A backstage musical is a genre of
musical with a plot set in a theatrical context that revolves around the production of a play or musical
revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...
. The film's narrative trajectory often comes to a halt one or more times to allow a performance. The songs performed in this context are considered
diegetic
Diegesis (; from the Greek from , "to narrate") is a style of fiction storytelling that presents an interior view of a world in which:
# Details about the world itself and the experiences of its characters are revealed explicitly through narra ...
numbers in that they occur literally in the plot, though they do not necessarily move the story forward.
The backstage musical was typified in the early films by director and choreographer
Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley (born Berkeley William Enos; November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berke ...
, including ''
42nd Street'' (1933), ''
Footlight Parade'' (1933), ''
Dames'' (1934) and the ''Gold Diggers'' series (
1933,
1935 and
1937), with examples in later films including
''Burlesque'' (2010) and
A ''Star Is Born'' (2018).
Stage musicals that themselves have elements of backstage musicals include ''
Show Boat
''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...
'' (1927), ''
Kiss Me, Kate
''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-stag ...
'' (1948), ''
The Band Wagon
''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will restart his career. However, ...
'' (1953), ''
Gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
'' (1959), ''
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...
'' (1966), ''
Follies
''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman.
The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Fol ...
'' (1971), ''
A Chorus Line
''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante.
Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...
'' (1975) and ''
The Phantom of the Opera
''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...
'' (1986).
References
Film genres
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