A theater buff friend of mine visited this past weekend, and convinced me to go see a musical in the area called Fly. It is based on the story of Peter Pan, and focused on the serious idea of what it means to grow up. While that is always a main theme with any Peter Pan adaptation, this show took a slightly darker angle, with more adult humor present. I thoroughly enjoyed this production, but it made me think more about different types of entertainment I consume and the ways I judge them in my head.
I’ve never been particularly into musicals. I’ve enjoyed being in a pit orchestra for them, and for the most part I’ve enjoyed each show I’ve seen. But I’m not a fan of musicals themselves; I don’t listen to soundtracks, and I don’t know the big names in different productions. I go in expecting to see a piece of art that I know essentially nothing about, and I judge it based on the execution of that art.
This is distinct from how I view concert band music. As someone who has been in several concert bands at varying levels, and has heard many other concert bands across a similar spectrum of levels, I have a better gauge for the technical reasons to enjoy what is going on. The sounds made by a concert band resonate with me; a concert band or orchestra performance is already a step above other forms of art in absolute terms. Overall this leads to strong opinions on these instrumental performances; they affect me across a larger spectrum of emotion.
Musicals are then confined to a similar range of opinions as choral music and regular theater; while it can be affecting in the right circumstances, I rarely overtly dislike or have strong criticisms of such performances, but I will almost never have particularly positive feelings either beyond the appreciation for what was pulled off. This appreciation can only go so high because, unlike a regular instrumental performance, I don’t have as clear an idea of what goes into it, nor a preconceived passion for the form.
Attending this performance of Fly clarified a lot of these feelings, which I had previously not articulated to myself. My prior experience with musicals is playing in pit orchestras in high school and a little in college, seeing a few others here and there, but I have never seen a professionally-made musical. It was an incredible experience, and I’m so glad I went. As I’m not a vocalist myself, I can only appreciate the singing a little; I’ve heard excellent singers, but it’s hard for me to point out any difference between singers that are supposedly at different “levels” in the midst of a complicated show. The acting was good enough to be forgettable, in the sense that I didn’t have to think about it. Again, I’m judging based on engagement, and the acting was excellent.
I realized halfway through the show that the choreography was perhaps the most notable boring part of the show. During every musical I’ve seen, the choreography has been at best a little distracting, and at worst completely orthogonal to the scenes they are in. Fly had none of that. The dance breaks were not intrusive; each character had their own style that fit with everything else that was established throughout the course of the show. I was allowed to forget about it, and was successfully swept into the world of the musical. Even the flying effects (of course there was flying) were flawless, until the system broke down during a very difficult number; after about 15 minutes they nailed it, and then we were back in the world.
Finally, the set design was incredible. The costumes were believable and fit in with the darker narrative. The scene changes were quick, and surprisingly subtle; how do you hide a pirate ship, and bring it in without anyone noticing? I still don’t really know, but they managed to do it.
The entire experience did give a particular enthusiasm for the show; not for musicals overall, but for the performance I saw. It was excellent. Yet I know in the end, when I see the final product of The Addams Family that I’m playing for at my local church, I will also be impressed, and will think no less of it than I did Fly. I’m appreciating it for what it is, and not comparing across levels. This professional musical experience blew me away, and I’d be happy to go to another; but I’m also equally happy to go to the local high school and see what their talent is managing to accomplish.