English for Cultural and Creative Industries
 Glee, a musical comedy-drama set in an American high
school, was the smash hit TV show of 2009. But its
creator, Ryan Murphy, was surprised by its success. “I never
thought the show would even last,” he said. “I just didn’t
think people would get it.”
 Musicals don’t have a great reputation; they are often
compared unfavorably with opera and considered
somewhat tracky. In fact, musicals differ from opera in
many ways: they contain more spoken dialogue, more
choreographed dance numbers, and are performed in the
audience’s first language (whereas, more often than not,
opera is sung in Italian).
 Musical theater has been around since the 1800s. In the
early part of the century, it took the form of revues –
short, unrelated songs and sketches performed one after
the other. In the later part of the century, British writing
duo Gilbert and Sullivan popularized the genre with a
string of hits including H.M.S. Pinafore and The Mikado.
In the 1900s another duo, Rogers and Hammerstein,
penned many of the American classics which are still
performed today, such as Oklahoma! and The Sound of
Music. Musicals from the 1980s to the present tend to
include elements of contemporary pop and rock music,
while “jukebox” musicals like Mamma Mia use preexisting songs by famous bands.
 The most successful musical of all time is Les Misérables,
based on a novel by the French author Victor Hugo. It
opened in Paris in 1980 but really took off in London,
where it has been performed nearly 12,000 times from 1985
to the present day. In 2012 Les Mis – as it is informally
known – was also made into an Oscar-winning movie.
 It is common for musicals to be made into films,
and vice versa. The Lion King, for example, began
life as a Walt Disney cartoon. Chicago was born as
a silent movie in 1927, became a stage musical in
1975, and was revamped as a Hollywood
blockbuster in 2002! This helps the shows to
become more widely known, and explains why
most people can sing along to songs like “Jesus
Christ Superstar” and “Do-Re-Mi.”
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA6R1DMbZ8
 In recent times, West End and Broadway musicals have taken
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on a more international flavor., whose score was written by
legendary Bollywood composer A. R. Rahman, debuted in the
early 2000s. In turn, some Asian countries are now Bombay
Dreams producing their own musicals in the Western tradition;
Snow.Wolf.Lake, which has versions in both Mandarin and
Cantonese, premiered in Hong Kong in 1997.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMSvBxx8gY4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWFhe3xXSj0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHpKNacmOns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ6vTW7lIog
 Another current trend in the UK is to search for the leads
in West End musicals through reality TV programs. In
2008, amidst criticisms of dumbing down, the talent show
I’d Do Anything found actors to play the parts of Oliver
and Nancy in Oliver! the following year.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouP-YMTfCX4
 Dumbed down or not, musical theater is having a
renaissance thanks to Glee and High School Musical,
which brought the genre to a new, younger audience. Not
convinced? Then why are you still humming “Do-Re-Mi”?
Dialogue 1
 Two students are talking about whether they want to see the film adaption of Les
Miserables. They have different views between Les Miserables the musical and
Les Miserables the movie.
 Olivia:
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Les Misérables is on TV tonight. Shall we watch it?
Samuel:
Is there nothing else on? I saw it at the cinema when it first came out,
and to be honest, I prefer the stage version.
Olivia: Oh. Why?
Samuel:
The movie is too “Hollywood.” Some of the actors can’t even sing very
well! At least when you watch the stage musical, you know you’re getting professional
musicians.
Olivia: Come on, be fair. Les Misérables has a difficult score. Could you sing it?
Samuel:
No, I couldn’t. But I’m not being paid millions of dollars like those
movie stars!
Olivia: I see your point, but I’m still keen to watch the movie.
Samuel:
OK, I’ll watch it with you. I must admit, I love the character of Jean
Valjean.
Olivia: Me too! He’s a complicated kind of hero.
Samuel:
I’ll tell you a secret. When I saw Les Mis in the theater, I cried when
Valjean died.
Dialogue 2
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Two students are planning a trip to London in the summer. Enjoying musicals is included in
their plan. They are discussing what musicals they want to see.
Robin: West End musicals are pretty expensive these days. We can’t see everything.
Zoe:
I know. But we can’t go all the way to London and not see at least two.
Robin: OK. Two seems reasonable. Which ones?
Zoe:
Well, we have to see The Lion King. That’s not even up for discussion.
Robin: Agreed. I’ve heard it’s worth going just to see the costumes.
Zoe:
What about the second one?
Robin: I’m thinking The Phantom of the Opera.
Zoe:
I saw it on Broadway. I don’t want to see it again.
Robin: Mamma Mia?
Zoe:
Ugh, no thanks! ABBA get on my nerves.
Robin: You suggest something, then!
Zoe:
Um … how about Billy Elliot?
Robin: Billy Elliot? What’s that about?
Zoe:
It’s about a boy from a poor family in the north of England who becomes a ballet dancer,
although his family disapproves.
Robin: That doesn’t sound like my cup of tea at all! Is there anything else …? [fade]
Note 1
 The West End of London is home to around forty commercial theaters
and many other tourist attractions. The heart of “Theaterland” is
Shaftesbury Avenue, which contains six theaters: the Shaftesbury, the
Palace, the Lyric, the Apollo, the Gielgud, and Queen’s – where Les
Misérables is currently performed. The only West End show which has
run for longer than Les Misérables is The Mouse Trap, which debuted
in 1952!
 The theater district of New York City, located in Manhattan, is referred
to as Broadway. It has the same number of theaters as the West End.
The longest-running show on Broadway is The Phantom of the Opera,
which premiered in 1988, while Cats and Chicago take second and
third place respectively. When tourists hear a theater described as “off
Broadway”, they often mistakenly believe it is located on a side street
off Broadway. In fact, this phrase simply means “a smaller theater.”