A megamusical is an epic, dramatic show featuring recurring
melodies in a sung-through score; huge, impressive sets; and grand
ideas. These qualities are accompanied by intensive marketing
campaigns, unprecedented international financial success, and a
marked disjunction between critical reaction and audience
reception. Audiences adore megamusicals; they flock to see them
when they open, and return again and again, helping long-lived
shows to become semi-permanent tourist attractions. Yet generally
speaking, critics either dismiss megamusicals as superficial
entertainment, or rail against them as offensively simple-minded
money-making scams. This audience/critic division lies at the heart
of The Megamusical.
Jessica Sternfeld s long-awaited study of some of the most
popular megamusicals is an important contribution to knowledge of
American musical culture. Sternfeld discusses the history of the
megamusical, examining both its internal, performative qualities
and its external, market reception to reveal why it is so popular.
She concentrates on Lloyd Webber's Cats and The Phantom of the
Opera, the two longest-running musicals on Broadway, and Schoenberg
and Boublil s Les Miserables, the most popular and internationally
successful piece of music theater of all time. Each of these
musicals receives in-depth treatment, including an examination of
how they were created and received, as well as an analysis of their
scores and staging. She also interprets several other megamusicals
of the 1980s and 1990s, with an eye toward their competition and
influence on other musical theater genres."
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