. This prompts him to abandon the concert, where he catches a taxi, and goes to a rehabilitation hospital. Everything comes back full circle as the opening scene of the movie plays. In there, John makes peace with all of his demons. Bernie comes to visit him, and the movie ends off with a remake of the original I’m Still Standing music video as a musical number. And that is Rocketman. 

Analysis: Here’s a close-reading of the song Rocket Man in relation to Rocketman. 

Rocket Man first appears as an instrumental during John’s childhood where, in his head, he plays the piano with a grand orchestra. It next appears during John’s suicide attempt, when he falls from his diving board, into his pool, surrounded by nearly a hundred people. The depths of the pool have clearly become distorted in Elton’s head, and as he sinks to the bottom, he sees the child version of himself (who we’ll call Reggie for now), playing on the same piano he had imagined. He’s dressed as an astronaut. 

Reggie begins: 

She packed my bags last night

Pre-flight

Zero hour, nine a.m.

And I’m gonna be high as a kite by then

Reggie watches Elton the entire time he sinks to the bottom. With this same piano he imagined all his dreams coming true to, he watches how achieving that dream has boded for him. There’s not much to say about the first three lines, but it can be taken that the last line is a direct jab at Elton for the cycle he has fallen into. Elton takes control of the song from this point, but Reggie watches him in disdain and disappointment. 

Elton goes on:

I miss the earth so much

I miss my life

It’s lonely out in space

On such a timeless flight

In Elton’s career, he’s the Rocket Man; he’s untouchable. He’s so far gone from the civilian lifestyle he once knew, falling into an unhealthy and self-destructive cycle, that it has become alienating. To any other person, he’s amazingly talented, he’s out of this world. But to himself, he would do anything just to come back down from this nightmare that has essentially become his life.

People jump into the water to save John, but he watches them, they all begin dancing/floundering around in the water before they reach him. I believe this emphasizes that difference between him and them. It takes them so long to reach him because he’s so far away from where they are. In a way, they almost struggle to reach the bottom. 

Elton is pulled from the water and put in an ambulance, incoherent as people cry out to him. In the ambulance, he continues:

And all this science I don’t understand

It’s just my job five days a week

A rocket man

A rocket man

This part is a little more simple, being a performer is his full-time job. And I mean performing in every aspect, even his daily life. This hellish cycle is simply his job. As this part goes on, the ambulance parks and paramedics pull John along on a stretcher, pumping his stomach. As they pass behind a wall, the scene changes to a venue. The paramedics remove him from the stretcher, performing a dance number, changing his clothes, and lifting him about. 

They pull a costume on him, and when they set him down, the paramedics have become his management team, ‘Elton John’ lining the backs of their uniforms. They give him a shot, presumably some drug, and finish putting his costume on.

John sings:

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time

‘Til touchdown brings me ‘round again to find

I’m not the man they think I am at home

Oh no, no, no, I’m a rocket man

Rocket man, burning up his fuse out here alone

These lyrics continue on with this theme of loneliness that John feels due to his untouchable status, and how in the grand scheme of things, no one cares, as long as he does his job. He’s immediately placed back on-stage after a suicide attempt and an overdose carelessly, because that is his job. And it’s not like his audience is aware of this, I’m not the man they think I am at home, I’m a rocket man. All they know John for is his public image, and to have no one know his struggle is isolating. 

John looks quite depressed by all of this, but as soon as they push him forward to go on-stage, a bright smile covers his face and he’s back to performing. The song repeats the earlier lyrics, but at the end, continues to repeat, And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time.

I believe that this means it’ll be a long time before any of this ends, before John can escape this life. He can’t die, and even when he tries to, he’s sent right back to the stage without a care in the world. This is his reality, and I think it’s gonna be a long, long time before it changes. 

Inspiration: This play can be an inspiration to mine due to its raw nature, but amazing musical soundtrack. They were able to make his songs into a musical fitting format. I would prefer for my musical to incorporate more rock-ish tones. Also the lighting in this musical is fantastic, I would love to have the lighting design in my musical. This musical also addresses some heavy topics which is what I would hope to be able to do with mine. 

Two discussion questions: How do you believe John is able to make vague/unrelated songs fit so well into this biographical musical?

The Muppets (2011) Musical Analysis by Lila Mankad

The redemption arc of The Muppets (2011)  is one that parallels real life. In 2011, the golden age of the Muppets franchise seemed to be over. Jim Henson was dead. The last large-scale production was the 1999 Muppets in Space, which lost Disney money and was widely regarded as the worst movie in the series. Many of the popular kids movies were now CGI powered. Were the Muppets still relevant? Were they doomed to fade away into lackluster Christmas specials and nostalgia? 

The Muppets addressed this question head-on: “Kermit, your fans never left you. The world hasn’t forgotten. All you need to do is show ‘em again!” This task was lovingly taken on by writers Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel (who also stars as Gary), with some lyrics written by Bret McKenzie. Segel actually pitched the project to Disney himself, campaigning for it on live TV until it gained traction and corporate gave the go-ahead. 

Handling such revered characters was a responsibility which neither took lightly. It was a balancing act— they wanted to be funny and self-aware, but also sincere. As was emphasized by both the puppeteers and the story executives, above all, the Muppets are kind. They aren’t mean— and if they are, they’re not irredeemable, they just have something to learn. The Muppets have faith that there is good in the world.

At the same time, it was important to keep the audience in mind. In an interview, Segel said “I think there’s a misconception that a family film has come to mean a children’s film, and that’s not what it has to be like.” While the movie is naturally appealing for children, it is equally targeted towards those who grew up with the Muppets. The script is filled with irony and is often meta, with quips like “This is going to be a really short movie.”  Many of the movie’s storylines are relevant for adult viewers— Kermit’s regrets of letting go of people he cared about, divorce, communication problems in relationships— and the movie’s self-aware humor gives them permission to be emotionally impacted by the story even though the Muppets are “for kids.”

But in order to understand this intricate dance of irony and earnestness, we must understand the plot.

Structure Notes

Walter, world’s #1 Muppet fan, accompanies his human brother Gary and his girlfriend, Mary, on their anniversary trip to LA. While touring the decrepit Muppet Studios, Walter discovers oil baron Tex Richman’s plan to purchase the Muppet Theater and to drill for oil underneath. The three join forces with a depressed Kermit to reunite the gang to hold a telethon to raise the 10 million they need to save the studio. 

There are three main storylines: the story of the Muppets reuniting and saving the theater, the story of Gary and Walter finding their identities together and apart, and the story of Kermit and Ms. Piggy. Each of these arcs, along with their sub-arcs, are outlined by an establishing song that shows the status quo, a pivotal song that shows a character change, and a resolution song. 

In addition, it is helpful to categorize the songs as soundtrack songs (non-original but create tone), show songs (either old original Muppet songs or the acts performed), and musical songs (the plot-heavy, original songs). Soundtrack songs are mostly used for setting mood, show songs are used when the Muppets are performing or to invoke nostalgia, and musical songs are used for character development.

Plot and Song Analysis

Walter is a muppet who grew up alongside his human brother, Gary in Smalltown. We see their idyllic childhood pass by through home videos with the soundtrack of “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” by Paul Simon. However, we see that there are problems– Walter doesn’t fit into human society along with Gary. He stops growing, and the music stops too.

We then see how when he felt like he didn’t belong, he would turn to the Muppet Show as his source of comfort, showing that for Walter, the Muppets represent hope and belonging.

Now grown up, we see Gary and Walter’s adult relationship through the musical number “Life’s a Happy Song.” This is the establishing song for Gary and Walter’s arc. There is a sort of false happiness portrayed– everything seems happy-go-lucky, but everyone is hiding dissatisfied feelings. We learn that Walter is joining Gary on his anniversary trip with his girlfriend, Mary.  In an interlude of “Life’s a Happy Song,” Mary sings that she wants Gary to propose to her, but his devotion to Walter is a block in their relationship.

This song in particular is filled with lots of meta quips, which serves to both establish the movie’s tone and show that the over-the-top joy portrayed isn’t completely genuine. When Gary gives Mary flowers when picking her up from work, they are rumpled. He excuses it with “Sorry… it’s probably from the dance number I was doing.” This joke is funny, but it carries a larger story weight as well. Firstly, it acknowledges the ridiculousness of full dance numbers, which as I said above, disarms musical-weary watchers. Secondly, it shows how Gary’s commitment to celebrating with Walter (about Mary and his anniversary trip, to be clear), impacts their romantic relationship– a foreshadowing of what is to come. 

