The economics of the Musical on todays Broadway is taking the actor out of it...Because the start up costs are so high, and success means running with full houses for such a long time... Directors are forced to come up with something full proof... And with all the new technologies at their disposal, this has lead to what I will call digital directing... Where every move is on a stage rigged as a big electronic grid plotted for light and sound cues. Computers then dictate to the actor a performance so precise that he is straightjacketed into expressions both physical and vocal that fit on that grid exactly... and this clamps down on the possibility of anything truly unique and individual and completely human taking place... So even those in leading and featured roles will often speak of their track in a show rather than their part... And the sweetening of the audio mix can turn even the most gut-wrenching solo or exuberant chorus number into big budget karaoke... The results are slick, but a bit empty somehow... for both the actor who longs to give away his heart...and the audience that yearns to embrace it.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 15:59:23 +0000
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