Happy Fourth of July!
There’s nothing more American than a good stage musical. Literature, books, music but no other art-form is as ensconced in American tradition as the stage musical. It’s the reason the major players in the contemporary (20th century and onwards) musical come from the United States and why Broadway (and Off-Broadway) continues to be such tourist attractions. To celebrate Independence D ay, then, we’re tracing through the 238 years of American independence with cast albums to use as reference points. You might think of certain musicals when you think July fourth but we tried to incorporate a mix of both the expected and unexpected as we celebrate July Fourth with the music of the Theatre.
1776 (and it begins)
It’s impossible to talk about Fourth of July and musicals without thinking about 1776. The musical is essentially about independence as it traces John Adams efforts to convince his colleagues to vote for American independence. It’s also a great starting point because 1776 is as great proof as any that there’s no topic that’s not fit for the musical form. If we can make a successful musical with a thrilling score about a group of men sitting around a table arguing about signing a paper, anything is possible.
Listen to: The Original Broadway Cast Recording. Even though it bizarrely does not include “Compliments” it features Betty Buckley’s Broadway debut belting beautifully on “He Plays the Violin”. But as far as one song to use for Independence Day, the solemn “Is Anybody There” is impossible to argue against.
Shenandoah and Dessa Rose (through slavery and the Civil War)
Shenandoah is the musical from the seventies based on the James Stewart movie from the sixties about a family in Virginia during the American Civil War. The score from Geld and Udell has some gems (including the great female/female duet “We Make a Beautiful Pair”) and its tracing of a family dealing with war is great to hear. And to complement Shenandoah’s arc we can travel back two decades before the civil war to Dessa Rose before the War, tracing the life of a runaway slave and a white woman who become life-long friends. In typical Ahrens and Flaherty fashion the music on the cast recording with LaChanze and Rachel York is full of excellent numbers mixing plot with great music.
Listen to: The gospel themed “Pass the Cross to Me” from the Original Broadway Cast of Shenandoah is a great stirring song especially when matched against the powerful opening number to Dessa Rose “We Are Descended” – which is a profound message of the importance of ancestors.
Show Boat (through the late 19th century, race and love)
Show Boat and its watershed space in American musical theatre can’t be undervalued even if its book might seem dated today. Its examination of serious issues like racial tensions and prejudice make an essential entry as we close out the 19th century in America. And if you prefer Bernstein and Sondheim to Kern and Hammerstein, you can jump ahead half a century to the fifties for another tale of forbidden love across race barriers with West Side Story.
Listen to: So many Show Boat recordings to choose from but I’m partial to the 1993 revival – “Make Believe” from Show Boat can make a nice pair with “Somewhere” from West Side Story’s Movie Soundtrack – imagining a world of racial barriers being broken with romance.
Ragtime and Rags (the beginning of a new century)
If Show Boat was a watershed moment, Ragtime seventy years later was just as important. Jews, blacks and whites all get their time to shine as Ahrens and Flaherty’s score (with help from Terrence McNally’s book) does a phenomenal job of adapting Doctorow’s expansive novel to stage. The historical figures interwoven in the fictional tale give it effect but ultimately Ragtime’s significance as a musical to celebrate July fourth lies in its ending which is hard-earned but hopeful where looking to the future. A decade earlier Rags, a forgotten musical that ran for less than ten performances, had examined the lives of immigrants moving to America during the time and realising the difficulty of attaining that American dream.
Listen to: The Original Broadway Cast Recording of Ragtime is one of the best cast albums of the 90s and the “Prologue” is nine minutes of excellence, and although Rags is missing the best song from the album (“If We Never Meet Again”) it’s worth it to hear Judy Kuhn singing in anguish on the title song.
Gypsy and Chicago (the roaring twenties and the quest for success)
Success and its importance to the American dream. Rose’s “sing out Louise” is an indelible phrase in musical theatre and although Gypsy is more about its fractured familial relationships than its era its indelible part of the craft’s examination of the decade. Gypsy does not take place in the 20s only but it’s as good a fit as any for examining the way showbussiness was on the rise and the decade’s cultural and social dynamism. For another taste of the era turn to Chicago,
Listen to: It’s not the tour-de-force of the play but Rose’s “Some People” might be the perfect Independence Day vow to rise to success – there are so many Gypsy recordings to choose from but I’ll betray my bias and choose the Bernadette Peters 2003 revival recording. “Nowadays” from The Original Broadway Cast Recording of Chicago is another essential listen for the day.
The Scottsboro Boys and Of Thee I Sing (and then into the thirties)
We head into the 30s and get more sombre. Ebb and Kander’s excellent The Scottsboro Boys offers a chilling look at the justice system and racism in 1931. The play’s mode of using a minstrel show to frame the solemn story makes for an appealing cast album. The Gershwin’s Of Thee I Sing has a less serious subject but also uses satire, this time to tell a tale of politics at the beginning of the decade. Of Thee I Sing also has the distinction of being the first musical play to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama which makes its entry on this list even more important as we celebrate the day through musical theatre.