Another interesting joke occurs when Mary, Gary, and Walter leave Smalltown for LA in their bus. As soon as they’re gone, a townsperson says “OK, they’re gone!” and the whole town, who moments ago were fully dancing along, collectively sighs in relief. Although this does the same work as the meta quip earlier, it also shows how exhausting it is to keep up a facade of false happiness for Gary and Walter.

With this opening number, all the main points of Gary and Walter’s arc are laid down: Walter’s struggle to find true home and his hope in the Muppets, Gary’s mixed priorities interfering with his relationship with Mary, and of course, the brothers Gary and Walter’s growing up.

Life’s a Happy Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af2GrJ7xfA0

When they go to LA, the three take a tour of the now-decrepit Muppet Studios, where Walter, horrified by the rundown conditions, sneaks into Kermit the Frog’s old office. There, he accidentally overhears oil baron Tex Richman and his henchmen’s plan to purchase the Muppet Theater in order to destroy it and drill for oil underneath. The only way to stop this evil plot would be if the Muppets could raise 10 million to repurchase the theater before the original contract expires.

Walter, full of panic, tells Gary and Mary. The three go to Kermit’s mansion to ask him to throw a telethon to save the Muppet theater. They find Kermit living alone, depressed, and full of regrets. He expresses this with the musical number “Pictures in My Head.” We see his love for his Muppets family, and his deep sense of loss he feels from falling out of touch. Kermit heartbreakingly sings a verse that establishes both the larger Muppet arc and his and Miss Piggy’s: 

“If we could do it all again 

Just another chance to entertain 

Would anybody watch or even care? 

Or did something break we can’t repair?” 

This is clearly an establishing song for the Muppets arc. It sets up the upcoming plot– another chance to entertain with the telethon. It sets up the external pressure and conflict– do people still care about the Muppets? And most importantly, it sets up the emotional core question– did something break in the Muppet dynamic that can’t be repaired?

However, less obviously, this is also an establishing song for Kermit and Miss Piggy’s arc. They obviously still care for each other, but did something break in their relationship that cannot be repaired? Will Kermit be able to say the right things, learn the emotional communication skills he so lacks? These guiding questions to their upcoming plot are all laid out in the lyrics.

We also see in this song that Kermit has lost hope. He sees these precious memories as only pictures in his head, the past that cannot be revived. Ironically, Walter, for whom the Muppets have represented hope his entire life, is the one who inspires Kermit to try again. He gives an appeal: “Please, Kermit. You’re my hero.” Seeing Walter’s faith in him convinces Kermit to try again.

While the soundtrack song “Cars” by Gary Numan plays, the four take a trip to reunite the gang. They find Fozzie Bear performing the twisted “Rainbow Connection (Moopet version)” in Reno with a cruel band of Muppet impersonators. Kermit is devastated at seeing the living conditions he feels he abandoned Fozzie Bear to, and easily convinces him to come along. They find Gonzo working as a heartless plumbing executive who initially refuses to hear them out, but again moved by Walter’s earnest plea, joins his friends and leaves behind the plumbing company with a bang. They whisk Animal away from his celebrity anger management retreat, and retrieve the rest of the Muppets through a “map montage.” 

These various unhappy lives that the Muppets are rescued from are yet another way the movie targets an adult audience. For the kids watching the movie, these scenes are funny, but don’t relate personally to them. For adults, these stories are personal. They are watching symbols of their childhood drained of joy by the harsh realities of life. It’s a story many viewers can relate to, a nostalgia-tipped jab at their lost inner child.

But even after gathering the Muppets, there is one key figure missing: Miss Piggy.  Despite Kermit’s trepidation, the gang travels to Paris to find her, where she is an editor of Vogue Magazine. Miss Piggy is initially delighted, but has a deep Paris cafe conversation with Miss Kermit where they hash out their relationship problems. Kermit asks Miss Piggy “Why do you have to always be so overdramatic about things?” Miss Piggy hands him back a gut punch: 

“It’s never about you and me, is it?

It’s always we. We this, we that.

‘We’ need you. You can’t even say, ‘I need you,’ can you?”

We see here that the core of their relationship problems stem from a lack of emotional communication skills.  At the end of the conversation, Miss Piggy refuses to join, so the group reluctantly replaces her with the Moopet Miss Poogy.

The Muppets pitch their telethon to many networks, but are continually met with slammed doors and rejection. Veronica, the executive of CDE, is more sympathetic, but shows them the data: their popularity is at an all-time low. However, through a stroke of luck, another popular show is canceled and the Muppets are given the go-ahead.

The Muppets now have a lot to do in a short amount of time. Through a cleaning montage, they repair the broken-down Muppet Theater  to the soundtrack of  “We Built this City” by Starship while beginning to rediscover their group dynamic. The next day, Miss Piggy returns, although she makes clear that she isn’t returning for Kermit, just the good of the Muppets. Their first rehearsal is terrible and out of rhythm. Did something in the Muppets break that can’t be repaired?

Concerning the Gary and Walter narrative, Walter is worried that he cannot find his talent, and although he is thrilled to be with the Muppets, he feels like a phony. In the midst of helping Walter, Gary ignores his anniversary trip with Mary, leaving her to sightsee alone.

This leads Mary to her pivotal song, “Me Party,” an empowering number where she sings about not needing a partner to enjoy herself. It’s not a breakup song, but it’s a her-reclaiming-her-independence-and-not-letting herself-be-deprioritized song. Miss Piggy also joins in, showing the parallels between their narratives. 

Kermits and Miss Piggy’s fractured relationship is further showcased when Miss Piggy refuses to do a duet with Kermit, instead opting for one with Pepe. Kermit is struggling to find a celebrity host, and in desperation, nicely asks Tex Richman for the studio back. He is met with Tex’s song “Let’s Talk About Me,” where Richman truly doubles down on his villainy. Richman reveals that not only will the Muppets lose the studio if they can’t raise money, but they will lose the rights to the Muppet name, which he will use to promote the Moopets, “a hard cynical act, for a hard, cynical world.” The stakes are high, and the pressure is on. 

Kermit loses hope, and Miss Piggy, emboldened by “Me Party,” takes the Muppets on a mission to kidnap Jack Black as their celebrity host. Mary, also emboldened, becomes angry at Gary when he misses their anniversary. Gary tries to ask Walter what he thinks is wrong, but Walter is absorbed in his own worries about his Muppet talent. Their two worlds are in direct opposition, threatening to break each other.

Gary realizes he missed the anniversary and runs home, only to discover Mary’s ultimatum: “I love you, but you need to decide, are you a man… or a Muppet?” This launches us into the pivotal song of Gary and Walter’s arc, and arguably, the heart of the movie. In “Am I a Man or a Muppet,” the brothers try to understand their identity and where they fit into life. You are taken out of reality and into an emotional landscape as they take this journey, belting along with the piano and looking in the mirror. In the end, each makes their decision. Walter decides he is a very manly Muppet, which is notable– he isn’t erasing his childhood of being raised as a human, but recognizes that he has found home with the Muppets. Gary decides he is a Muppet of a man, again, acknowledging his love for his brother and the Muppets but taking a step back and choosing to prioritize Mary. He goes home to find Mary and meets her with flowers. Now that he has made his choice, they reunite happily.

Back at the Muppet Theater, now that Jack Black has been acquired, the Muppet Telethon begins. They perfectly perform “The Muppets Show Theme” with a heavy dose of nostalgia, but it’s to an empty theater. However, as the acts continue, including a barbershop quartet version of  “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Camila and the Chicken’s “Forget You,” the show starts to pick up steam. Walter tries to perform, but runs off stage screaming. Just as the money starts trickling in, Tex Richman attempts to sabotage them by cutting off the building’s electricity, but power is restored when Mary pulls her electrician skills out of her pocket and saves the day. The show continues, and Tex Richman attempts to sabotage them again, this time foiled by his henchman with a change of heart, which demonstrates again the Muppet theme of goodness in everyone.

Gary, when talking to Kermit while the show is running, says “I’m sorry I bailed. I just… I realized you don’t let the most important person in your world slip away.” With the resolution of the Gary-Mary arc, this line pushes Kermit to finish his own story with Miss Piggy. He goes to her dressing room and tells her 

“I miss you. And I need you. Uh, and maybe you don’t need the whole world to love you. Maybe you just need one person.”

Kermit has finally started to communicate his emotions! He is finally acknowledging both his own feelings and Miss Piggy’s, and it is healing. They go on stage to sing “Rainbow Connection,” which is a story song, but in this context holds a lot of emotional weight and is therefore also classified as their pivotal song. They are outright singing their love for each other, and that rainbows, which are a symbol of hope, have nothing to hide, representing their clearer communication skills they have developed. 

