Character development is also an important element present in musicals. Since the seventies, linear story lines have been replaced with a focus on stories that are more reflective of real life. Character development is prominently seen in Kinky Boots, especially in the form of conflict between confidence and crisis. At the start of the musical, Lola makes a grand entrance, proudly flaunting her role as a headlining drag queen. However, by the end of the first act, we see that Lola is uncertain about her identity as she faces disapproval from some of the factory workers. This is an attractive feature of musicals as it successfully gives the audience what they want whilst still addressing issues that they care about.
The musical may have different…show more content… The vast repertoire of musicals can testify for the success of musicals. The advent of films and YouTube videos has not eroded the position that musicals have in popular culture. Every popular performance carries a different significance at different points in time. Musicals have undergone transformations as mentioned above, in order to persist within popular culture. For instance, Kinky Boots addresses issues that are still largely relevant to society today. It has adopted the onset of technology into its marketing strategy. Audiences were encouraged to share their experience of watching the musical through photos and texts via social media. Perhaps soon enough, musicals will garner even more popularity, as it is live telecasted over the web for more people to…show more content… However, the future of musicals is not as dim as it seems. Musicals continue to hold an important role in popular culture today as they are increasingly being integrated into other forms of popular entertainment such as films and television shows. Musicals are incorporated into contemporary stories. This is evident in the case of the film La La Land (Damien Chazelle, 2016), in which the concept of musicals is weaved into a modern day narrative. Furthermore, musicals are no longer only present in famous theatre districts such as Broadway and the West End. It is also thriving in Hollywood today. This can be attributed to the fact that older musicals are being revived. This has been achieved by adapting them into film musicals. Examples of this would include Jersey Boys (Clint Eastwood, 2005) and Into The Woods (Rob Marshall, 2014), which have been adapted into musical films in recent years. Thus, it can be said that the success of film musicals is linearly related to that of musicals. Australia’s musical theatre scene is also on the rise. Just in 2017 alone, The Bodyguard, The Book Of Mormon and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical will be premiering in Australia. This shows that there is a great diversity of musicals and plenty of options available for audiences to pick from. The entertaining element of musicals has ensured its longevity in
