Summative Assessment

Contrasting Musical Theatre Comparative Analysis

Musical theatre is a composite art form. A composite art form is the ‘putting together’ of a
variety of aspects to create a single overall product. Musicals consist of loads of aspects
from singing, acting and dancing to lighting, sound engineering and directing. Musicals can
be a range of different genres and plotlines and they can leave the audience feeling
different ways from musical to musical. I will be comparing and analysing two contrasting
musicals: ‘Spring Awakening’ and ‘The Lion King’, to see how they differ from aspect to
aspect.
Spring Awakening, based on the 1891 play (also Spring Awakening) written by Frank
Wedekind, is quite a controversial, eye-opening story. Sexual awakenings and discovery of
one’s true self is a primary theme and element of this show. Set in 1891, adults with strict
restrictions and guidelines are on top. Ungovernable Melchior and innocent Wendla both
curious and desirous have a very forceful and dominative sexual experience, while uneasy
Moritz battles with his inner strife and social expectations. The small collection of boys and
girls must scale the trials and tribulations of adolescent life and all the pressures and
experiences which comes with that. This show references sexuality, morals and issues
among youths and can still be relative to youths of now.
The Lion King is directly based from the Disney animated movie of the same name,
published in 1994. With music by Elton John and lyricised by Tim Rice, is a visual, vibrant
masterpiece with incredible puppeteering. In the Pride Lands surrounding Pride Rock we see
thousands of wild savanna animals worshipping and celebrating a new-born heir to the
throne. We see Simba age from a cub to a worthy king. He struggles with personal guilt,
finding himself, loss of family and battling his demons and overtime, he overcomes many of
his personal issues.
Spring Awakening is mostly a singing-acting musical and has minimal dancing. Opposingly,
Lion King has lots of elegant choreography and masterful dance work. Spring Awakening,
music by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, is full to the brim of sombre or inspiring music, and
are often very heartfelt, therefore require little dance. However, in ‘The Bitch of Living’ 1, set
in a classroom, there is some very boisterous and inelegant choreography. This involves
heavy stamps, jumping off chairs and flexed-foot kicks. This style of dance moves resembles
the rebellious nature of stereotypical adolescent males, which this group of boys are.
Similarly, this choreography (by Bill T. Jones) reflects the lack of care these boys have for
school life and the strict rules set. It correlates with the actual title of the songs, which has
connotations with lack of care and annoyance. The choreography in the show is mostly
gestural and gives emphasis and force to the characters’ lyrics in the songs. This use of
gestural movement helps convey the storyline and intentions and urges of each character.
The cast of the original Broadway cast had little dance training, so Jones had to work to their
1
(Youtube.com, 2020) <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfcq0HFjkrQ> accessed 14 December
2020
strengths, hence the language of rebellion pronounced through all the gesticulation. “For
the song ‘The Bitch of Living,’ Bill asked us what the word bitch meant to us as young men,”
Mr. Groff said. “He made us say it over and over, stand up and scream the word into his
face, and see what it was doing to our bodies. Then that became the basis for the
choreography. As nondancers it was so exciting to be able to express ourselves clearly in a
nonverbal way.” 2

On the contrary, Lion King is brimming with beautiful, elegant choreography by Garth Fagan.
In ‘The Lioness Hunt’, a number where the lionesses are imitating a hunt. The actresses
perform a series of balletic-modern choral movement, consisting of leaps, arabesques,
pirouettes, developés, amongst many others. These movements are all performed with
lioness costumes being worn; long swaying dresses with a lioness’ mask on the head. The
dancers have to imitate a lion’s movements whilst performing each movement. The
elegance of each movement resembles a lioness. When hunting and stalking its prey, a
lioness will edge with precise movement and judgement toward its prey to avoid being
spotted, allowing it the best chance of a kill. The smoothness of the dance is similar to a
lioness’ hunt, hence the title of the number. Throughout the entirety of the show, the
performers have to embody their animal’s physique and movements. Similar to Spring
Awakening, they have to use gestures to emphasise their urges and character. For example,
when Scar turns around in the show, especially if it’s a sudden turn, the actor must roll his
whole neck to imitate Scar’s tenebrous and evil ways. Also, regarding the cheetah, Fagan
instructed this dancer "to be the sexiest cheetah on the savannah." He choreographed
modern-dance moves that isolate her shoulders, rolling them "back and back and forward
and forward to make all the male cheetahs come running," he said, because he wanted to
emphasize the character's feminine and feline qualities. "She is sexy but she would tear you
to smithereens for a meal."3

