Many people are fans of musical theater; my co-producer wife and I have been sitting in audiences for decades. But how much time have you spent thinking through how musical theater actually works, from the inside. and from my perspective, where do I start?
There always seems to be a trade-off between innovation (or rather, making mistakes that turn out to be innovations) and learning from those who have come before.
On one hand, before I put pen to paper (fingers to keyboard?) I could read everything there was on the topic. I could schedule information interviews with dozens of folks, all who would (hopefully) impart their wisdom. And having done all this… I would have been completely demoralized, and may not have even started. The likelihood of a musical actually reaching the stage, let alone being successful, is exceptionally slim. So, perhaps, with the confidence of being ignorant of that unfortunate truth, I should just buffalo forward and just do it, and maybe come up with something truly innovative and impactful.
On the other hand, I could start putting together the manuscript and music, try to pitch it, and ultimately fail. Why do that, when it surely makes more sense to learn from others, and avoid reinventing the wheel!
Hence the trade-off: just do it, or follow an established path.
Here is what I did: I started writing the music and the manuscript, and only when I was close to the end of the first draft did I start to learn about the “business” and “creative process” of musical theater. It started with meeting as many folks as I would agree to meet. And so I wouldn’t waste their time with dumb questions, it also started with a number of books.
Probably more than anything else, the books gave me an appreciation of the incredible talent within the musical theater community, the rich history, and the innovation that can be found in every production. And yes, these books were instrumental as I went through many re-writes.
If you’re interested in adding to your library, here is a selection that have been particularly helpful:
- The Secret Life of the American Musical, by Jack Viertel
- How Musicals Work and How to Write Your Own, by Julian Woolford. (Probably should have read this one beforehand, but it helped with my revisions.)
- Making Musicals, by Tom Jones
- Writing the Broadway Musical, by Aaron Frankel
- Backwards & Forwards, A Technical Manual for Reading Plays, by David Ball. (35th anniversary edition: brilliant book!)