As the rest of the Muppets join in hand-in-hand, this also becomes the pivotal song for the larger Muppet narrative. This is a song about hope and faith in love, qualities that Walter saw in the Muppets this whole time, but they are just now beginning to understand for themselves. Something broke, but it could be repaired.

The Muppets have almost reached their monetary goal, but they need one more song. Gary finds a terrified Walter and gives him a pep talk while reaffirming that he belongs with the Muppets, and shouldn’t give up and return to Smalltown. Gary gives Walter a speech that mimics the speech Walter gave Kermit at the beginning of the film, telling him “You have to try. Please, Walter. You’re my hero.” 

Walter goes on stage and performs the Whistling Caruso, showing that he has truly become a Muppet and that he has grown up. He doesn’t need Gary anymore, and Gary is proud.

Despite this happiness, Tex Richman has one more thing up his sleeve. He successfully sabotages the electricity right before the deadline, the clock hits midnight, and the Muppets have officially lost. However, this scene really shows that the true journey of the Muppets wasn’t about the theater or Tex Richman, it was about each other. Kermit, in his most hopeful speech yet, tells the Muppets “Let’s all walk out through these doors with our heads held high. As a family.”

When they walk through the door, the streets are filled with avid Muppet fans chanting their names. Walter, after a final approval from Gary, officially joins their celebrations as a Muppet. And of course, everyone now breaks into a joyful rendition of “Life’s a Happy Song (Finale).” This is the resolution song for all three arcs. Instead of the false, syrupy happiness of the opening number, everyone’s emotions are genuine this time. They all have healthier relationships, less secrets, and much better communication skills. 

The song ends with Gary proposing to Mary, to which she responds “Mahna mahna!” bringing everyone into the iconic “Mah Na Mah Na,” which is the background to a sort of credits scene where all loose plot threads are hastily wrapped up. Tex Richman suffers a head injury from Gonzo and gives back the theater, an event not given much importance as the movie shows that his oil saga wasn’t really the point: this is a story about finding your family. 

Reflection

“The character of Walter is sort of an analogue for me in getting this Muppet movie made. He’s a wild Muppet fan who … he sets out to make them as famous as they once were — which was sort of our goal in making this movie” said Jason Segel on the parallels between the story and the writers. In the movie, Walter certainly succeeded in bringing the Muppets back to fame. Did the writers succeed? While commercial revenue isn’t necessarily the best metric,  the box office grossed almost quadruple is $45 million budget. It also seems to have solidly lodged itself into the Muppet canon. It has become beloved, both among older people, especially the Gen Xers who are targeted, and with younger people for whom this is a first Muppets introduction.

This movie shows that the Muppets can continue giving the world the third greatest gift– laughter– but also something more,  a silly but sincere narrative that emotionally hits wide-ranging audiences.

Inspiration

For people writing musicals they are worried will come across as cheesy or too silly, the Muppets are a good example of using humor to keep something lighthearted but still give it an actual impact. Self-aware or meta jokes are an actual tool that can be carefully employed to disarm the audience, acknowledge silliness, while still driving the story forward. However, these kinds of jokes can get tiresome or overused, so as the writers for the Muppets did, it is a good idea to set your own core story rules to abide by.

The Muppets is also a good example of using multiple storylines by having certain elements be parallel. This allowed some songs to develop different narratives simultaneously, as well as having the different characters propel each other on. If you are handling several different arcs, it is a good idea to think about how they can layer and overlap to keep the story clean and easy to understand.

Discussion Questions

Can you think of other musicals where self-aware humor is used as a tool, and what is its effect?

How can you make a musical silly but impactful?

How has the audience affected the presentation of musicals you have seen?

For Cayenne: Do you see any parallels with other musicals?

https://www.wired.com/2011/11/ff-muppets

https://www.cbr.com/muppets-now-walter-interview

https://www.npr.org/2012/03/23/149078780/making-the-muppets-movie-was-dream-come-true

Slideshow

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vQTQOc5f7rYAXBXbDzBpuP5bwV4yjfLIYFZOTqfoZESrqenZN0Ucuf1Ua4XHw-QTJOcxzDXU0zz0AlK/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000

The Phantom of the Opera: A Presentation by James Garcia

The Musical 

The musical, by Andrew Lloyd Webber, was on broadway from 1988 to 2023. 

It follows the story of Christine, an young opera star who is in love with her childhood friend, Raoul. In the opera house, she is spied on and eventually meets the phantom of the opera, a man with no name, and in a white mask, who is a musical genius. He is very polite, and does not kill as often as he will in the book. The phantom mentors Christine until eventually, he writes a musical, and has the opera house perform it with Christine as the lead. It ends with Christine being kidnapped and taken to his lair, where in the book, he sleeps in a coffin located in a graveyard. Raoul gives chase, but is captured and threatened, but when Christine shows sympathy to the phantom, they are both released, and he vanishes. 

The Book 

Phantom of the Opera is a french book written by Gaston Leroux and released in 1909.

The characters are different, generally being more fleshed out and realistic, especially Raoul. Overall, it takes more of a horror and suspenseful approach to the story of Erik and Christine. One notable difference is that the phantom’s mask is black in the book, instead of the ghoulish white that makes him seem far more fanciful. In the book he is portrayed less as a need and more as a want for Christine. He kills far more people and the final decision is not between saving Raoul (the will murder him anyway, he says) but instead saving the opera house, as the Opera Ghost will blow it up if Christine chooses the wrong key. She chooses the correct one, however, and floods the gunpowder, but the water also nearly drowns Raoul and the police officer who chose not to kill the Ghost. 

At the end of the book, Erik has a heart attack and dies, because Christine doesn’t want to marry him. 

The Movie 

Made in 2004 by Joel Schumacher, the movie follows a similar plot as the musical, showing even less death, with the phantom being even more compassionate than the musical. It follows the same plot until the end, where the phantom flees into the sewers instead of a torture chamber, or a graveyard. At the end of the movie, like the musical, he disappears, and leaves his mask behind. The movie is generally acclaimed as the worst version of phantom of the opera, but the cinematic direction is beautiful at so many parts. Namely, the scenes where they are acting out the phantom’s musical are so well directed in this medium. 

The Cast 

The cast has cycled through being played by many actors, but Christine has most recently been played by the black actor Emilie Kouatchou, from Chicago. 

The Phantom was most recently played by Ben Crawford, from Tucson. 

Raoul was most recently played by Nehal Joshi, from Fairfax. 

Love Never Dies

The sequel that I know nothing about! 

It was made in 2012 by (again!) Andrew Lloyd Webber This shows The Phantom after he flees to America.

The MUSIC 

Composed by the one and only Andrew Lloyd Webber, the music in Phantom of the Opera is simply the best in the business. 

My personal favourite song is “Past the Point of No Return,” and it plays at the end of the Phantom’s musical, right before Christine is kidnapped. The lyrics are obviously pointing to the situation in front of them. 

Even the opening song though, titled as “The Phantom of the Opera,” is super memorable. 

Discussion Questions

Why do you think the Persian Police Officer (the man with the opportunity to shoot the ghost in the book and the musical) spared the ghost?

Why do you think the Ghost from the book was shown to be far less violent and creepy in both the musical and movie adaptions?

Slideshow

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vSgA_6haxdaGaxz7AXtLOd3Swai2pu33ai1QoPmXEp4oe3WYyJ_8uVmtrllp5TT0DM0IUpkzfYchYpP/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000

LES MISÉRABLES THE MUSICAL AND ANALYSIS By Cayenne Souknary

INTRO

Les Misérables, contrary to popular belief, is not about the French Revolution in 1789 but was inspired by the June Rebellion in 1832. The story was written by the French author and artist Victor Hugo in 1868, years after he stumbled upon the June Rebellion barricade. The June Rebellion was in protest of the Socialist leaders’ expulsion from the National Assembly and the closing of government-sponsored employment centers. The rebellion lasted from June 5 to June 6, 1832. 

The novel was then turned into a concept album in 1980 by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg (both French) and was entirely in French. In 1985, Les Misérables, the English production debuted at West End after the producer of Cats, Cameron Mackintosh, discovered the French concept album. There are some similarities and differences between the French and English versions, most of the similarities being the musical aspect and the differences being the lyrics changes/translation. There are also a few plot changes from the concept album to the musical. 

