It is an excellent book...extremely insightful. Now if anyone tells you that ALL musicals are just "fluff" you will have lots from this book to back up your statement as to why it isn't. It's a great, great book and I reccommend it to everyone.
"I'm learning to dig deep down inside and find the truth within myself and put that out. I think what we identify with in popular music more than anything else is when someone just shares a truth that we can relate to. That's what I'm searching for in my music." - Ron Bohmer
"I broke the boundaries. It wasn't cool to be in plays- especially if you were in sports & I was in both." - Ashton Kutcher
No - but do you know what John Bush Jones would call Hairspray... "a diversionary musical" or "mindless fluff." Jones says that he would like to "believe that Urinetown is heralding a return to those kinds of shows from past decades in which "serious musicals" and "entertaining musical" were not contradictions in terms." Unfortunately with shows like Hairspray, Mama Mia and yes even Millie it seems as if we are just confirming the contradiction more and more...
Wow...I haven't talked about Hairspray in a while...thanks for giving me the opportunity to trash it more Phantom.
Just remember something bestofbroadway. Nice guys ALWAYS finish first! Have a lovely night. Oh, and be sure to wrap toilet paper around your head so you don't mess up your hair-do while you toss and turn!
"I'm learning to dig deep down inside and find the truth within myself and put that out. I think what we identify with in popular music more than anything else is when someone just shares a truth that we can relate to. That's what I'm searching for in my music." - Ron Bohmer
"I broke the boundaries. It wasn't cool to be in plays- especially if you were in sports & I was in both." - Ashton Kutcher
And Hairspray is what theater SHOULD be?! Talk about cheap humour and easy gags. I completely disagree...for what lies beneath the "cheap humor and easy gags" in Urinetown is SO much more.
Jeff G- you provided nothing but to say that it doesn't suit your taste. Read the book and you will see why he finds Urinetown so appealing and important...it is an echoing back to musicals like The Cradle Will Rock and Of Thee I Sing.
"Urinetown is satire and parody at once. The show satirically raises serious questions about individual freedoms vs. monopolistic or totalitarian control....the result is a wildly funny show punctuated by some pointed, provocative, and even scary "moments of truth."
Urinetown proves that a "playful, entertaining socially meaningful musical can be a hit"
You didn't in this post, but you certainly have in past posts. And from those posts I know what you consider to be a great musical. You are certainly entitled to your opinion however I'm gonna have to agree with Mr Jones'. It seems a little more thought out than yours.