basic questions as the next steps. What does it mean for indi-
viduals in a musical to break into song, and how does this con-
vention differ from songs that are called for by the book?
Speaking of ensembles, what gives the orchestra its omnis-
cience from its hidden position in the pit, and how is this qual-
ity changed when the orchestra is placed on the stage (as hap-
pens, for example, in Cabaret)? And if the orchestra is an
all-knowing ensemble, what are the special conditions of nar-
ration from within the book of the musical? Why, given these
conditions of narration in the book, does the musical nearly al-
ways take its plot from a preexisting text—a novel, a play, or
with increasing frequency in recent years, a film? These are
questions worth discussing before we can proceed to the heart
of the matter and discuss the final question, what kind of
drama is this?
marvins-underground-k-12
(Marvins-Underground-K-12)
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