I live and work in northern Japan, where I run a musical theatre program at a small international school. When we do our once-a-year production, we always play the show’s soundtrack softly in the background as family and friends enter the theater. 🎵 But I could see your point for professional productions in big cities like New York, London, LA, etc.
Hi! Thanks for your comment! I love that you run a musical theatre program. I'm really curious about how you choose your shows for your students. Are the shows performed in English for an English speaking audience? What is your reasoning for playing the shows soundtrack before the show?
@@MatthewHardyMusical We’re a K-12 school, so we always choose shows that can include our elementary students, like “The Wizard of Oz” or “Aladdin.” Also, we don’t have an orchestra or even a regular pianist, so we always do the Broadway JR. (MTI) or Young Performers’ Edition (Concord Theatricals) versions, which are much shorter and include a fully prerecorded soundtrack. We play the music as people enter to help set the mood, similar to when you’re waiting in a queue at a Disney theme park. Our awesome PTA always decorates the lobby, too. 😊 We perform in English to a mostly Japanese audience, which is another reason why we usually do simple, familiar shows. We also include a Japanese description in the program.
@@stephenmessano1847 Sounds cool! So you're playing the tracks without vocals during the walk in. I thought you were playing the Broadway cast recordings and I felt bad for the kids who have to measure up! lol I was commissioned to write a show for a school a few years back. The challenge was to write a show where 20+ kids all got a moment to shine. The show still gets done by theaters around the country.
@@MatthewHardyMusical Right, just the background tracks (no singing). Helps with the atmosphere. We've been doing this for 15+ years. Lots of fun. What was the show you wrote? Is it available outside North America?
@@stephenmessano1847 The show is called Ever Happily After. And it is available world wide. We recorded new backing tracks for a production last summer. Check out the website at www.everhappilyafter.com
I see your point,BUT there are many plays I've seen where the silence before curtain up was essential to the mood. Music before Night Mother with Kathy Bates and Six Characters ar A R.T. would have killed the production.
Oh absolutely. I don't think plays are required to have pre-show music. I just think for a lot of shows it's great for getting you in the right headspace. And for Night Mother silence is appropriate before during and after the show!
I’ve never been to a Broadway play because I love musicals so much! I don’t even remember hearing music before a musical, at least anything beyond background music. But I do agree that I would rather focus on the songs I’m about to hear without being distracted by pre-show songs that are already running through my head.
![Coheed and Cambria - Searching for Tomorrow [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hDsYGLbmadg/mqdefault.jpg)
As a 83 year old, I’m old fashion and miss the days of the overture with a full orchestra in the pit before a musical.
that's the kind of preshow music you should have before a musical!
I live and work in northern Japan, where I run a musical theatre program at a small international school. When we do our once-a-year production, we always play the show’s soundtrack softly in the background as family and friends enter the theater. 🎵 But I could see your point for professional productions in big cities like New York, London, LA, etc.
Hi! Thanks for your comment! I love that you run a musical theatre program. I'm really curious about how you choose your shows for your students. Are the shows performed in English for an English speaking audience? What is your reasoning for playing the shows soundtrack before the show?
@@MatthewHardyMusical We’re a K-12 school, so we always choose shows that can include our elementary students, like “The Wizard of Oz” or “Aladdin.” Also, we don’t have an orchestra or even a regular pianist, so we always do the Broadway JR. (MTI) or Young Performers’ Edition (Concord Theatricals) versions, which are much shorter and include a fully prerecorded soundtrack. We play the music as people enter to help set the mood, similar to when you’re waiting in a queue at a Disney theme park. Our awesome PTA always decorates the lobby, too. 😊 We perform in English to a mostly Japanese audience, which is another reason why we usually do simple, familiar shows. We also include a Japanese description in the program.
@@stephenmessano1847 Sounds cool! So you're playing the tracks without vocals during the walk in. I thought you were playing the Broadway cast recordings and I felt bad for the kids who have to measure up! lol I was commissioned to write a show for a school a few years back. The challenge was to write a show where 20+ kids all got a moment to shine. The show still gets done by theaters around the country.
@@MatthewHardyMusical Right, just the background tracks (no singing). Helps with the atmosphere. We've been doing this for 15+ years. Lots of fun. What was the show you wrote? Is it available outside North America?
@@stephenmessano1847 The show is called Ever Happily After. And it is available world wide. We recorded new backing tracks for a production last summer. Check out the website at www.everhappilyafter.com
I see your point,BUT there are many plays I've seen where the silence before curtain up was essential to the mood. Music before Night Mother with Kathy Bates and Six Characters ar A R.T. would have killed the production.
Oh absolutely. I don't think plays are required to have pre-show music. I just think for a lot of shows it's great for getting you in the right headspace. And for Night Mother silence is appropriate before during and after the show!
I’ve never been to a Broadway play because I love musicals so much! I don’t even remember hearing music before a musical, at least anything beyond background music. But I do agree that I would rather focus on the songs I’m about to hear without being distracted by pre-show songs that are already running through my head.
You should check out some Broadway plays! Some of my favorite shows each season are plays over musicals.