Breaking into Song: Why You Shouldn't Hate Musicals

“This book is a fascinating cri de coeur and made me questioneverything I think about musicals”

Alan Cumming

A book for those who can’t stand musicals, those who love them, and every theatregoer, academic, practitioner and student in between. Breaking Into Song explores theatre’s most divisive genre, and asks the fundamental questions:

• What makes a musical?

• Why are they so polarising?

• And why have we allowed a form so full of possibility to become so repetitive and restrictive?

Through a series of essays, London-based director, dramaturg and musical theatre specialist Adam Lenson asks what audiences can do to stay open minded and what creatives can do to make new musicals better. Examining both sides of the divide, he explores how those who both love and hate musicals can expand the possibilities of this misunderstood medium.

Dive in and discover the political foundations of the form, the difficulties in pinning down exactly what it is, the connections between musicals, video games, opera and comic books, and why a musical is, actually, a lot like a poopy baby.

“A passionate and cogently argued call to arms and a very enjoyable read”Lyn Gardner

 “This book is really brilliant. If you care about/enjoy/work in/struggle with/want to understand/have concerns for the state of musical theatre, it is essential reading. Hugely recommended”Howard Goodall

“I would advise anyone who… hates musicals… to read this book”Musical Theatre Review

“Bold, inclusive and willing to adapt, Adam Lenson’s blueprint for musical theatre above all looks at sustainability.”The Reviews Hub

Contents:

Breaking Into SongThe WoundOn Hating MusicalsCash MachinesMusicals and Comic BooksSuperpowersMusicals are PoliticalPoopy BabiesWhen Words Are No Longer EnoughCollaborationTime and MemoryPhotocopying a PhotocopyI’m Not a Genre, Not Yet a MediumExpertiseWhat’s The Point?DefinitionsAudiencesMusicals and Video GamesCan Musicals Ever Be Cool?The TriangleTiny BowlsMusicals and OperaDigging vs TelescopesThe MusicalCardboard CitiesMusicals Cost Too MuchAutobiographyOppositesBuild it and They Will ComeWhat’s in a Name?ReplicasStacksMaking Space