Musical comedy

A musical comedy is a production of Théâtre presenting a theatrical service, Danse, Chanson S and Musique on line. This term is sometimes used to indicate a Musical film.

Name suitable for the 20th century, it inherits the marriage of the Théâtre and the music of the previous centuries: Ballet, opera, Opera-puffs out, Opérette.

The use of the word “Comédie” can be diverting, indeed Notre-Dame de Paris or Romeo and Juliette, of hatred to the love cannot be regarded as comedies. The terms of musical theater or musical production would be adapted to describe this kind - in English, the adopted term is musical theater , not to confuse with musical .

The worlds of the musical comedy and musical film often meet: a musical comedy can be adapted out of film, for example Chicago . A film can also be adapted in musical comedy, for example the cartoon the Beautiful one and the Animal of Disney.

Inventory of fixtures in France and in the world

The musical comedy is originating in Austria.

Direct heiress of the Operetta which made its principal great strides at the 19th century, in particular in Austria-Hungary with the Strauss and Lehár or in France with Offenbach, and finally with the the United Kingdom with Gilbert and Sullivan, the kind became largely synonymous with Anglo-Saxon culture. This was made possible thanks to the vitality of the American creators, and the diffusion by the means of the cinema.

Unfortunately, the new contemporary musical comedies in France are rare. They are often only " spectacles musicaux" who do not reach the level of the Anglo-Saxon musical comedies, except those written by Albert Willemetz between the two wars.

What could be enough to explain why Tycoon , english language version of Starmania , or Notre-Dame de Paris did not have success with London. The only place in the world, with share France, where certain French musical productions have success is the Quebec.

Indeed, for the Federation International of the musicians, a musical comedy requires a Orchestre, whereas in France one is satisfied sometimes with a printer record. Moreover, there is in France very few Chanteur S which is also Danseur S and actor S, which explains why the actors of French musical comedies are mainly Québécois.

Despite everything that, the largest handicap for the Anglo-Saxon musical comedies in France, seems to be which the French know only the French musical productions and the theater on a side, and the films of the other, and do not imagine the special effects which can be deployed during a musical comedy, thinking that they are reserved for the Cinéma. One can thus see Prestidigitation worthy of the largest magicians, and a very impressive Pyrotechnie on the scene of the Fantôme of the opera .

Let us relativize however by noting that the Poor wretches is with the poster in West End since more than twenty in one years. And that Miss Saigon, another French production, is also an enormous success.

In general, the Anglo-Saxon musical comedies are first of all assembled to Broadway with New York or in the West end of London. If they have success, they are then adapted for many countries, like the Germany, the Spain and the Japan, but also of the countries less populated like the Hungary.

The Anglo-Saxon musical comedies and the French productions do not exploit the same scales of time: with the the United Kingdom and the the United States, a musical comedy has success if it remains during several years, in France a production which remains with the poster a few months is a great success today (Albert Willemetz fété the 1000e of several of its operettas, rises admittedly under optimal conditions). (This is why the newspaper France Soir had been mistaken there by writing, in connection with Fiddler one the Roof created in Broadway in 1964 and not adapted for Paris in 1968: “   Yesterday evening, with the Marigny theater, after the general one of the Violin on the roof , nobody doubted it any more: Paris holds finally its first true large comedy musicale.  ” Indeed, it held 654 representations!) In the same way, a musical production which carries out a round in province in France will remain a few days in each city, whereas in the United Kingdom and the United States, the musical comedies in round remain several months in the same city - with decorations and effects reduced in both cases.

This difference in duration explains why the Anglo-Saxon musical comedies require that the theater is arranged especially, to be able to integrate all the special effects. The theater thus undergoes heavy work specific to each spectacle before a musical comedy can settle there. In certain cases, the room is also redécorée with the colors of the spectacle.

In general, the scene is completely destroyed and rebuilt to be able to integrate into it elements of the decoration which must appear during the spectacle, or there to build secrete ways to reveal and to disappear the actors. The orchestra pit under the scene is arranged especially according to the composition of the orchestra. In certain cases, the orchestra can be at another place: for We Will Rock'n'roll You , it is on the sides of the scene, with two meters height; in Cats , it is located behind the basic curtain of scene.

Some musical comedies

Some musical comedies and musical productions, classified per year of the first representation.

Years 1950

  • West Side Story (1957 in Winter Garden Theater on Broadway, New York)

Years 1960

Years 1970

Years 1980

Years 1990

Years 2000

External bond

  • Internet Broadway Database: database on line on all the assembled spectacles with Broadway (IBDb).
  • multi-media Encyclopedia of the ''' theatrical musical comedy ''' for France : database in line, very documented, of works, authors, type-setters, interpreters, editors, theaters, years, documents.

Random links:Saint-Paul (Corrèze) | Chrysostome II of Justinienne News | Automobile Grand Prix of Monaco 1987 | Donji Petrovci | Sanflo-Murat HB