The music, as mentioned previously, written by Elton John and has lyrics by Tim Rice is a
combination of beautiful harmonies, melodies and heart-warming lyrics. The numbers all
have a warming and inspiring atmosphere surrounding them. In ‘Endless Night’, a solo by
Simba, which is accompanied by chorus in the latter of the song is about Simba wanting his
dad to be with him and help him, which he isn’t doing as he is deceased. The cry in the
actor’s voice during the chorus makes the audience feel sorry for Simba due to him missing
a father-figure and someone to ‘guide his path’ – like what is referenced in the song.
Although this song is emotional, it comes across empowering upon Simba realisation that he
must believe his father is with him and watching over him and builds courage to overcome
his fears. The opening number of the show, ‘Circle of Life’, shows the whole cast donning
various savanna animal costumes. This number is one of the most well-known Disney and
musical theatre songs and is listened to in countries all over the world. ‘Circle of Life’ is so
popular due to its ability to make anyone smile and feel warm inside. As it is such a family-
friendly show, having an opening number, which is instantly recognisable by a few chords
shows how important this song is. The number makes connections with the African roots of
the show through Rafiki’s initial singing, which is written in Zulu. The implementation of the
2
'It Takes A Rule Breaker To Create Dance For Rebels (Published 2007)' (Nytimes.com, 2020)
<https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/07/arts/dance/07jone.html> accessed 14 December 2020
3
(Eu.desmoinesregister.com, 2020) <https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/life/2015/04/22/inside-
mind-lion-kings-choreographer/26147875/> accessed 14 December 2020
Zulu language, in this number and through the show, prove this show isn’t just for
commercial aspects, they have accumulatively considered and researched the background
of where their story could take place.

Dissimilarly, a lot of songs in Spring Awakening have a sombre and sad ambience to them. In
particular, ‘Those You’ve Known’ – sung by Wendla and Moritz upon Melchior’s discovery of
Wendla’s passing after a failed abortion of his son. Moritz and Wendla’s spirits try to
convince Melchior to not take his life. This song is about Melchior having nothing left due to
the people loved most passing away and all he can see now is darkness all around him,
which is evidently pulling him into a deep, depressive state. He wants to commit suicide so
he can be with the people he holds closest to him again. In the song, it references lines
mentioned in ‘Left Behind’ – what Melchior sings after Moritz’s death. The eerie feel is more
evident in the lyrics, which commonly have connotations with sadness. The instrumentals
and melodies have slightly cheery feel and show signs of hope and prosperity, which
reinforces the idea of Melchior being convinced to carry on.

The difference in these musicals are opposing to each other in every aspect to another. With
one having mostly cheery and upbeat songs, the other having sombre and sad undertones.
Lion King being visually bright, with incredible puppetry and animal costumes, whereas the
other has gloomy themes and scenes, with incredible gesticulations and in 19 th Century
German school uniform. Lion King is musicals with a family demographic compared to Spring
Awakening, which consists of hard-hitting topics and many controversial ones. Yet, not all
things are different. One major similarity is that they are both incredible pieces of art and
have both commercially done amazingly.
 Newsies ‘King of New York’ Dance Analysis

