Orchestras: Canned Or Alive

Greetings, all! In the spirit of trying to be more active on this blog, I've decided to attempt a weekly format. Instead of waiting for an awesome topic to pop up in front of me, I'm just going to blog about anything that pops into my head that has to do with the world of POTO. That is, after all, how most blogs tend to work, right?

Fortunately, this week's topic is something pretty interesting. A recent post on Mark Shenton's blog points out that stage musicals seem to be turning increasingly to artificial things in order to save costs, potentially leading to greater profits. For example, some use projected sets and effects rather than ones that actually have to be constructed by hand. And some stage productions, as Shenton notes, use pre-recorded instrumental tracks rather than hiring live musicians.

Now, the example Shenton brings up near the end isn't a great one if he wants to argue the point that this is a bad thing – I don't think anyone could deny that the use of canned music in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a stylistic choice rather than merely a cost-cutting one. And it's certainly not a new thing; in its early days, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom was mocked by critics for its use of drum machines and prerecorded synth instruments. (The organ, percussion, and synth strings of the Overture and the title song, for example, are entirely prerecorded.) And in the Japanese productions, the orchestra has been completely prerecorded since the beginning. Going back even further, it's often said that Bye Bye Birdie was the first musical to feature some prerecorded singing, and that was way back in 1960.

So what do I think of this? In short, I think it can work well as an artistic choice to create a new and different sound. And as a cost-cutting measure... well, I'm not the biggest fan of it, but given the economic situation, it may be the only way for new musicals to make enough money to last for a good length of time on Broadway. In any case, feel free to weigh in on this issue by posting your comments!

Keep an eye out for another blog post next week – perhaps one that's more POTO-related!


I remain your obedient servant,
I.A.E.

Recent Occurrences

Greetings, all! Sorry I haven't blogged in so long . . . but to make up for it, here's a huge update on what I've been up to. Toward the end of May/beginning of June, I had an awesome two-week stay in California, during which I got to do quite a few Phantom-y activities.

"Don Juan Triumphant": The Artist's Plea

Greetings once again! This is an essay I posted on my Facebook page some time ago about Erik's Don Juan Triumphant as it was portrayed in the original novel and some of the adaptations. I've made some minor changes and corrections since that original posting in order to post it here. Again, feel free to comment and offer your own opinions or insights!