Breaking into Song: Why You Shouldn't Hate Musicals
“This book is a fascinating cri de coeur and made me question
Alan Cumming
A book for those who can’t stand musicals, those who love them, and every theatregoer, academic, practitioner and student in between. Breaking Into Song explores theatre’s most divisive genre, and asks the fundamental questions:
- What makes a musical?
Why are they so polarising?
And why have we allowed a form so full of possibility to become so repetitive and restrictive?
Through a series of essays, London-based director, dramaturg and musical theatre specialist Adam Lenson asks what audiences can do to stay open minded and what creatives can do to make new musicals better. Examining both sides of the divide, he explores how those who both love and hate musicals can expand the possibilities of this misunderstood medium.
Dive in and discover the political foundations of the form, the difficulties in pinning down exactly what it is, the connections between musicals, video games, opera and comic books, and why a musical is, actually, a lot like a poopy baby.
“A passionate and cogently argued call to arms and a very enjoyable read”
Lyn Gardner
“This book is really brilliant. If you care about/enjoy/work in/struggle with/want to understand/have concerns for the state of musical theatre, it is essential reading. Hugely recommended”
Howard Goodall
“I would advise anyone who… hates musicals… to read this book”
Musical Theatre Review
“Bold, inclusive and willing to adapt, Adam Lenson’s blueprint for musical theatre
”
The Reviews Hub
Contents:
Breaking Into Song
The Wound
On Hating Musicals
Cash Machines
Musicals and Comic Books
Superpowers
Musicals are Political
Poopy Babies
When Words Are No Longer Enough
Collaboration
Time and Memory
Photocopying a Photocopy
I’m Not a Genre, Not Yet a Medium
Expertise
What’s The Point?
Definitions
Audiences
Musicals and Video Games
Can Musicals Ever Be Cool?
The Triangle
Tiny Bowls
Musicals and Opera
Digging vs Telescopes
The Musical
Cardboard Cities
Musicals Cost Too Much
Autobiography
Opposites
Build it and They Will Come
What’s in a Name?
Replicas
Stacks
Making Space
Adam is a London-based director, dramaturg, and producer who specialises in new musical theatre. Lenson's production company ALP Musicals develops artist led work that aims to challenge traditional ideas of what musicals look like, sound like, or are about. In 2017 he founded the concert series SIGNAL which has showcased the work of hundreds of writers from all over the world. Directing includes World premieres of Superhero, The Fabulist Fox Sister, Public Domain, Wasted, The Leftovers, The Sorrows Of Satan. European premieres include Ordinary Days, Little Fish, Whisper House and See What I Wanna See. Major revivals of the Rink, Songs for A New World and 35mm. He has numerous new shows in development for theatre, radio, television and film and is a tireless public advocate for new musicals and new writers. He was selected as one of the Stage 100 in 2021 for his contributions to new musical theatre and digital theatre.