In 1987, the show debuted on Broadway and continued until 2003, making it the 6th longest-running Broadway show. In 2012, the movie adaptation of the musical came out starring Hugh Jackman, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Samantha Banks, Aaron Tviet, and Anne Hathaway. This movie was the first to include live singing in a musical film, which makes this particular film unique in both Les Misérables productions and movie musicals as a whole. The movie included many of the original cast into the film, one of the biggest examples being Colm Wilkinson, the original Valjean, playing the Bishop. And both Alain Boublil and Claude Shönberg were involved in the making and production of the movie. 

THE PLOT

The story starts in a prison shipyard in 1815 in south France. The opening songs, Prologue and Soliloquy set up Valjean’s backstory by explaining how he got there and why he had to serve nineteen years. When he is released, he is seen as the lowest of the low, signified by his red prisoner shirt, which prisoners were required to wear. He seeks refuge in a church and steals their silver, but after getting caught, the bishop gives him a second chance. After that, Valjean promises God he will turn his life around and start a new one, breaking parole. 

We fast forward to 1823 in the north of France. Valjean is now the mayor of Montreuil-Sur-Mer and the owner of a company. Through the songs, we learn that life for the poor is not great. We also meet Fantine, a woman whose daughter, Cosette, is staying with another couple because she cannot afford to care for her. When it is revealed that she sleeps around to earn enough to pay for her daughter, she is fired from her job and starts to sell the rest of her belongings as well as herself until she gets arrested. Valjean intervenes at Fantine’s arrest and it turns out his parole officer, Javert, is the one making the arrest. Later on, Valjean saves a man from a runaway cart with his strength, and Javert realizes it is him. Javert proceeds to arrest someone else, who he thinks is Valjean, so Valjean decides to turn himself in after breaking parole 10 years ago. A little bit later when Fantine falls ill, Valjean swears to find and look after her daughter. Javert swears to hunt him down. 

Later on, still in 1823, Valjean finds Cosette in Montfermeil, just outside of Paris. We meet Cosette and see how she is being treated by her caregivers. She sings a song about her imaginary castle, which shows how she feels about living there. We then learn about M. and Mme. Thenardier, Eponine’s parents and Cosette’s caregivers, and how they like to scam the people staying at their hotel, showing the audience more insight as to how these people act and live. When Valjean tells the couple he wants to take Cosette, they start charging him fees such as parting compensation and medical bills. Eventually, he just pays and takes Cosette and the pair start their new life. 

The last part of Act I takes place in 1832 in Paris. We are introduced to Gavroche, a little boy who serves as a narrator. He tells how life is on the streets of Paris and gives us context for the revolution a group of students are trying to start. This is when Cosette, now grown up, meets Marius for the first time. The pair lock eyes after a conflict reveals that Javert is still alive as are M. and Mme. Thénardier. After Javert sings a song that foreshadows his death, we meet the students of the revolution led by Enjolras. When the revolution’s biggest supporter, General Lamarque, dies, the students decide it is their sign to put up a barricade in the middle of the city. Later that evening, Marius begs his friend Eponine to show him where Cosette lives and they go there. As it turns out, both Cosette and Marius have fallen in love with each other the moment they met. Unfortunately, because of the rebel cause, Valjean decides that the city is unsafe for Cosette with all of the violence and decides that the pair were to move overseas the next day. 

The song One Day More combines all the established narratives in anticipation of the second act. Valjean sings of a new day, Cosette and Marius of their love, Eponine about her love for Marius, Javert about how he will stop the revolution by joining the boys as a spy, and the schoolboys about how sure they are that the revolution will work. It is also a great way to end the first act. However, in the many different versions of the musical, some productions end Act 1 with One Day More, and some start Act 2 with it. 

INTERMISSION

Act II focuses a lot on the tragedy that is in Les Misérables. To be fair, there is a lot of tragedy in the story, but Act II highlights the amount of loss there is in life. But like in life, there is also hope, which is still woven throughout. And can especially be seen at the very end of the show with the Wedding Chorale and Finale. However, the biggest symbol of hope throughout the entire story is Cosette. She signified hope for her mother that she will have a better life and the same goes for Valjean. For Marius, she gave him a reason to live as well as love. Which is why she is on the cover of everything Les Mis related. 

The second act starts with Eponine singing about how she is in love with Marius, which helps to build her character and understand how she feels in the next scene as she dies in his arms. Eponine is also the first death at the barricade. 

After Eponine’s passing, the students are a bit shaken and start to accept their fate; they will die at the barricade. Valjean and Javert are both behind the barricade after Javert is caught as a spy and Valjean volunteers to be there. Valjean takes Javert into an alley and lets him go, pretending to kill him by firing his gun into the air. The schoolboys drink and sing about “days gone by” and wonder if anyone will remember and miss them when they die. 

Later, when everyone is asleep, Valjean sings a prayer for Marius (Bring Him Home) after he finds out that Cosette loves him. It is revealed during the song that Valjean sees Marius as a son and therefore approves of the pairing between Marius and Cosette. Bring Him Home is also a very technically challenging song to sing and is ranked #7 by WatchMojo as one of the hardest Broadway songs to sing, after Defying Gravity and The Phantom of the Opera. 

The next death is Gavroche, who gets shot in the back after he leaves the barricade to collect bullet shells. And shortly after, everyone in the barricade is dead apart from Valjean and Marius. To keep Marius safe, Valjean drags him into the sewers while he is unconscious. While in the sewers, M. Thénardier is back and starts to steal things off of Marius’ “dead” body. 

After Javert leaves the barricade, he sings a “reprise” to his other song; he references Stars and the music that plays after he jumps is from the Stars. Javert spent almost his entire life hunting down Valjean and now that Valjean freed him from this obsession, he doesn’t know what to do with himself. His whole reasoning for jumping is that he thinks the world is not big enough for both him and Valjean.

There is also a small funeral-type thing for the students where the women and children of the cast set down candles on stage. Marius joins them in remembering his friends, recalling the memories. This is also his moment of survivor’s guilt. While singing this song on stage, the students stand behind him and pick up the candles, blowing them out, truly signifying that they are dead. 

Cosette comforts Marius and he wants to know who saved him in the sewers the night of the barricade. Valjean tells Marius that he is going away to die because he is old and not to tell Cosette. After all, she would be sad before her wedding. Marius promises to keep the secret, but later at their wedding, M. Thénardier reveals that he stole Marius’ ring and ran into Valjean in the sewers, indirectly letting Marius know who saved him. Marius and Cosette leave their wedding early to go to the church that Valjean was at at the beginning of the story. 

Alone, Valjean accepts that he’s about to die and Fantine is standing behind him to call him to heaven. The pair sing a melody similar to Fantine’s death song. When Fantine is almost about to take Valjean away, Cosette and Marius rush in and Cosette begs him to stay. Marius also thanks him for saving his life as well as apologizes for not knowing. Valjean also wrote down his life story for Cosette to read, as she had always asked about the past, but was never granted the knowledge. Eponine also joins in on the song and Valjean gets the last line, “To love another person is to see the face of God.”

For the finale, the rest of the cast sings Do You Hear the People Sing? (Reprise) before taking their bows.

THE END

ANALYSIS

Les Misérables utilizes music to progress the plot as opposed to other musicals where the songs happen in a moment outside of the plot. This is not to say that Les Mis does not do this. Songs such as On My Own or I Dreamed a Dream serve as more “moments” rather than the plot. However, they still progress the plot by adding context to the characters’ backgrounds. And the majority of the songs in this musical are plot heavy.

The one song in particular that serves to progress the plot (other than Prologue) is One Day More with the amount of things that are going on with each character. The song shows that each character has a want and by the end of the song have all made their choices. It is also an ensemble song so there are a lot of moving parts both in the music and the stage directions. 

[VALJEAN]

One day more

Another day, another destiny

This never-ending road to Calvary

These men who seem to know my crime

Will surely come a second time

One day more

Valjean’s first verse in the song shows what he has been running from for the entire show so far and seems as though he will continue to do so. Since he is also the first character introduced, it only makes sense that he is the first to sing. The line “another day, another destiny” and “these men who seem to know my crime will surely come a second time” also shows that he believes he is in control of his own fate and will do anything to change the fact that he was once a criminal. 

[MARIUS]

I did not live until today

How can I live when we are parted?

[VALJEAN]

One day more

[MARIUS & COSETTE]

Tomorrow you’ll be worlds away

And yet with you, my world has started

Next to sing is Marius about Cosette. And how he does not know how to carry on without her, knowing that tomorrow, they will, “be worlds away” and that with her, his “world has started.” The pair sing these lines together to show they both feel the same way. The couple are also on opposite sides of the stage during this song with nothing but black in between them, highlighting the distance. In the movie, Cosette is in a carriage with her father as they leave the city. 

