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 Mis?rables, 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.

The Megamusical (Profiles in Popular Music) PDF

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