Musical Moments?

Tonight I finally got to see Into The Woods, as it made it’s way through my town a few weeks before it comes out on Blu-ray, and I am damn glad I saw it on the big screen first. Something like that has to be seen big and loudly, then you can bring it home and experience it over and over again. Yes that is my opinion, but it is also the correct one.

It is really nice to have a modernized theater here in my hometown, I had quit going to movies because the experience wasn’t up to par, but now it is exactly what I want, so it is fun again. Having only one screen means that we get some of the newer stuff later in it’s run, but I am okay with that too, because we get some movies when they open, and others we wait a little bit. That isn’t a big deal at all.

Tonight’s experience, as I sat next to mom, reminded me of one of the things that I really like about musicals. Those moments in the beginning, when you’re learning of the world, learning of the characters, learning how the music will feel, those moments.

I think you have to learn of a musical’s world right off the bat, because we are not used to a world where music takes over and no one questions it. It is a reminder to the audience just what they have in store for them, but also to give you that little extra something at the beginning. It is like when you have been in a rhythm for a long time and then you find yourself at a friend’s house who is hosting a party, and you have to remember what it is like to meet new people and have weird little conversations. Yeah, the beginning of a musical is exactly like that.

At the beginning of a musical you get introduced to the characters as well, the songs give their back story and their motive. Through busts of music and lyrics we are brought directly into their lives, right into the thick of things, and that is something I enjoy as well. It has always been interesting to me that you can get that much incite so quickly, but that is the beauty of it all.

Getting a feel for the music itself, also brings the audience into it all, and is quite informative. The initial music sets a tempo for the viewer, but it also lets you know if it is going to be serious or whimsical, will there be tongue in cheek moments among the sad and serious ones, just what do you have in store for you as you view this musical? All those things are found out initially, and yes a solid movie will have elements of the light and heavy parts of life, but you can still gauge that by the initial music fare offered.

Into the Woods did this quite well, as far as I was concerned. It opens with narration to set the scene, and then it dives into the characters singing their stories into existence. The characters are ones that we have encountered in stories before, but we have to see what they are like in this world. The initial song shows us the personality traits they embody in this specific world, and that added even more fun for me.

That first song is what gave me the idea for this blog entry. This song inspired me because it had one of those elements to it that I had forgotten that I enjoy so much, the ever building and overlapping lyrics.

Each character arrives on the scene and sings about going Into The Woods, and then as the scenes progress and we learn more, they start to come together. They each make their way to the woods for their own reasons, and as they do so, their voices start to come together. Their stories follow their voices and we are shown how they are all entwined in the adventure laying before them.

What I love about musicals that have songs like these, and I hadn’t really thought about it until today, is that they seemingly talk over one another. They all break into their own continuation of what is happening, but they also pile on top of one another. I found myself sitting there thinking how this is maybe the only example I could give of how talking over one another can be a positive thing.

Of course the characters aren’t trying to talk over one another, but at the same time, they don’t know the other is “talking”, only us, the audience, do. We are learning more and more, and we see them all coming forth telling their stories and mixing with the next one. They fade apart and then they all come back together, louder and louder as they move along, adding to each other into a beautiful cacophony of sorts.

It is that culmination of the characters coming together that really makes me smile and feel excited anticipation for what is coming our way. They take turns, they repeat their cause, they come together, they repeat the refrain, it builds and builds and builds, apart and together, together and apart, together together together, then boom, done.

I love that. I absolutely love the feeling that comes from seeing and hearing that type of thing play out in front of you. That is the storytelling magic of a song from a musical, it catches hold of you and brings you along, and I love it.

I sometimes think how much better some situations in this world would be if we lived in a musical, if anything, it would provide a few laughs or smiles where they hadn’t existed before.

There is a beauty to how a musical can bring you in, tell you all the background you need to know, and then take you on a journey. The journey will have lessons along the way, it will bring people together, and it will show us who they truly are.

Maybe that’s what I love about musicals.