Marius’ world starting with Cosette, also gives him a reason to live and not die in the barricade like he was previously intending on before meeting her. Cosette also has no lines in this song that are by herself, which adds to her character of being a lonely child in need of someone to keep her company. First her father, and now Marius. 

[EPONINE]

One more day all on my own

[MARIUS & COSETTE]

Will we ever meet again?

[EPONINE]

One more day with him not caring

[MARIUS & COSETTE]

I was born to be with you

[EPONINE]

What a life I might have known

[MARIUS & COSETTE]

And I swear I will be true!

[EPONINE]

But he never saw me there

Eponine sings next with “one more day all on my own” which is a reference to the song that she is about to sing in the next act titled On My Own. The style that the Eponine, Cosette, and Marius sing in also ties back to their A Heart Full of Love which features the pair + Eponine on the side. This particular choice for this song helps to further show the characters’ relationships and the longing that Eponine feels for Marius. The line “but he never saw me there” also calls back to Eponine’s “little he sees, little he knows” that she sings after talking to Marius.

[ENJOLRAS]

One more day before the storm

[MARIUS]

Do I follow where she goes?

[ENJOLRAS]

At the barricades of freedom

[MARIUS]

Shall I join my brothers there?

[ENJOLRAS]

When our ranks begin to form

[MARIUS] 

Do I stay or do I dare?

[ENJOLRAS]

Will you take your place with me?

[ALL]

The time is now

The day is here

As Enjolras is singing his lines about the revolution, Marius is confiding in Eponine if he should follow Cosette or fight with his brothers at the barricade. On stage, this is very clearly seen as he is sitting down with Eponine, but in the movie, it is more of a choice that Marius must make on his own. Enjolras and Marius sharing this moment also shows the pull to the revolution that Marius feels especially when the last line of this section is “Will you take your place with me?” And the line “the time is now” really adds urgency for Marius to make his decision. 

[VALJEAN]

One day more!

[JAVERT]

One day more till the revolution

We will nip it in the bud

We’ll be ready for these schoolboys

They will wet themselves with blood!

Javert’s part really shows how harsh he is, if it wasn’t already obvious enough with how he treated Fantine or Valjean earlier in the show. The phrase “wet themselves” usually refers to being so scared that they pee, but by saying with blood, Javert foreshadows that they will all die. The nip it in the bud also means that he wants to destroy the revolution before the spark becomes a flame, which would mean killing the flower or in this case, the boys. After he sings his part, Javert kneels as if praying to God. For a blessing? For forgiveness for what he is about to do (kill schoolboys)? As a part of his job, Javert believes he is carrying out God’s will by upholding the law and he considers himself to be a holy person by doing so.

[VALJEAN]

One day more

[M. & MME. THÉNARDIER]

Watch them run amuck

Catch ’em as they fall

Never know your luck

When there’s a free-for-all all

Here a little dip

There a little touch

Most of them are goners

So they won’t miss much!

The Thénardiers, as previously stated, are known for scamming people and doing anything to get a little bit of extra something; money, trinkets, and whatnot. Their verse shows that they are praying for the downfall of the students so they can prey on the dead bodies, which does end up happening. 

[STUDENTS]

One day to a new beginning

Raise the flag of freedom high!

Every man will be a king

Every man will be a king

There’s a new world for the winning

There’s a new world to be won

Do you hear the people sing?

The chorus of students sing of a new beginning that they believe their revolution will bring a new beginning and a day of freedom. Their flag refers to the red revolution flag, which had been a symbol of rebellions in France since the 1300s. “Every man will be a king” signifies that their idea of success is that everyone will be equal as kings or people with more power and not equal as commoners. The last line “do you hear the people sing?” is a reference to the earlier song that the students sang at Lamarque’s death. In the movie version, the students sing this song at his funeral. 

[MARIUS]

My place is here

I fight with you!

[VALJEAN]

One day more!

Here is where Marius makes his choice to stay in Paris. On stage, Marius can be seen weaving through the crowd of people marching towards the barricade before standing at Enjolras’ side along with Eponine to deliver the line. The choreography of the marching is very much the cast marching in place, but there is an effect of them passing each other every other step as if through an actual crowd. 

[JAVERT & COSETTE]

We will join these people’s heroes (I did not live until today)

[JAVERT & M. THÉNARDIER & COSETTE]

We will follow where they go (Watch them run amuck) (Tomorrow you’ll be worlds away)

[JAVERT]

We will join these people’s heroes

We will follow where they go

We will learn their little secrets

We will know the things they know

[VALJEAN]

One day more!

[M. & MME. THÉNARDIER & EPONINE]

Watch ’em run amuck (One more day all on my own)

Catch ’em as they fall

Never know your luck

When there’s a free-for-all

[JAVERT]

We’ll be ready for these schoolboys

[VALJEAN]

Tomorrow we’ll be far away

Tomorrow is the judgement day

[ALL]

Tomorrow we’ll discover

What our God in Heaven has in store!

One more dawn

One more day

One day more!

The section happens at the same time and everyone is basically singing over each other, adding to the chaos that is about to happen. It is also a way to show that everyone will end up at the barricade or involved with it in some way since they are all singing in anticipation of the coming day. The song ends with the red flag of revolution being waved behind the students marching and Gavroche sits atop someone’s shoulders. 

One Day More is a hopeful song that helps progress the narrative by condensing a lot of information into one song. In this one song, we learn about the characters’ relationships as well as their wants. 

CONCLUSION

At the end of the day (get it?), Les Miserables is a moving musical that utilizes music to progress the plot. The show also uses an ensemble cast in order to follow six main characters in their journeys throughout the story. This particular story has inspired many different productions and as of 2012, there were about 48 operas made based on Victor Hugo’s story. 

This raises the questions, what other musicals follow multiple characters and use an ensemble cast? Does the ensemble singing over each other confuse the audience or is it helpful when given a lot of information at once?

REFERENCES

Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. (2024, January). Les Miserables. Houston.

Hugo, V., Fahnestock, L., MacAfee, N., & Bohjalian, C. (2013). Les Misérables. Signet Classics.

Les Miserables: The history of the world’s greatest story (theatre documentary): Perspective. YouTube. (2020, September 27). https://youtu.be/cZoi5oInvmI?si=FpPoVt4FMDYLhvil

Les Misérables cast – one day more. Genius. (2012). https://genius.com/Les-miserables-cast-one-day-more-lyrics

Purcell, S. (2021, March 7). Top 20 hardest Broadway songs to sing: Articles on watchmojo.com. WatchMojo. https://www.watchmojo.com/articles/top-20-hardest-broadway-songs-to-sing

Shvangiradze, T. (2023, October 2). June rebellion: The uprising that inspired Les Misérables. The Collector. https://www.thecollector.com/june-rebellion-les-miserables/ 

Slideshow

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kypma5jYm_GovrZ-O6W_3wVwUYRhvQLH/view?usp=drive_link

Epic: The Musical by Sharan Thind

01. The Plot

& More About Epic

Jorge Rivera-Herrans

Jorge Rivera-Herrans (often called “Jay” by fans of the musical) is the creator of EPIC and voice of Odysseus. He began the project over four years ago and has been chronicling his progress on TikTok and YouTube.

About Epic

EPIC is a musical inspired by the Odyssey, following Odysseus on his journey home. Jay releases snippets of songs as they are created and worked on, and is releasing the music itself in albums called “sagas” (typically four to five songs) on Spotify and Apple Music as they are ready. The Troy Saga, the Cyclops Saga, and the Ocean Saga are out now, and the Circe Saga will be released on February 14th. There are nine sagas in total, including the aforementioned ones and the Underworld Saga, the Thunder Saga, the Wisdom Saga, the Vengeance Saga and the Ithaca Saga.

Other main characters apart from Odysseus are Eurylochus, Poseidon, Athena, and in the second saga, Telemachus.

Part of the magic of EPIC is how involved Jay is with the community. He has a Discord server where he regularly interacts with fans, has worked with well-known animators to create official trailers for the sagas (special shoutouts to Wolfy and Gigi, who’ve created a bunch of fantastic animatics for EPIC!), and when casting characters, the audition process is online and open to all the fans. He holds games in the server, as well, which have allowed us to earn extra snippets and do analyses of the musical’s inspirations and plot.

Act I

Troy Saga, Cyclops Saga, Ocean Saga, Circe Saga, and Underworld Saga

The Troy Saga

The Troy Saga focuses on the final battle of the Trojan War. Odysseus commands his men, then receives a vision from Zeus prophesying the death of his wife and song unless he kills the infant Astyanax, son of Hector. The Trojan War ends and Odysseus and his crew begin sailing home, but they are running out of food. Odysseus and Polites meet the Lotus Eaters and are given directions to a cave with food, and Odysseus finds himself conflicted between Polites’ Open Arms ideology and Athena’s Warrior of the Mind ideology.

