First rough draft

Below is my first rough draft. There will be another revision to this draft before the final draft will be due.
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Matthew Shifrin April 8, 2016
Draft: non-linear story-telling in Musical Theater.
Most musicals that play on Broadway run on a simple formula which helps them tell a story. The stories of most  musicals usually go in chronological order from beginning to end, thus making them easy to follow.  But what if a musical has no story  to speak of, or goes in reverse chronological order from end to beginning? Can musicals like that be successful on Broadway, running for years on end, and winning countless Tony Awards? To what extent is Linear story-telling a factor in the success or failure of a musical?  There are certain anomalic musicals, which, despite their nonlinearity have garnered great success on Broadway. One example is Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, a plotless musical based on T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. Though the musical is plotless, the costumes, dancing, and sets were what kept it afloat, as did some of its songs such as Memories, which has become a staple of Musical theater repertoire. Another anomalic work is Stephen Sondheim's Follies, a work which is structured around flashbacks. The work takes place at a reunion of actors who played in the Zigfeld Follies, a series of theater productions of the early 1900s, in New York. The work is nonlinear in the sense that its primary focus is on characters flashing back to younger versions of the themselves at various points to help fill in gaps in the story.  Though these works are  excellent examples of nonlinear/conceptual musicals I will use Stephen Sondheim's Company, Sweeney Todd, and Merrily We Roll Along, as examples to help me answer this question in the following pages. But first, I'd like to discuss three elements that make a musical successful. They are: Engaging music, engaging lyrics, and a relatable story which is simple to follow. Without one of these elements, in my opinion, the musical flops.
Stephen Sondheim's Company is one of the first nonlinear musicals. Written in 1970 with Playwright George Furth, the work was based on a series of Furth's vignettes. Sondheim and Furth had trouble unifying these vignettes into a cohesive story. In his book Finishing the Hat, Sondheim states: "Most of the plays concerned two people in a relationship (marriage, lovers, close friends) joined by an outsider (best friend, ex-lover, mere acquaintance) who serves as catalyst for the action. To George and me, the problem of merging unrelated scenes into a unified evening seemed an impossible one to solve (making the project irresistible) until we came up with the now obvious solution—to turn the different outsiders into a single person." (1) This single person, is Bobby, a 35-year-old bachelor trying to find a partner. To better understand his married friends, he goes to each of their houses to see what their lives are like. Each house, in this case, is one of Furth's Vignette. Bobby's married friend act as a sort of ephemeral Greek Chorus, appearing at the beginning of the show, and singing a number, then each appearing in their separate vignette  and returning in the end for a final song. The reason that they are ephemeral is that they are insubstantial, one is easily replaced with another. Whenever a large group of them sings together (in the show's opening number, for example) none of them notice that the others are there, each simply sings his own line and that is that. This is one aspect that makes it nonlinear. Bobby, going to the houses of his friends provides a glue to the whole production. What makes this musical a hit, (it won Tony awards for Best Music and Best Lyrics, both of which Sondheim wrote) are its songs. These songs are packed with wit, and raw emotion. An excellent example of wit can be found in the following couplet, which Kathy, one of Bobby's girlfriends sings to him. "When a person's personality is personable,
He shouldn't oughta sit like a lump.
It's harder than a matador coercin' a bull
To try to get you off of your rump." (2) It is evident from these lyrics, that Sondheim enjoys lyric-writing immensely and has fun with it. He is able to craft his characters so that they sing their best at their most vulnerable. An excellent example of this is Marry Me A Little, which Bobby sings at the end of the first act, when he is at his lowest. The beauty of this song is in its simplicity. Bobby sings: "Marry me a little, Love me just enough.  Cry, but not too often, Play, but not too rough.  Keep a tender distance, So we'll both be free.  That's the way it ought to be.  I'm ready!
Marry me a little,
Do it with a will.
Make a few demands
I'm able to fulfill.
Want me more than others,
Not exclusively.
That's the way it ought to be." (3) These lyrics may seem a little bit too simple for a musical, but when the music is added, culminating in a giant fanfare with Bobby singing I'm ready, we know that he has reached an emotional peak, and his vulnerability turns into willingness, into action. This is what makes Sondheim's songwriting great. His emotions ring true, because we've all felt something similar at some point. Company is a hallmark of Conceptual or nonlinear musicals in its ending;  in the beginning of the musical Bobby's friends were celebrating his birthday party. The musical ends with the same birthday party, however Bobby doesn't come. Neither his friends nor we, as the audience, know where he went. It doesn't matter. That's the beauty of ambiguity in musical theater. Ambiguity, especially in Company's case, is there on purpose, so that after we've left, we not only have songs stuck in our heads, but situations to think on. An ending like Company's leaves us room to end it how we see fit. Company defined nonlinear musical theater with its plotlessness, and ambiguous ending.