Newsies, set in the late 19th Century, tells the story of a young newsboy, Jack Kelly and his
many struggling counterparts. The boys go on strike due to the incrimination of their rights
and strongly believe they deserve to be paid more money. In this scene, we see the boys
become elated and thrilled having just been informed that the strike made the front page of
a newspaper. They dream of how it feels to be famous or, the King of New York 4.
In the start of this number, we see the newsies of Lower Manhattan gathered around
looking glum and miserable in a New York deli shop. They all leap up and gather around
Katherine, the female lead character, who is a news reporter, and daughter of newspaper
publisher Joseph Pulitzer. They pass around the paper from person to person all exclaiming
what each of them would have if they were to be famous. Race, one of the newsies, begins
the choreography with a short tap solo only consisting of a few steps. This individual piece
of choreography shows his determination to be famous and rich and wants everyone to
know that. He continues to boast about his imaginary acclaim and stature as the other boys
look on in amazement and joy, showing they’re a tight-knit bunch of lads.
However, this is a short-lasting boast due to some of the boys wanting to state their wishes.
They continue to pass the paper around and flaunt their dream possessions and wants. The
boys laugh and cheer each other along, which in turn boosts their overall moods. During all
of this, the boys show their boisterous and humorous side to themselves through the use of
arm and body gesticulation. Some of these consist of: pointing whilst teasing; hair ruffling,
playfully hitting one another and their simultaneous cheers at the idea of getting drunk. The
boys often gather around Katherine when she has something to say. This reflects the
respect they have her and shows they consider her to be ‘one of them’.
The boys break out into a choral tap sequence. Some of the boys clamber on to the tables
and perform a series of shuffles, toe taps and beats, while the other boys watch them from
the floor. The other boys then perform a running tap motion whilst one leg is planted on the
chair. The use of splitting the boys up into groups to perform these small pieces of
movement could potentially resembles how they have closer relationships within the whole
group. Soon after, one of the newsboys performs an extended tap sequence, with other
members of the society joining subsequently. This idea of building up the dance in canon
reflects how if one person has an idea, other boys will follow and reinforce their mentality
and determination. Two of the boys seem to perform a small tap dance off. This gives us the
impression that although they will always back each other, however, they’re not afraid to
challenge them if they think their own personal idea is better or more efficient. The boys’
playful nature, evident throughout the musical, is really enhanced and shown off in this
specific number. Using spoons and utensils as percussion and also using them to mimic
swords and weapons in duel-like standoff.

4
(Youtube.com, 2020) <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqq1M0rvEx0> accessed 14 December
2020
They instantaneously break out into a choral tap sequence. Tap dancing is often
characterised as a means of percussion, hence the metal taps on the toes and heels of the
shoe. Combining the tap style of dance with jazz styles, much like the choreography seen in
‘King of New York’, allows the performers to flaunt a very eye-catching and extravagant
piece of movement. The choral tap sequences can potentially resemble the newsies
movement and their strike. The more tappers at once will create a louder noise, therefore,
the more newsies who come together, the more of a noise and reputation they will get to
help their battle against Pulitzer. This combined with the extravagant jazz styles they
perform show their boldness and they determination to be noticed – similar to the title of
the song, ‘King of New York’. Some more of the boys perform small solo dance numbers.
This shows that they are all individuals and all have very big personalities, as they all differ in
certain ways. However, one thing they all have in common is determination. Even though
they like to show off themselves, they know they all work best together.
The boys suggest that Katherine shows off her tap abilities, further representing the respect
that they have for her. Disappointed at her lack of advanced capabilities, the boys turn and
walk away. Offended, Katherine begins to impress the boys with her tapping, pirouettes and
high leg extensions, which is won over the boys’ attention. They all decide to join Katherine
with her dancing, once again reflecting their respect for her and that they are all a team.
They all link arms in a horizontal line at the front of the stage. I believe that this represents
them being the ‘frontline’ of the battle against their superiors and they are the regiment
really striving for better monetary gain. The linking of arms undeniably shows their
closeness to one another and that they’ve always got each other in any situation. The choral
running and leaping they do imitate them leaping higher in social standing and their
reputation gaining fast. The levels used in this whole number represent the social standing
of themselves. Typically, the newspaper is raised up high in this song. This represents the
stature of the paper and the publisher. The boys typically dancing on-stage are naturally not
as high as the paper is. They stand on chairs and tables or jump or leap high to try and
match the relevance of the paper. However, they will always soon come down after. This
resembles that no matter what they do, they will never be of the same level as the paper
but them being able to stand on tables and make themselves physically higher to get close
the paper’s social standing shows hope and prosperity. The final pose at the end of the
number shows some people crouched downstage; some stood up on props upstage and the
other stood up centre-stage. This reflects that the boys are starting from the bottom but can
reach the top should they try. Every person on-stage is holding their arms and fists in the air,
further resembling their determination to get higher and to battle for better rights.