August 1, 2023
I was always in love with the music of the 1950s and 1960s. And suddenly, it came to me 5 years ago while watching an advertisement on the great love songs of the past. I thought: How about a musical play on the great music of the 1950s and 1960s era? After some thought, I decided to put together an outline for a Broadway play concerned with the musical hits of that period, focusing on (but not limited to) country plus rock and roll music. And, that was what an article at that time was all about…a Broadway musical play titled: The Music of the 1950s and 1960s.
That was 5 years ago. Five years have elapsed and I’ve decided to revisit that article. And, here is my edited and revised version of my earlier work.
On to the musical itself. Keep in mind that I am not a producer or director, and have attended only 15 (my best guess) Broadway plays and 5 (my best guess again) off-Broadway plays. Most have been of a musical variety. My first play was Grease and remember becoming mesmerized on entering the theatre and hearing the piped-in music prior to the play. I also remember Dream Girls and Jersey Boys. Interestingly for me, the plot never came into “play;” it was strictly the music. Based on all of this, here is what I’ve come up with for a Broadway play on the music of the 1950s and 1960s.
Three things come into mind regarding the proposed play: the music/score, the singers/musicians, and the presentation/production. Each are detailed below.
The Music/Score: As noted earlier, the music would be primarily based on the hit songs of the 1950s and 1960s. Here are some of my favorites:
Be My Baby
Beyond the Sea
Blueberry Hill
California Girls
Georgia on My Mind
Crazy
I Want to Hold Your Hand
Johnny B. Good
ShBoom
Someday Soon
Sweet Caroline
Whole Lotta Lovin’ Going On
All My Lovin’
You Belong to Me
Begin the Beguine
Some, but not all, of the above would be part of the play for a given night, details of which are provided in the Presentation/Production section.
The Singers/Musicians: This should consist of a 5–10-person band with excellent singers and music playing abilities. A no-name group – that are true fans of the songs of the 1950s and 1960s – would be preferred. At a minimum, the band would consist of a drummer, guitarist, keyboard player, violinist, and horn. The band members would be male but a female singer/musician would be a plus. Other musicians could also be included in the band.
The Presentation/Production: Here is what I envision for a typical performance. The band opens up with a medley of 5 or more country music songs from the past. This would be followed by ACT I which would consist of 15 songs selected randomly by the Director from a list of 75 hits of the 1950s and 60s, almost all from a different artist. The 75 songs would initially be selected by the Director. Each song would be preceded by a short one-minute commentary on the songwriter(s) and/or original singer(s). ACT II would follow after a 15-minute break. This last act would consist of 10 songs that would be randomly selected by the audience. The play would conclude with another medley of songs of a rock-and-roll variety. The band would have to rehearse all songs early during the production stage of the play.
The aforementioned 15 songs in ACT I would be randomly selected from the “bank” of the aforementioned 75 songs for each performance. Songs would also be randomly selected from the 60 songs that were not selected that previous evening for the following (next) performance. The next performance would then be selected from the remaining 45 songs. Etc. Etc. The cycle would therefore be repeated after every five performances, being careful that the songs are randomly selected each night and each cycle.
The ACT II songs would be selected by the audience each night on entering the theatre from the 60 songs remaining in the pool of songs not included in ACT I for that evening. The selections from the audience would be computerized, with the results of the top 10 choices determined during ACT I and the break. These songs would then constitute the aforementioned 10 songs for ACT II that night.
The opening (prologue) and closing (epilogue) melodies would be the same each night.
A typical performance could consist of the following:
ACT I
INTRODUCTION: Lead member of band
OPENING MELODY (COUNTRY MUSIC; my selections)
Country Road
Someday Soon (my favorite)
Don’t it Make My Brown Eyes Blue
Lying Eyes
Rocky Mountain High
15 SONGS
These would be selected from the pool of 75 songs. For example, the 15 selected earlier could be chosen.
INTERLUDE/BREAK (15 minutes)
ACT II
10 SONGS
You (the audience) pick them.
CLOSING MELODY (ROCK-AND-ROLL; my selections)
Earth Angel
ShBoom
Maybelline
I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Sweet Caroline (audience participation)
CLOSING REMARKS: Lead member of band
Finally, three points need to be made. First, I must inform the reader that I have never written a song, sung a song professionally, played a musical instrument, written a play, or understand the various ramifications associated with a play, let alone a musical play. Second, each performance would be different and thus could be attended numerous times by a theatergoer. (This is similar to Louie Prima’s shows of yesteryear in Las Vegas where – due to Prima’s insanity – the audience was treated to a different show every night.) Third, the above outline and details of the proposed musical play are dynamic in nature and could be “tweaked,” e.g., more or less selections, elimination of random selections, different musical categories, and any potential and/or special accommodations to the performers, audience, societal interests and problems, etc.
©Theodore Tutorials, 2018.
Any thoughts? Your comments would be appreciated.
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SEPTEMBER 1: On Technical Writing
OCTOBER 1: On Begin the Beguine
NOVEMBER 1: On the Beginning, the Middle, and the End
DECEMBER 1: On Purely Chaste, Pristine and Random Thoughts XXXII
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I just love that you are thinking of enjoying Music and all it has meant to you. Do as your Heart directs! Georgia