 Sweeney todd isn't a nonlinear musical in the sense of storytelling. However it is non-linear from a psychological perspective. The musical, written in 1979, and based on a victorian-era Penny Dreadful (a type of serialized story each part of which, could be purchased for a penny) The String Of Pearls written from  1846 till 1847, won Tony awards for Best Musical and Best score. It follows Sweeney Todd, a wrongly-convicted prison who returns to London and seeks revenge on his captor. However, his revenge spirals into serial killing. Furthermore, his victims are then baked into pies and sold to the general public. Hence he turns from a man seeking revenge, to a serial killer who assists with cannibalism. The audience, who at first rooted for Sweeney to get his revenge, now feels disgusted, and wants nothing to do with the title character. So our attention turns to his daughter Johanna, whom Todd's enemy is keeping hostage, and we hope that she will be able to escape with her lover Anthony, unscathed from her murdering father. Hence the musical is nonlinear psychologically/emotionally. It is a rare example of a musical which is able to take an audience's perspective of a character and flip it with a single plot escalation, (now he helps bake people into pies.). In terms of Wit, the musical contains Sondheim's signature love of rhymes, in this case, the rhymes are served with a dollop of dark humor. In the following couplet, Sweeney todd and ms. Lovett, the actual baker of the pies, are imagining the possible pies their business could create. "TODD (As she proffers another pie) What is that?
MRS.  LOVETT It's fop.
Finest in the shop.  And we have some shepherd's pie
peppered With actual shepherd On top." (4)  The musical ends with some ambiguity, in terms of Johanna and Anthony; there is no sense of closure to their story, hence we don't know what happens to them afterwards and we don't need to. This musical shows that a bit of ambiguity can not only help non-linear works such as Company, but linear ones such as Sweeney Todd. This is, as far as I know, one of the rare musicals which allows the audience's emotions for a character to flip drastically, one second routing for, and the next second disgusted with, our main character. The fact that Todd, while seeking revenge, enters a state of murderous vigilantism similar to Marvel Comics' The Punisher is an intriguing thought. (5)  The audience's perspective can flip for a third time, once Todd makes a life-altering realization at the end of the show. After said realization we, as the audience feel some pity for him, an emotion which we don't expect to feel since we have seen his evolution from a man seeking revenge into a Punisher-esque serial killer. Sweeney Todd, though linear in story, is non-linear in how easily it is able to manipulate the emotions of the audience through the actions of various characters. 
Merrily We Roll Along is a non-linear musical, which didn't get the attention it deserved, due a story which was a little too hard to follow for the average audience member.
The musical, written in 1981, is based on George S. Kaufman's play of the same name. It chronicles the life of Franklin Shepherd, a Broadway composer turned TV executive from his middle-age, in approximately 1979, till he was fresh out of the army in 1957. What's unique about this work is that it goes in reverse chronological order, starting at an ambiguous point in Frank's life in 1979, and ending with Frank, a young man in 1957. The music in this work, is memorable, as are the lyrics. Here, we see Sondheim's love of historical events, which are mainly seen in the transitions between scenes. The following transition was used in the original Broadway production of 1981, but was changed for subsequent productions:  "Western Berliners Rise from their dinners, Go for a stroll and—whoops, there's a wall! Meanwhile, the Bay of Pigs has a squall.
Let's join the Peace Corps and go to Nepal..." (6) From a quote like this, we can clearly see that Sondheim loved his history and loved to stick little references into his work for the attentive listener to find.  But what's important is not only wit, but story, and this, sadly is one of the reasons the musical failed, only running for 16 performances on Broadway. The fact that the musical ran in reverse was befuddling to most audience members. It was also problematic, since the ending-beginning is a little convoluted. If the story is played in reverse, from an optimistic composer fresh out of the army, seeing Sputnik and thinking that anything is possible in 1957, to his devolution into a greedy studio executive who doesn't care about his friends and only cares about his finances, the ending, (I mean beginning) of the musical is ambiguous, hence we don't really know what would happen next. On one hand, that's great, since it allows the audience to make up their own ending.  On the other, it's confusing and a little frustrating, since we don't really know where to go from that point (greedy studio exec, so what? What then?) Maybe the musical speaks to me more than to the average audience member, because i'm where Frank was in 1957, an optimistic teenager who hopes that he can create whatever he wants to. However, most of the audience were not optimistic teenagers, and weren't happy with the work. The critics ranted, and Merrily We Roll Along flopped. In part, it did so because it only had two of the three components for a successful musical. The music, is fantastic, and the lyrics are witty and deliciously sharp. This is the type of musical where the music really helps the lyrics come alive. When we see lyrics from a song like Opening Doors, (7) in which Frank, his librettist friend Charley, and their writer-friend Mary discuss their goals as young musicians,: 
"FRANK: How's it going?
CHARLEY: Good.  You?
