All tagged The Magic Show
Hardly anyone ever speaks of this long-running musical of the 1970s, and a revival of the show most certainly will never happen, but it is hard to dismiss the Broadway success of The Magic Show. Tailored around and to the talents of magician Doug Henning, The Magic Showfeatured a score by Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Godspell, Wicked) and a book by Bob Randall. Though the Schwartz score has some gems worth listening to, the plot for The Magic Showis relatively thin. This is arguably beside the point, since the real intention of the musical was not to succeed as a musical at all, but to capitalize on Henning’s talents as an illusionist and on his celebrity (which was climbing in the early 1970s).
Sometimes, you are just having a bad and you turn to musical to help you overcome your situation. I realized, the other day, when I was feeling a bit crabby, that I began searching through my showtunes for certain songs that always guarantee a smile-inducing listen. I thought it would be fun to share some of those songs with my readership, with the hope that you will chime in with some of the songs that are guaranteed to put a smile on your face. I cannot wait to hear what you share. Until then, here are mine.
A delightful Stephen Schwartz score that people are not as familiar with as they are with Wicked and his other hits, The Magic Show features some poigniant character numbers and inventive melodies. Very few people remember that The Magic Show was one of the longest-running musicals of the 1970s, but it was, in fact, as popular as Stephen Schwartz's other musicals of the period: Godspell and Pippin. So, if the score is respected and the show was a hit, why doesn't anyone produce The Magic Show anymore? Surely this report card would have producers clamoring to revive the piece. The answer is simple: the musical was less of a reason for musical theatre and more a reason to show off the magic tricks of popular magician Doug Henning. Schwartz just happened to concoct some great music for a star vehicle that was almost absent of plot.