Songs:

• The Horse and the Infant
• Just A Man
• Full Speed Ahead
• Open Arms
• Warrior of the Mind

The Cyclops Saga

Odysseus and his men accidentally steal from Polyphemus and begin battling him. Polites is killed by Polyphemus, Odysseus blinds him, and then (against Athena’s direction) reveals his identity. Odysseus and Athena argue and their mentorship ends.

Songs:

• Polyphemus
• Survive
• Remember Them
• My Goodbye

The Ocean Saga

In order to make it home through a vicious storm, Odysseus requests help from the wind god Aeolus, who traps the storm in a bag and tells Odysseus to “never really know who [he] can trust.” His crew opens the bag, believing there is treasure inside, and they are taken to the land of the Laestrygonians. Odysseus meets Poseidon, who seeks revenge for his son and drowns much of Odysseus’s crew.

Songs:

• Storm
• Luck Runs Out
• Keep Your Friends Close
• Ruthlessness

The Circe Saga

Circe turns Odysseus’s crew into pigs, and Hermes offers Odysseus help defeating her. Odysseus eats a moly flower that negates Circe’s powers, and Circe attempts to seduce him.

Songs:

• Puppeteer
• Wouldn’t You Like
• Done For
• There Are Other Ways

The Underworld Saga

Odysseus ventures to the Underworld in an attempt to find the prophet Tiresias, who says that he cannot help Odysseus make it home and foreshadows the events of Act II. Odysseus embraces Poseidon’s Ruthlessness ideology.

Songs:

• The Underworld
• No Longer You
• Monster

Act II

Thunder Saga, Wisdom Saga, Vengeance Saga, and Ithaca Saga

The Thunder Saga

Odysseus makes his way past Scylla by allowing her to pick away his crew. Eurylochus and Odysseus fight over this decision. Zeus asks who will pay the price of Odysseus’ crew eating Helios’ sacred cows.

Songs:

• [unknown song]
• [unknown song]
• Scylla
• Mutiny
• Thunder Bringer

The Wisdom Saga

Athena befriends Telemachus while he fights the suitors. Odysseus washes up on Calypso’s island. Athena attempts to get the gods to release Odysseus from the curse placed upon him.

Songs:

• Legendary
• Little Wolf
• We’d Be Fine
• Love in Paradise
• God Games

The Vengeance Saga

Hermes hatches a plan to get Odysseus off Calypso’s island. Odysseus fights Charybdis and encounters Poseidon again off the coast of Ithaca.

Songs:

• Not Sorry For Loving You
• Dangerous
• Charybdis
• Get in the Water
• 600 Strike

The Ithaca Saga

Penelope hatches a challenge to busy the suitors and put off marriage. The suitors, meanwhile, plan to ambush and kill Telemachus, then assault Penelope. Odysseus hunts down the suitors, and is then reunited with Telemachus and Penelope.

Songs:

• The Challenge
• Hold Them Down
• King
• I Can’t Help But Wonder
• Would You Fall In Love With Me Again

Differences

In The Epic vs. In EPIC

02. The Music

Composition & How It Serves The Plot

Because the music is all that we have to convey the plot at the moment, Jay has put a lot of consideration into how the musical elements can tell us what’s happening. For example, when Athena uses Quick-Thought (a way to slow time and communicate with other characters telepathically), there is a ticking sound that can be heard in the music, such as in Warrior of the Mind and My Goodbye. The ensemble vocals in songs with gods aren’t based on any actual characters singing, while those in songs with mortals must come from other characters – for example, the ensemble in Full Speed Ahead is the crew backing Eurylochus. He reuses melodies at certain points, with Telemachus’ melodies mirroring Odysseus’ later. He has assigned specific instruments to specific characters, that can foreshadow what characters might be coming or what characters are feeling, too.

Character-Instrument Pairings

• Odysseus: acoustic and electric guitar
• Athena: piano
• Eurylochus: backed by the crew
• Polites: kalimba and marimba
• Poseidon: trumpet
• Polyphemus: cello and synth
• Charybdis: no specific instrument, 5/4 time signature
• Scylla: a fast fiddle and synth
• Zeus: electronic bass and brass hybrid
• Aeolus: flute
• Penelope: viola and string ensemble
• Telemachus: indie piano and acoustic guitar and string ensemble
• Antinous: electric guitar and cello and string ensemble and trumpet and backed by the suitors
• Calypso: hand pan and steel drum
• Hermes: harps, arpeggios
• Circe: string ensemble, staccato notes

03. The Conclusion

Inspiration & Discussion

How can this musical serve as inspiration for the final musical you write?

I think EPIC provides a really interesting perspective on how to adapt an older text like the Odyssey into musical form – certain things have to be cut (like the Cicones), themes have to be adapted (like Odysseus’ ideology), and the importance of characters may change in order to better serve the adaptation (like Polites).

It’s also an interesting study in how music and music only can be used to convey the plot – we have a baseline of knowledge because of the Odyssey, but there is no acting or playwriting between the songs to explain what’s happening. While writing music for our musicals isn’t a requirement, I think EPIC can provide some insights on how to make the music itself important for anyone interested.

Discussion Questions

What would change about EPIC if it started as a stage production, rather than something somebody was writing on TikTok?

How do the music and the story interact? How might different musical choices have changed the story?

Slideshow

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vQXJjSBfFYF-CM4UG-tW1xd2Mnhw2uJArIt8in9uKC1C3GY6YlpZiAqjvgKu_MlhCInLH_BrtNxKD7Q/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000

Come From Away: A Fun Musical About A Tragic Time by Lime Simmons

The Setting

Gander

• Small town
• Important locations
  • The airport
  • The news station
  • The tim hortons
  • The bar

Gander is located in newfoundland

The date is September 11th, 2001. At 8:46 in the morning, the first tower was struck. 

Later that day, US airspace was closed to all passengers.

Thousands of passengers stranded while flying to canada. So 38 planes made a landing at the biggest airport they could:

Gander international

• 6,500 passengers stuck in Gander
• People were just trying to survive, not be panicked
• The musical follows botht the citizens of Gander and the new arrivals trying to stay afloat. Trying to find peace in this madness
• The musical is about human kindness in the darkest of moments

The musical has many sub plots, here they are

• Kevin and Kevin, a gay couple. Their relationship is strained by the events, eventually ending at the ending
• Captain Beverly Bass. American Airlines captain. Dealing with making everything okay and her love of flying being put on hold
• Hannah O’Rourke: a new yorker whose son died trying to save people during 9/11. She didnt know until she got back to new york
• Nick and Diane Marson: a british man and a texan woman who met in Gander and got married 10 years later. It was love
• Caesar Samayoa. An arab man who is at the receiving end of many islamaphobic remarks. He’s a michellen star chef and was just on the business trip. Show uses him to provide a contrast to the kindness in the show. 

My Analysis

Come From Away is a musical about hope in despair. A musical about the good of  humanity during a time where the bed was on full display.

The musical is about an international crisis that took place in a small town which nearly tripled in size.

The musical is about the perseverance of human kindness in a time of crisis. Songs that show this are things such as “Blankets and Bedding” “Lead Us Out of the Night” “Prayer” and “38 Planes”. All these songs showcase either the scale of the tragedy, human kindness being shown, or people being united by tragedy.

Inspiration I’ve Taken

Have fun with it. If the actors can have fun playing their characters that will show in the musical.

You don’t need fancy sets. If the songs are enjoyable, and the characters are fun to watch, then you will engage the audience. Most people aren’t at a musical for the set, they’re at a musical because they want a night of song and dance and some nice stories.

Discussion Questions

If a tragedy such as 9/11 happened again, would a story like this take place again? Why or why not? If you think it coul happen again, where do you think it would happen?

Why were people sent to Gander? Why not Toronto, Ontario, or some military base?

Slideshow

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vTe6AnI1eNA40gKr9ASYWNuPhvpWXWB3uG2qUVum-hKS4jLmretVJ3w_pyIizTFlRVNjjD4aRCC3JY-/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000

The Many Shades of The Color Purple

This semester I am teaching an elective on musicals, which the final presentation on Howard Ashman in this past fall’s elective on Disney provides a nice segue for. Recruited from Broadway after the success of his musical Little Shop of Horrors, Ashman initiated the Disney renaissance era by incorporating Broadway’s musical formula into animation in his work on The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Aladdin (1992). After single-handedly renovating Times Square and flipping these Broadway-inspired animated movie musicals back into successful stage musicals, Disney has since tried to replicate this pattern of success by recruiting Hamilton auteur Lin-Manuel Miranda.