FRANK: Fair.
CHARLEY: Yeah, tell me.
(The phone rings, Frank answers)
FRANK: Chinese laundry.
MARY: Hi.
FRANK: (To Charley) Mary.
CHARLEY: Say hello.
MARY:  I think I got a job.
FRANK: Where?
MARY: True Romances.
FRANK: Posing?
MARY: Thank you.  Writing captions.
FRANK: What about the book?
MARY: What about the book?
FRANK: Nothing, are you working on the book?
MARY: Yes...
FRANK: Good.
MARY: No...
FRANK: Mary—
MARY: Right, I know, yes, me and Balzac...
(They work furiously, only to slump over in frustrated despair.  They meet center stage.)
CHARLEY: I finished the one-act.
FRANK: I got an audition—
MARY: I started the story.
FRANK: Rehearsal pianist.
CHARLEY: So where are we eating?
MARY: I'm moving to Playboy.
FRANK: The publisher called me.
CHARLEY: I'm doing a rewrite.
MARY: My parents are coming.
FRANK: I saw My Fair Lady.
CHARLEY: I rewrote the rewrite.
FRANK: I sort of enjoyed it.
MARY: I threw out the story.
CHARLEY: I'm meeting an agent.
ALL: We'll all get together on Sunday.  We're opening doors, Singing, "Here we are!" We're filling up days on a dime.  That faraway shore's Looking not too far.  We're following every star— There's not enough time!
(The stage becomes alive with activity: Charley being interviewed by an agent, Frank playing the same bars of music over and over while dancers rehearse, Mary meeting a musician on a subway.  The three come together once again.)
FRANK: I called a producer.
CHARLEY: I sent off the one-act.
MARY: I started the story.
FRANK: He said to come see him.
CHARLEY: I dropped out of college.
MARY: I met this musician.
FRANK: I'm playing a nightclub.
CHARLEY: They're doing my one-act!
MARY: I'm working for Redbook.
FRANK: I rewrote the ballad.
MARY: I finished the story.
CHARLEY: We started rehearsals.
MARY: I threw out the story And then the musician. I'm moving to Popular Science.
ALL: We're opening doors, Singing, "Look who's here!" Beginning to sail on a dime. That faraway shore's Getting very near! We haven't a thing to fear— We haven't got time!"
Though this isn't the whole song, (inserting all of it would take another few pages) from a fragment like this, through the lyrics, we get a sense of frantic activity which is the creative process for a group of people. However, when you combine these stellar lyrics with equally stellar music, you get a fantastic action-packed singable show-tune which is buzzing, both lyrically and musically, with activity. What's great about this work is that it, in the later sections (act 2, in which we see Frank and Charley as composer and lyricist) really exemplifies the compositional process. Though this may not speak to all audience members, it speaks to me, since I am a composer. I assume that it speaks to most other audience members as well, since the creative process is universal. However in a bigger-picture sense, the musical failed since it lacked the third component of a successful musical, be it linear or nonlinear, a relatable story which is simple to follow. Though it is relatable to creative types, the reverse chronology and ambiguous ending-beginning made most audience members and critics frustrated, which in turn led to its flopping on Broadway. Though it did not do well on Broadway in 1981, it was awarded the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics 1981-82 and received a Laurence Olivier award for its revival in 2001.  Since Merrily We Roll Along no one to my knowledge has tried a completely reverse-chronological musical. A similar concept is the semi-reverse-chronological The Last 5 Years,  by Jason Robert Brown, in which a man's perspective of a romance is told in chronological order, while the woman's perspective is told  in reverse.
In conclusion, Linear narration, does not necessarily mean success for a musical. Nonlinear musicals can only succeed if they are bound together by quality music and lyrics, a story which is not overly complicated/convoluted and simple to follow, and relatable characters. Company is a great example of a successful non-linear musical. Merrily We Roll Along could have succeeded if it had been a little less experimental. Sweeney Todd was non-linear in terms of the psychology of its characters, but with a solid story, thrilling music, and dark-humored lyrics, it was an instant hit.
Sources:
1: Sondheim, Stephen. Finishing the hat, (alfred A. knoph, 2010) page 165.
2: Sondheim, Stephen. Finishing the hat, (Alfred A. Knoph, 2010) Page 177.
3:  Sondheim, Stephen. Finishing the hat, (alfred A. knoph, 2010) page 185.
4:  Sondheim, Stephen. Finishing the hat, (alfred A. knoph, 2010) page 360.
 (5) For more info on the Punisher, please read Garth Ennis' Punisher Max, Volume 1, In the beginning, (latest edition published by marvel Comics in 2016)
6:  Sondheim, Stephen. Finishing the hat, (alfred A. knoph, 2010) page 401.
7:  Sondheim, Stephen. Finishing the hat, (alfred A. knoph, 2010) page 411.