The Importance of Musicals 

By Lily Hoffman 

    

    The theater towered over me. The stage's outline was lined with decorative cobwebs and dusty brown gears. The along with the webs and the gears, the sides of the stage was decorated with brown platforms that climbed all the way to the ceiling. All the gears crowded the stage and created a mysterious environment. The building had black draping ceilings that framed the stage from the top. Seats lined the other side of the theater. The House extended what seemed like miles, judging by how long it took to walk to our theater. I took my seat next to the rest of my family. My feet barely touched the ground. My eyes couldn't help but stare at the giant black dragon. Under the bright light that illuminated the stage, the dragon lit up gray. It hung over the stage by wires that disappeared into the elaborate ceiling. In the center of the stage, an old fashion map sprawled under the dragon. Parts of the map were lit in a vibrant green. The dusty brown theater climbed around me. Fancy columns and designs were plastered through the interior. The lights suddenly went dark and the stage lit up. On January 11th, a firth grade me saw my first broadway show in person. I saw Wicked at the Gershwin theater in New York City. I loved it. I went on to see more throughout the years. Two of my personal favorites were Kinky Boots and The Lightning Thief. The days seeing these musicals are some of my favorite memories. Some musicals I want to see in the future include Hadestown, Newsies (if it every reopens), and Hamilton. 

Gershwin theater

    As a kid, I loved both music and performing. As soon as I got on a stage I couldn't help but smile. I performed my first play/musical when I was around 6 or 7 years old. I played Penny the dog in 101 Dalmatians. I was so proud of myself when I stepped off that stage. I continued to perform in shows such as Greece, Jungle book, two productions of Frozen, Into the Woods, Wicked, and Tarzan, etc. Each time I stepped off the stage I felt amazing. One of my favorite shows I had performed was when I performed in a show where the cast performed many different musical songs from many different shows. I tended to perform a lot of songs from Matilda because I was around 9 or 10 at the time. I did this show two years in a row. I loved getting to become different characters in every number. 

    As I grew older I started listening to musical soundtracks. Since musicals are CRAZY expensive, my parents were more likely to buy me two dollar albums on iTunes. Some of my favorites were Dear Evan Hanson, Be More Chill, Heathers, Wicked, Hadestown, Miltilda (when I was younger),  and Into the Woods, etc. I listened to a lot of them as you can tell. In addition to listening to them I also watched recordings of stage performances. You can find these online or on steaming services like Disney+. 

    I think that musicals are a very important part of the Arts. The audience gets taken on a journey through the characters. A person can learn very important lessens through the various stories in shows. For example, in the musical Newsies, the audience learns to stand up for what they believe in and keep fighting . In the musical, Kinky Boots, the audience learns to celebrate our differences. Finally they are just so entertaining to watch. In the majority of shows, the special effects are really impressive, the instrumentals are phenomenal  and the songs are catchy. Even musicals off broadway are really impressive  and enjoyable (for example, musicals performed by the company Star Kid). In conclusion, musicals are really important to me. I believed listening to them has shaped me into who I am today.