This past Christmas the movie musical The Color Purple (2023) was released, giving us the fourth iteration of this narrative by way of an adaptation of the Broadway show (2005/2015) that was an adaptation of the movie directed by Steven Spielberg (1985) that was an adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel (1983). Or rather the Broadway show is an adaptation of the novel and the movie; its summary on Wikipedia shows it includes elements of the novel that neither movie does. Notably, Quincy Jones and Oprah Winfrey have been involved in all three adaptations of Walker’s story. Walker was involved in the production of the movies but does not appear to have been involved in the Broadway productions.

Summary:

While the novel is told in the epistolary form of letters that the 1985 version adapts via voiceover, the 2023 movie dispenses with this element. The basic story in a nutshell in all versions is that the main character, Celie, has two children by the man she believes is her father, but her father takes the children from her so their whereabouts are unknown by the time he marries her off to a man who goes by “Mister,” who actually wanted to marry Celie’s sister Nettie. Nettie shows up at Mister’s and Celie’s after their father starts abusing her, but when Nettie rejects Mister’s advances, he throws her out, with Nettie promising Celie she’ll write every day as she departs. Mister guards the mailbox, however, and Celie never gets any letters and years pass as she raises Mister’s children, including Harpo, who marries a spirited woman named Sofia who shortly leaves him when he attempts to beat her to get her to obey him as his father does to Celie. Harpo builds a juke joint on some swampland, and Shug Avery, a blues singer Mister says is the woman he should have married, visits and performs there. Shug and Celie bond during Shug’s visit. In an interim when Shug is gone, Sofia gets into an altercation with the mayor’s wife when she refuses a job offer to be her maid, and is imprisoned for six years. When Shug visits Mister’s again, showing up with a husband in tow, she checks the mail and finds a letter from Nettie to Celie revealing she’s alive and in Africa with a missionary couple who ended up adopting Celie’s two children when they couldn’t have any of their own, prompting Shug and Celie to search the house and find the rest of Nettie’s letters that Mister’s been hiding. At a big family dinner, Shug tells Mister that Celie is going back to Memphis with her and her husband, and Celie rebukes Mister for taking Nettie away her, telling him everything he thinks about will crumble until he does right by her (the confrontation revives Sofia, whose spirit has been broken by her ordeal, and Harpo’s girlfriend decides to go to Memphis as well). When the man Celie thought was her father dies, she learns that he is not her blood father but her stepfather, and that her real father left her and Nettie land and a shop that Celie uses to sell pants that she makes. Shug reconciles with her disapproving father, who is a reverend. Mister deteriorates until he gets a letter from Nettie to Celie noting they need to prove their citizenship to return to America because their papers were destroyed, and he pays the immigration service the necessary fees. Nettie returns home with Celie’s grown children in tow, and all are reunited.

Analysis of Music’s Role in the Narrative:

The 2023 narrative actively incorporates music into its structure by opening with the notes of Mister’s banjo that he’s playing as he rides his horse under the branch of a tree where Celie and Nettie are playing a hand-clapping game to the tune of a song they’re singing. The film ends in this same physical location with a big Easter dinner set up under the tree, the location of Nettie’s return with Celie’s children, with Nettie revealing her presence to Celie by singing the same song the two were singing together at the beginning.

If one major narrative element is the arc of Celie’s increasing empowerment, Sofia’s role in this arc is musically emphasized by Sofia singing the song “Hell No!” in the sequence where she leaves Harpo for trying to beat her, a musicalized version of the phrase Sofia utters in the novel when the mayor’s wife asks if Sofia will be her maid. At this point Sofia encourages Celie to stand up for herself, and later in the film, Celie singing a snatch of this song after visiting Sofia in prison marks her increasing empowerment, which crescendos in the confrontation with Mister over having taken Nettie from her (which fittingly helps Sofia return to her previously empowered state).

While Celie’s curse on Mister for taking Nettie from her is in both movies nearly verbatim from the novel, a major change both movies make to the book is that Mister “does right” by Celie by paying for Nettie et al’s passage home. In the novel, he “does right” by Celie by giving her more of Nettie’s letters–“Harpo made him send you the rest of your sister’s letters. Right after that he start to improve”–but has no hand in getting them back to America. In the novel’s epistolary form, Celie addresses her letters to God until the point she learns that Nettie is not dead as she thought, at which point she starts addressing her letters to Nettie. At the point of Mister “doing right” by giving her more of Nettie’s letters, we get the content of those letters and a lot more detail about Nettie’s experiences in Africa than is accounted for in either movie. Then Celie and Nettie write back and forth with the novel alternating between those letters, and Celie gets word that Nettie’s ship back to America sank and she’s dead, but still gets letters from her due to some lag time, and continues addressing her letters to Nettie despite believing she’s dead. But the letter recounting Nettie’s return is addressed:

DEAR GOD. DEAR STARS, DEAR TREES, DEAR SKY, DEAR PEOPLES. DEAR EVERYTHING. DEAR GOD.

Alice Walker, The Color Purple (1983).

This signals a renewed faith in God that also brings us to the novel’s title’s connection to same:

God love admiration.

You saying God vain? I ast.

Naw, she say. Not vain, just wanting to share a good thing. I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.

Alice Walker, The Color Purple (1983).

This exchange from the novel between Shug and Celie revealing the title as a corollary for the presence of God appears in both movies verbatim, but the conversation in the novel is a lot longer and references what the 1985 movie got a lot of criticism for excising: the overtly romantic relationship between Shug and Celie. Narratively, the 2023 movie plays on the arc of Celie’s faith this conversation is pivotal in by having Celie’s stepfather say when he takes her children that he’s “giving them to God,” with Celie asking Nettie, “Why don’t God give them back?” Celie’s empowerment arc leads her to stand up to Mister and curse him, which in turn prompts him to bring Nettie, and by extension Celie’s children, back, which shows Celie God did indeed give her children back, and the musical version reinforces this with the closing number following the familiar reunion entitled “The Color Purple,” articulating its connection to God and God’s connection in turn to Celie’s empowerment arc:

[Verse 1]
Dear God, dear stars
Dear trees, dear sky
Dear peoples, dear everything
Dear God
God is inside me and everyone else
That was, forever will be
I came into this world with God
And when I finally looked inside
I found it
Just as close as my breath is to me
…
[Chorus]
Like a blade of corn (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
Like a honey bee (Ooh)
Like a waterfall (Like, ooh)
All a part of me
Like the color purple
Where do it come from? (Tell, where does it come from?)
Now my eyes are open (Now my eyes are open)
Look what God has done

“The Color Purple,” The Color Purple (2023).

Mister’s role in bringing Nettie back in the movie versions is a product of Celie’s empowerment and might seem narratively tighter than the novel, in which Nettie et al make their way back on their own. But this narrative connection becomes more necessary due to the excision of the element of Shug and Celie’s romantic relationship in both movies. In the novel, Shug leaves Celie because she falls in love with someone else, prompting Celie and Mister to forge a relationship over their shared love of Shug and shared experience of being abandoned by her. I was certainly hoping that the 2023 version would make Shug and Celie’s queer relationship more prominent, and while it’s more prominent than the 1985 version, it still feels shortchanged. The director seems to defend a narrative emphasis on their romance via the number”Push Da Button”: “there’s still a lot of storytelling going on” via a choice Shug makes about who is the “beneficiary” of the performance, constituting “a big emotional and romantic moment.”

But others agree with me that this adaptation is “is frustratingly coy about the queerness of its protaganist [sic].” The two musical numbers that reinforce Celie’s sexual attraction to Shug are both in her head:

In one moment, Celie (a tender Fantasia Barrino) fantasizes as she draws Shug Avery (Taraji P Henson) a bath; in her mind’s eye, Celie traces Shug’s sudsy arm as the two are slowly spun on an imagined turntable. In another sequence, the two perform an elaborate dance in flapper dresses, before sharing their first, real-life kiss.

Gloria Oladipo, “The latest adaptation of The Color Purple fails its lead character” (January 2, 2024).

First and only real-life kiss in the movie, just like the 1985 version. We get one sliver more in 2023: that we cut, briefly, to Shug and Celie are sleeping in the same bed after this kiss. While all song and dance numbers aren’t “realistic,” there’s a distinction between whether they depict something that happens in the “real” world of the movie or whether it’s fantasy: the number in Celie’s pants store depicts her “real” business triumph, not just an imagined one. While something “really” happens between Shug and Celie, it gets more airtime in the movie’s fantasy world rather than its “real” one.

