🎭✨ Musicals: The Gateway Drug of the Theatre World! 🌟✨ Playwright Chris Bush reflects on the magic of this art form after the success of two diverse shows, "Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World" and "Standing at the Sky’s Edge." 🌈 From the upbeat, pop-tastic feminist family entertainment to the poignant exploration of postwar Britain, these shows may seem worlds apart, but they share a common goal – to enchant first-time theatre-goers. 👶👨🦳 "Fantastically Great Women" targets children and their guardians, sparking potential lifelong love for the theatre. Chris acknowledges the pressure to deliver excellence, knowing that captivating a young audience is no easy feat. Children, discerning and honest, can either be hooked for life or turned away by a lackluster experience. 🏙️ On the other hand, "Sky’s Edge," not a children's show, attracted a unique set of first-time theatre enthusiasts – primarily Richard Hawley fans in Sheffield. Many, initially skeptical of theatre, left as converts, highlighting the power of musicals as a welcoming introduction to live theatre. 🎶 Musicals often serve as people's first encounter with the magic of the stage, possibly because of their familiarity with existing work or the ease of sampling songs online. Chris emphasizes the responsibility of musical theatre writers in creating engaging, relatable stories that captivate audiences, regardless of their familiarity with the medium. 🌟 Making work for theatre novices involves crafting stories that are engaging, characters that feel real, and experiences that are thrilling and live. Musicals, with their blend of intimacy and spectacle, provide an ideal introduction to the magic of theatre, offering big emotions, epic sweep, and a sense of shared communion. 🚀 There should never be an entry test to enjoying art, and the best musicals understand this, gripping their audience from the first bars to the final note. What better way to ignite a lifetime's passion? 🌟🎶 #MusicalsMagic #TheatreNovice #ArtForAll #TheatreLove 🎭✨
