pop music – The Actorvist

Hello Gentle Reader!

Well, I hope you liked Part 1 of this list. I know some people won’t. I have my fingers crossed that the end of this list will surprise you. Although, now that I think about it, it may not be that surprising. LOL!

I would like to issue a challenge. Listen to a playlist of one or all, who am I to say, of the artists that I listed and let me know if you can hear a different genre of musical for them to write. I would be curious to see what you thought, Dear Reader.

Now let’s get on with the list at hand, shall we?

Singer Pink performs at the 52nd Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on January 31, 2010. AFP PHOTO/Robyn BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

P!nk – I love her songwriting style after Linda Perry! It is heartfelt and emotionally revealing. I think a tragic romance would be a perfect combination for a Broadway hit!

Garth Brooks – The breadth of his work is almost unparalleled in the music industry. He has had massive success with his straight up honky tonk twangy country as well as the later “new country” sound. Some of his songs actually have a pop feel and sound. A musical based on a familial conflict would be something that I would LOVE to see hit Broadway at some point.

Rhiannon Giddens – Her rich voice and impassioned songs create a strong connection with emotion. I feel like a historical drama would work really well with her folk style.

PRINCE!!!!! – This one kills me because I wish he was still alive. If anyone could write for any story, this would be the artist. He is probably the one person with a larger diversity of work than Garth Brooks. His experimentation was always exciting. Sometimes, I didn’t get it, but I always appreciate any time an artist takes a chance on something very different than what they became popular with. How else are they supposed to grow? I would have loved to see him on ANY project. I mean it. Any project. The one thing that I would be cautious about is the collaborative aspect. Prince was known for wanting complete artistic control of his works, which I totally get, but sometimes you need to be part of a team. Even Lin-Manuel Miranda has a team.

Jason Mraz – I mean he has already proven he can write a kind of musical. Did any of you catch Marl’s Mragical Ranch? His emotive and whimsical songs would pair well with nearly any style of story. Personally, I would love to see him write something that is similar to the School House Rock but with an environmental twist since that is something that he is passionate about. He can Lin-Manuel his way onto Broadway if he wanted.

Well, Kind Reader, that’s my list of 10 music acts I would like to see original Broadway shows from. At least the 10 as of this moment in time. If you could have a music act write a show, who would you want? What genre of show would you like? Am I asking too many questions? 😂 There were a few other people that I thought would be good ones to list but I couldn’t think of what type of show I would love to see them write so I will add a bonus section to this list.

That is my equivalent of the “Get outta here” disbelief type shout! In my readings of the webz, I have found a nifty little piece of news that made me squeal with glee like a precious piggy.

That bit of squeal inducing news was that Judy Craymer, producer for Mama Mia!, is currently working on a new show titled “Viva Forever.”

Does that title remind anyone of a particular song or album? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? If this doesn’t sound familiar, then you must be unfamiliar with a little known girl group called THE SPICE GIRLS!! Now before you roll your eyeballs back into their sockets, take heart that this isn’t a tribute show to the UK quintet. Think of it along the same lines as Mamma Mia. A show that focused a story around the songs of Abba. This will be essentially the same thing. The hope is for the show to premiere in the West End (of course!) in the next two or three years. The story, at least what’s known so far, will focus on a group of women who exemplify the things that the Spice Girls stood for. Things like being true to oneself, cultivating your friendships, and creating your own identity. And don’t worry, you won’t be seeing an appearance from neither Posh, Sporty, Baby, Scary, nor Ginger Spice as the show will steer clear of the 90′ pop sensations. According to Craymer, ‘We live in a world dominated by people wanting to be famous. What the Spice Girls did was before those shows became really what they are, and before the world become slightly obsessed by such shows. It has a glimpse of the underbelly of TV talent shows, an invented show, and a little bit of comedy romance.’ I am waiting on pins and needles to see the end result.

I am an unapologetic fan of pop music. I have to admit that I love all kinds of music, except for hard core rap. I just can’t identify with lyrics that have rely so much on profanity. You can turn up your nose or whatever you do when you want to be a snob, please feel free. It doesn’t bother me. I understand that not everyone likes the same thing that I do, and I am fine with that. What I love about pop is that it’s catchy. And when it’s a really good song it will stick with you even when you don’t want it to be there. In a time when I hear some people saying that some of the more modern musicals like Legally Blonde and Spring Awakening aren’t that good because the songs aren’t catchy, I am looking forward to seeing what happens with this show, because the Spice Girls never had a problem with getting songs stuck in people’s heads.