From Under the Stage

Welcome to my blog about musical theatre from the musicians’ side of things.

Here’ll I’ll be talking about the music and production of music theatre and little-to-none of the on stage craft…because I almost never get to see it!

You see, a theatre musician is very often underneath the action, in a dark void of sound and fellow nerds, dressed in their finest blend-in-black attire and giggling at each other when the mics are off. More and more shows are putting the orchestra out of sight of the crowd, keeping the Musical Director on a tiny black-and-white screen hanging from the balcony, and only they can see a blurry wide shot of the stage. The rest of us listen very intently to the footsteps, the set movement, and sometimes the dialogue. Ok, ALL of the dialogue – by the end of 9 shows, we know every line.

Sometimes an orchestra will be on or to the side of stage, like “Come From Away” where the band is part of the set, in a scene and back for the bows. Most shows have an orchestra “pit”, which can be a small area at the front of the stage (part of the flooring is lowered or removed, depending on the theatre), and often extends back underneath the stage for a few metres. Only the Musical Director (MD, conductor) is positioned so their head sticks up a bit for the cast and musicians to see them – shows like “The Music Man”, “The Wizard of Oz”, “Les Miserables” all do this. Then there are the shows where the orchestra is completely separate. Either under the stage (the floor stays intact) or in another room entirely and it’s all mic’d into the theatre. “& Juliet” and “Legally Blonde” both did this when I played them, though &J usually brings the orchestra on stage at the end. (Our production of &J did something different here, it was an excellent choice.)

I don’t intend to review any of the specific shows I play in, that’s not the purpose of this account, but instead talk mainly of the craft and composition, maybe some back-stage insight, into what makes a musical a musical – the music! I probably WILL talk/review the book itself, the story, characters, tensions, playability, interesting moments.

The city I play in is rich with musical theatre ability and musicians of the highest calibre. The music and the orchestra often goes unmentioned in any review about our shows, or gets at most one line about how it’s a “good band”. This blog is for them. If I do “review” a show, I will stick to the music. Everyone else has the rest of it mostly covered.

This site may include contributions from my fellow musicians from time to time, it’s good to hear from other sections of the orchestra, so I’m told. If it isn’t immediately obvious, I’m primarily a trumpet player. I can be found playing other things – tin whistles, flutes, reeds, piano/keys, and occassionally I wave a stick too.

My opinion is my own, but being a trumpet player means I’m always right.

Enjoy my view From Under the Stage!

– Britteny Muso