Stage musicals have become incredibly expensive to mount. In the 70s and 80s, this was not the case. Bombay theatre had the greatest hits – Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, My Fair Lady, Cabaret, Jaya, Roshni, etc. But along with the financial burden, musicals of this sort were always in need of singers. So most directors would cast singers and try and teach them how to act. Or cast an actor who could hold a note.

While many performers were able to make successful transition, quite a few were not; resulting in either out-of-tune productions or stilted performers. In 2007, the Prithvi Theatre Festival chose musical theatre as it theme. This resulted in quite a few new musicals; some good, some not so much. An offshoot of such a festival was that directors began looking under every rock and bush to find actors who could sing.
Working on a musical is hard work. It requires great dedication and diligence and training. The musicals of the last decade tended to hide the weak voices by re-allocating the songs meant for the ancillary characters, to the principle cast. And this is exactly what I expected when I caught four relatively new shows. I was pleasantly surprised. Each play was doused in music. Not just in presentation but in content as well. And although each production belonged to a different genre, each negotiated the pitfalls of its predecessors expertly.
Sound of Music is a classic, big budget musical. Huge sets, massive cast, grand scale. A secure sponsorship deal was the only thing that allowed it to happen. But it is also a complex musical. Only when you see it on stage do you realise how many singing parts there really are – 6 nuns, 7 kids, Maria, Von Trapp, the list is endless. I expected only a few of the kids to sing, and definitely not all the nuns. But the already lavish and popular production was heightened by the beautiful voices of the entire cast. Mariane D’Cruz, the singing instructor, worked magic with the relatively new cast. Harmonies, solos, chorus’ all were expertly executed. My next musical experience was with Purva Naresh’s Aaj Rang Hai, steeped in the poetry of Amir Khusrao. The main narrative was taken not forward by singing. But the live qawwals added immeasurably to the atmosphere, setting and power of the story. And in the odd instances when the text called for a singing voice, Ahlam Khan delivered beautifully. Stories in a Song was a documentary-styled production told multiple anecdotes from the history of Indian music through a variety of styles. From Buddhist chants to western versus Indian note structures to the absolutely hilarious Nautanki version of Bahadur Ladki. While the presentation was simple and uncluttered, it is the performances of the actors that stood out. Namit Das and Shubrojyoti Barat are regulars on stage, but to see both of them unleash a completely different part of their arsenal was a joy to watch, and listen to.
Then there was the Basheer story. Me Grand Dad and an Elephant used a chorus of voices to create the world. While the lyrics were kept simple so that children could enjoy the play, the choral work was beautifully executed. By technical standards, it was by no means flawless. But what they lacked in technique they made up in teamwork and passion. The singing contributed significantly to the overall beauty of the piece. Musical theatre in the Broadway scale may still be a huge investment for theatre companies; investments that only a few are willing to take. But the current trend is of creating new age of urban, low cost musicals. Which, in itself is not new; it is the principle that forms the bed rock of our folk traditions. And just like our folk traditions it relies on the one lowest common denominator of all theatre — the actor. To sing, to feel, to celebrate the story that is being told. It appears that musicals are back…with a vengeance.