My other beef with the 2023 version is what seems like a missed opportunity in the sequence where Shug reconciles with her disapproving reverend father. Since Shug is a singer, the original movie, while not being a “musical” by genre, does incorporate two major musical numbers: Shug’s performance in Harpo’s juke (in which she sings “Miss Celie’s Blues,” which the 2023 version places later in time after Celie lives with Shug in Memphis in favor of “Push Da Button” in the juke sequence), and the sequence in which Shug reconciles with her father, which starts with her singing at the juke then stopping when she hears the gospel choir singing at her father’s very proximate church. Shug takes up the gospel number as she leads the juke crowd into the church, uniting blues and gospel and revealing the underlying similarities between these apparently opposing genres as she reunites with her father:

In the 2023 version, Shug simply walks into the empty church where her father is playing the piano and the two start singing together in what feels like a very subdued and to me honestly boring number. Maybe the director didn’t want to copy the original, but in this instance, he should have. The themes of the overlap between blues and gospel music emphasized in ‘85 by this number (underscoring the richness of Shug’s nontraditional conception of God and spirituality that the title The Color Purple highlights) are lost here.

-SCR

Final Musical Project Inspiration:

The 2023 movie musical is an adaptation of the stage musical that is in turn an adaptation of the 1985 movie and the novel. 

Inspired by Celie’s queerness in the novel being more prominent in the stage musical than the movie musical: Write a musical adapting a movie that was adapted from a novel–more specifically, a movie that made significant changes to the novel so your musical version includes some elements from the novel that were not in the movie version. (Example: The Shining…)

OR: Include a reprise of a song in your musical project to represent two characters who are symbolically swapping places due to events in the plot. 

Discussion Questions:

1. What occurrences of the reprise in musicals can you think of and what narrative role did they play? 
2. What memorable lines from any novels or movies you have read or seen might make the good basis of a song in a musical adaptation of that novel or movie? 
3. In an adaptation, is a tighter narrative worth the sacrifice of a significant theme?

Music in Disney: Howard Ashman and the Disney Renaissance by Sharan Thind

HOWARD ASHMAN:

Howard Elliot Ashman was an American playwright, lyricist, and stage director. In May 1950, he was born into a Jewish family in Baltimore, Maryland. His father, Raymond Albert Ashman, was an ice cream cone manufacturer.

After his graduation from Indiana University, he moved to New York City, where he worked as an editor. Later, he collaborated with Alan Menken (one of his old classmates) on more than one musical, including Little Shop of Horrors, for which he received a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics and a Grammy Award nomination (he ultimately did not receive a Grammy).

In 1986, Ashman started writing song lyrics for Disney. He was a big influence and was one of the reasons why Disney movies became so musical-like. Together with Menken, Ashman wrote all the songs for The Little Mermaid. He also worked on Beauty and the Beast, and he pitched the idea of an animated musical adaptation of Aladdin to Disney; for this, he and Alan Menken wrote a few songs and a screenplay. At the end, out of the sixteen songs he and Menken wrote for Aladdin, only three made it to the final piece. For all his work, Howard Elliot Ashman received seven nominations for the Academy Awards, of which he won two; nine nominations for Grammy Awards, of which he won four; and six Golden Globe Award nominations, of which he won two. His most famous work is the song Under the Sea, which he and Menken created for The Little Mermaid.

THE DISNEY RENAISSANCE:

The Disney Renaissance happened in 1998 and 1999, when Disney fell back to where it originally started; making animated musicals. All of these animations were well reviewed, also by critics, and were overall a hit.Some movies were re-creations of old stories, and some new ones. The Little Mermaid, a well known animation about a mermaid wanting to experience life as a human, started The Disney Renaissance. The larger part of Disney’s movies before this were perceived as mediocre. The word “renaissance” has been adopted to mean “rebirth”, so this time marked a new era for Disney. The 1970s and 1980s were rough for Disney, Walt Disney and his brother, Roy, had recently died (Walt in 1966, Roy 1971). On top of that Don Bluth (a prestigious animator at Disney, and later CEO) left, taking 15 fellow animators with him. This led Disney into bad times, bringing out mediocre movie after mediocre movie, until the Little Mermaid, which was the first of many well reviewed movies, such as Pocahontas, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, Hercules, and others, all within just one year. Many of these movies would go on to receive musical stage adaptations as well. After the Renaissance era, the Experimental era started, from 1999 ranging until this very day.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Why did Ashman have such a positive impact on Disney’s popularity? What appeal did musicals have?
2. What were the effects of Ashman and Menken’s consistent collaboration? Would the Renaissance have had the same effect had Ashman been working alone?

CREATIVE IDEA: Write one or more songs for a classic Disney movie in the style of the Disney Renaissance. Consider the changes necessary to turn the movie into a musical.

Deaths at Disney (and other Disney Accidents) by Mateo Cotom

63 deaths at Disney world

25 deaths at Disney land

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Ride: America Sings (Disneyland)

Date: July 8th, 1974

Cause of Death: Crushing

Incident: Deborah Gail Stone, an 18-year-old employee working as a hostess, was standing in the wrong spot during a ride intermission, and the rotating wall came down, trapping and crushing her between the rotating and non-rotating wall.

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Ride: Matterhorn (Disneyland)

Date: May 1964

Cause of Death: Fall from ride

Incident: A 15-year old’s ride companion unbuckled his seatbelt. When he stood up in the bobsled he fell. He died 3 days later from injuries. Disneyland’s 1st fatal accident.

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Ride: Tomorrowland (Disneyland)

Date: March 7, 1981

Cause of Death: Stabbing

Lawsuit: Disney settled for $600,000 because they didn’t ask for medical help faster.

Incident: An 18-year-old man was stabbed during a fight by a 28-year-old man after he pinched his girlfriend. His family sued the park for $60 million

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Ride: Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (Disneyworld)

Date: June 14, 2016

Cause of Death: Alligator attack and drowning

Lawsuit: No public lawsuit.

Incident: A 2-year-old boy was attacked by an alligator on the shore of the Seven Seas Lagoon at 9:15pm before he went missing. His body was found the next afternoon under 6 feet of water.

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Ride: Fantasmic fire-breathing dragon named Murphy?

Date: April 22nd, 2023

Incident: Murphy, the fire-breathing dragon caught on fire, and was never seen again.

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Ride: performance of Aladin

Incident: Jasmine broke her neck

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Ride: Disney Japan

Incident: person in costume had a seizure and heat stroke during a parde in Japan.

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Ride: Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort

Date: August 22, 1980

Cause of Death: Amoebic Meningoencephalitis

Lawsuit: None; this bacteria can live in any warm water

Incident: At the River Country water park, an eleven-year-old boy died after swimming in the water. The amoeba went up his nose and into his brain.

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Ride: Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin (Disney land)

Date: October 22, 2000

Cause of Death: Ran over and dragged by ride

Lawsuit: Disney settled for an undisclosed amount, but never admitted fault

Incident: 4-year-old Brandon Zucker was in a seat too close to the opening of the car with a malfunctioning lap bar and was dragged underneath the ride vehicle after falling out. He was folded in half and stuck for 10 minutes. Emergency help was called 5 minutes later. About 2 weeks before this incident, a new rule was established where ride operators had to call 911 first instead of Disney’s security center.

Afterwards, he wasn’t able to talk or walk. Because he never fully recovered from the brain damage, internal injuries, and cardiac arrest, he died at 13.

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Date: March 2010

Lawsuit: Disney settled for $50k because his family said Disney didn’t “regulate and monitor the temperature of the nacho cheese which was being served to young children.”

Incident: 4-year-old Isaiah Harris tried to cling onto a food tray that had a cup of nacho cheese on it to keep himself from falling after sitting on an unstable chair. The food tray fell, and the nacho cheese spilled on his lap, face, and neck, which left severe burns.

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Location: Magic Kingdom

Date: November 4, 1974

Cause of Death: Explosion

Incident: While a 49-year-old carpenter was working on the inside of a 66-foot aluminum boat, an explosion caused from the glue he was using killed him. Another carpenter was injured. The glue fumes ignited by the filament (a wire forming part of an electric bulb) could’ve caused the explosion.

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Location: Epcot

Date: September 12, 1992

Cause of Death: Suicide

Incident: After Epcot closed, a 37-year-old man pointed a shotgun at 3 security guards and demanded to see his ex-girlfriend who worked there. He held 2 guards hostage in a restroom. When the police arrived, he released the guards and shot himself in the head. This was probably due to a recent breakup with his long-term girlfriend.