All tagged Escape to Margaritaville
In the last decade or so, there has been an ongoing effort to fashion musicals around the songs of a certain singer. musical group or musical period. These are not musical revues that I speak of, but rather book musicals that try to create a story with a through-line hinging on the radio hits that are already familiar to audiences. I may not be in the majority here (or perhaps I am), but I find this the lazy road to creating musical theatre. Yes, there have been occasional hits along the way: Jersey Boys, Movin’ Out, Mamma Mia, and Beautiful come to mind, but, in general, haven’t these jukebox ventures been mostly failures? I often wonder why this trend persists. Is it the off-chance hope of hitting gold like the aforementioned titles?
It happens every year (thank god). Fans of Broadway musicals get all excited over the barrage of new musicals announced for the coming season. We are always salivating over the newest sleeper hit, blockbuster, and even flop, anticipating that glorious adrenaline that comes with attending a Broadway show. Since the cycle never really stops, this is perpetual anticipation and as Mr. Sondheim reminds us, such suspense may good for the soul, but bad for the heart. Out of the myriad musicals that arrive in New York each year, only a handful go on to glory (and recoupment).
Broadway is busting at the seams with new musicals slated to open in the 2017-2018 season. Though I am sure that this list is far from complete, here is what we can look forward to this season on Broadway. It’s an exciting and varied list of options, sure to tantalize even the most-discerning among us.
