QUOTE(Guest_musicalfan_* @ Jan 13 2008, 04:43 PM)
Please tell me why there is so much cynicism about this type of show?
I think a large part of the cynicism is down to a couple of fears that didn't, in the end, come to pass:—
First of all, of course, there's the concern that the final result is in the hands of the sort of people who have nothing better to do than watch television and vote on reality TV. They're not exactly the intellectual elite, and more likely than not they'll vote for the contestant who lives closest to their home town, or the one they'd most like to, erm, well, you know.
Secondly, the shows represent the contestants as singers, but in musical theatre it's acting that's the most important talent. A good voice is nice enough but without acting talent even the greatest singer will be ghastly on stage. This isn't opera, where the music takes precedence over everything else. Nor is it a concert. It's theatre. Unfortunately the audience never gets to judge the contestants' acting skills. All they witness is singing, and usually with songs that are not even remotely similar to the material in the final show. They don't have the information they need to judge whether someone would be right for the acting, so there's a risk that the winner might have a great voice and the acting talent of a haddock.
However, these fears appear to be unfounded. In practice the winners of the two BBC shows we've had so far have been experienced performers who were fully capable of handling their respective roles rather than the pretty airheads that many people expected to win. (I can't speak for ITV's programme: I watched part of the first programme and then my brain shut down in horror.) It appears that the non-actors are eliminated quite early in the process, long before the public get to pick up their phones, and the sing-off gives the show a chance to ensure that the final is either a choice between three highly talented people or one or two good ones and no-hopers to make up the numbers.
On the other hand there are still some genuine concerns. In a traditional casting process the director would have some idea what to look for when casting the leads and would try to choose people who fit that vision. In the reality TV world that can't happen. The best they can do is try to get a decent all-rounder who can adapt to the director's requirements later. This means there must necessarily be a certain amount of genericism about the winner.
There's also some concern that they're just reviving old favourites instead of trying something new. This even runs as deep as the staging (see the next paragraph). But then, if these shows bring the producers plenty of money they'll be in a better position to support productions of new or little-known work in the future so it probably all balances out in the end.
Speaking personally, my biggest disappointment with Joseph was that the producers were in a safer position than any other producers in the history of theatre. They knew from the success of "How Do You Solve..." that the second series was guaranteed to sell half a million tickets and bring in ten to twenty million pounds, and yet despite that immense safety net they hauled an old version of the show out of storage and shoved it on stage. They had a better opportunity than ever before to try something new, and they just didn't bother. Playing it safe is a good strategy when you've taken enough risks already, but in this case the entire project was a zero-risk affair.
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My daughter will be one of the hopeful auditionees, who otherwise would not have an opportunity to showcase her talent to such experienced professionals. I do realise that reality shows have an angle and like participants 'to have a story', and basically my experience of seeing talent shows voted by 'joe public' does sometimes give unfair results, depending on whether they like the personality, but you have to take every chance you can as a performer.
I hope she does well. If she gets through to the final ten you'll have to tell us who to vote for. (There's someone I rather hoped might try for it, but she's playing it safe and staying with her current show.)
In my opinion anyone interested in improving himself should not rule out becoming pure energy.
(Jack Handey)
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