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| re: Ain't Misbehavin isn't a jukebox musical | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 10:09 pm EDT 08/30/18 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 10:03 pm EDT 08/30/18 | |
| In reply to: Ain't Misbehavin isn't a jukebox musical - KingSpeed 08:09 pm EDT 08/30/18 | |
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| See, it's funny - I think that Smokey Joe's Cafe IS a jukebox musical, because the music is the rock and roll catalogue of Lieber and Stoller. I don't think there's any reason why a jukebox show can't be in a revue format. To me, Ain't Misbehavin' isn't a jukebox show mainly because the term has usually been applied to shows featuring non-theatre music of the rock era - but Ain't Misbehavin's music not only pre-dates that era, but some of the songs were indeed written for shows. It has nothing to do with the show's structure - it's the music used in it. |
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| re: Ain't Misbehavin isn't a jukebox musical | |
| Last Edit: ryhog 01:59 am EDT 08/31/18 | |
| Posted by: ryhog 01:56 am EDT 08/31/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Ain't Misbehavin isn't a jukebox musical - Chromolume 10:03 pm EDT 08/30/18 | |
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| A few thoughts... First, I think the term jukebox is more or less contemporaneous with the early days of rock and roll. (There were of course earlier coin-ops but I don't think they were called jukeboxes, were they? Second, I of course agree that the structure of a show is irrelevant. Third, I also agree that Ain't Misbehaving would not fit the model, but I think the reason is a little broader. Jukebox musicals exist (unfortunately in my view) because there was a perceived need to get folks into theatre seats with music that resonated for them (i.e., that was popular) because the music being written for the theatre stopped being popular (coincidentally around the time jukeboxes started being a thing). That makes no sense for Ain't Misbehavin' because Fats Waller was writing his songs at a time when there was no such distinction. (Edit: I hadn't seen your (earlier) post below that basically says the same thing. I think we are in substantial agreement.) | |
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| re: Ain't Misbehavin isn't a jukebox musical | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 12:09 pm EDT 08/31/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Ain't Misbehavin isn't a jukebox musical - ryhog 01:56 am EDT 08/31/18 | |
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| Yes. ;-) And you mentioned something which I always feel is true, but didn't really express - which is that I agree that jukebox musicals are designed for the audiences who will recognize and celebrate all the big hit tunes they already know, and ride on the specific nostalgia of that singer/composer/group and their songs. Ain't Misbehavin' does feature some familiar songs, but many of them were not so well-known at the time, and some of the arrangements (for instance, the vocalese lyrics for Fats' original piano solo "Handful Of Keys") were written/conceived just for the occasion. The show was a celebration of all things Fats Waller, but not in the current way that jukebox shows do it. |
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