Some of us don't like musicals: Looking at the culture of theatrical discourse

Atlantic Stage 2

I’m going to start this off by saying something that has been a “controversial take” for me in the past: I am not a huge fan of musicals. They aren’t why I fell in love with the theatre, I don’t really listen to them in my free time, and I prefer reading a play. I think musicals are very valid, but they aren’t my favorite thing.

I say this to point out my main point, just because other people like something doesn’t mean I have to, and just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean people who do like it cannot be around me.

Theatrical discourse in the past can boil down to “I want you to love the thing I love as much as I love it and if you don’t I will try to convince you”. This obviously isn’t exclusive to the theatrical world (this exists in film and literature as well) but it is prominent. It extends into theatrical training as well with classic vs contemporary. It is good to have a well-rounded set of skills and learning various skillsets isn’t a bad thing.

However, the culture of telling young artists they have to be in a certain role or bubble because “that’s what you’ll be hired as” despite it being against an actor’s interest is a tough thing to swallow. If an actor loves classical work, at a certain point they can choose to just go after that work.

So to force them into a contemporary work bubble and say “you’ll take it when you need the job” is often an excuse to make the actor love the contemporary work their doing in training, even if it isn’t artistically fulfilling to them. If a designer loves musicals and wants to design musicals specifically, the same rule applies.

We know what this industry is and we know we take work as it comes, but that shouldn’t be used as an excuse to make you try and love something. “It will get you a job” is not good enough for someone to have to love something.

Artists are allowed to have a theatrical aesthetic and to chase it. Artists are allowed to like and dislike certain types of shows and they are allowed to do so. I love absurdist theatre, but if someone hates it, I will never shame them for that. I will explain why I love it, but I will never try to force that opinion onto anyone. Even if “it could get them hired”.

We are all independent artists and people with independent interests. Saying we all have to like a certain thing just is not realistic. We have to learn to be okay with other people not loving the thing we love as much as we love it. Accepting each other as individuals is one of the core principles in the theatre. This should extend to every aspect of life in the theatre.