Listen to: “Go Back Home”, the melancholy closing track from the Original Broadway Cast of The Scottsboro boys is one of my favourite theatre songs of this century and the rousing “Trumpeter Blow Your Horn” from Of Thee I Sing is a positive Independence day anthem.
Grey Gardens and Follies (hopes and dreams of the forties giving way to decay in the seventies)
Grey Gardens spends one act in the forties and one act in the seventies and like Gypsy despite its settings, its ultimate goal is to track the dynamic between mother and daughter. But there’s much American significance within Grey Gardens tracing the story of Jacqueline Kennedy’s aunt and cousin. The musical’s look at an eroding American aristocracy is admittedly a bit dour for usual July 4th lists but is an essential part of American history. And as a flipside to the glorious decade on display in Grey Gardens we’ve got Follies as an apposite entry. Like Grey Gardens we’re touching on the young selves of our protagonists in the forties and their sad and decaying selves in the seventies, providing a haunting lament for the end of an era.
Listen to: The New Broadway Cast Recording of the Follies Revival is the finest recording of the cast album and Elaine Paige’s “I’m Still Here” is a great song for the day. Grey Gardens Original Broadway Cast Act Two opener “The Revolutionary Costume for Today” is another gem.
Caroline, or Change and Violet (in the heart of the sixties, racial tensions abound)
The sixties and the racial strife which came with it have been fodder for plays and musicals but I had nothing on my mind for this era but Jeanine Tesori and Tony Kusnher’s Caroline, or Change which is my favourite Broadway score from the decade (I like a few off-Broadway gems more). It takes place in 1963 during the last two months of the year during the American civil rights movement but it’s about America and not just a tale of race. The pain of the protagonist Caroline, the harsh worlds she lives in, her Jewish employers and a country bleeding after the assassination of its president. And for another incisive look at the era we can travel a year later to 1964 to another Tesori musical (with lyrics by Brian Crawley) – Violet. On the surface, it’s just a tale of a girl trying to be pretty but it’s score which blends gospel, blue grass, blues and country as it tells of the bond between the sheltered girl and the black soldier Violet has much to say about race and America.
Listen to: The Original Broadway Cast Recording of Caroline, or Change is an excellent recording and the song “JFK” tracing the difference between the black and white response to the president’s death is incisive. Violet’s closing number provides a hopeful look ahead with “Bring Me To Light” and the recent revival cast recording with Sutton Foster is a good choice.
Company and Falsettos (seventies and eighties)
Company and the adult themes it dealt was considered new at the time on Broadway and as we trace America through the theatre its consideration on marriage and romance (or the lack thereof) are an essential part of the seventies. Even though the musical works easily in any era its place a work of the decade is an essential part of its important to the musical theatre cannon. Finn’s Falsettos – a combination of March of the Falsettos and Falsetoland it’s the story of bisexual and beleaguered Marvin who leaves his wife Trina for his lover Whizzer. But it becomes a tale of contemporary relationships and families as Trina remarries and a lesbian couple become involved in the drama as the early days of the AIDS epidemic are referenced. It’s interesting to compare the way the two plays deal with marriage and relationships.
Listen to: “Being Alive” the 2006 Revival Cast Recording of Company which is not necessarily the best recording of the great score but has Raul Esparza. For Falsettos I’d choose “Holding to the Ground” from the Original Off-Off-Broadway Cast.
Rent and The Life (the last years of the 80s)
Larson’s Rent has been an integral part of musical theatre since its premiere in the nineties and it makes sense on this list both as a new type of Broadway musical and for its celebration of the good (and bad) of the time its set. The La Vie Boheme ideology of its characters marks a specific time of life in America. It makes for great pairing with The Life with music and lyrics from Cy Coleman and Ira Gasman looking at the time in the eighties when Time Square was inhabited by pimps, prostitutes and drug dealers. Both plays have characters with an unwavering sense of nerve and fight despite their circumstances, which make for great listens on Independence Day.
Listen to: “Use What You Got” from the Original Broadway Cast Recording of The Life and “Finale B” from Rent both of them tapping into that determination which marks there more memorable characters.
Avenue Q and Elegies: A Song Cycle
We turn to the present and this century getting sombre with Elegies: A Song Cycle written in response to the September 11 tragedy in 2001. Like 1776 it shows that anything can make the subject for a good musical and like one of its best song says it finds the “Infinite Joy” in all aspects of life. Avenue Q doesn’t have an unusual subject but with its use of puppets shows that musicals really can do anything. The tale about a group of misfits in New York City is a great American story of trying to exist in a world where life isn’t that easy, but still managing to be humorous throughout. It’s a great companion to Elegies sadder focus.
Listen to: “Purpose” from Avenue Q Original Broadway Cast recording which is an important part of growing up and becoming independent from the Original Cast Recording of Elegies: A Song Cycle the beautiful “Looking Up” is a song to mark the entire sadness and happiness of life.
And there you have a 21 song playlist to celebrate Independence Day with America's greatest art form - musical theatre!
