Singing the praises of musical theatre
It was encouraging to see the case being made for public investment in musicals, but your article only tells half the story (Drop the snobbery and give musicals subsidies, says top director, 22 January). As well as being innovative, musical theatre is labour-intensive and often takes a long time to develop fully. Hamilton took seven years from conception to Broadway. Hence the need for patience and sustained support.
However, it is unhelpful to consider the only definition of success being a long West End run or being made into a film, important as those are. Some musicals are better suited to smaller venues, and many more need backing to reach their potential and audiences across the country. Public subsidy supports theatre, dance and opera companies to develop work, but there is no comparable infrastructure for musicals.
While there is certainly a need for greater investment, for the past few years Arts Council England has given small but vital sums to a handful of micro-organisations to support musical theatre. Some 320 writing teams from hugely diverse backgrounds and working in a wide variety of musical styles applied to take part in the biennial showcase produced by Musical Theatre Network and Mercury Musical Developments, two of these micro-organisations. Professionals with an interest in seeing what is happening at musical theatre’s grassroots should beat a path to BEAM2020 in Northampton in March to see extracts from 41 of them. They just might find their next hit.
Jodi Myers
Chair, Musical Theatre Network
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