Cameron Mackintosh and Megamusical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Cameron Mackintosh and Megamusical - Essay Example The paper begins with a brief introduction of the great figure. It attempts to elucidate the nature and specific characteristics of a megamusical and proceeds to present a detailed overview on the subject shedding light on international trends in megamusicals and the role played by the critics' reviews and the scholarly courses in its development. Then specific role and tremendous effort of Cameron mackintosh has been brought to light and in the end a brief summary of his remarkable achievements is presented. Mackintosh, Cameron born was a British theatrical producer who oversaw the era of the international "megamusical" in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming the world's most prominent and powerful impresario. Mackintosh was born on Oct. 17, 1946, in Enfield, Middlesex, England, to Ian Mackintosh, a Scottish timber merchant and jazz trumpeter, and Maltese-born Diana Tonna Mackintosh, who had been actor Nigel Patrick's secretary when the couple met in Italy during World War II. Eight-year-old Mackintosh was taken to see a production of the musical Salad Days, after which he demanded to speak to the author, Julian Slade, who gave him a backstage tour and instilled in the boy a fascination with theatrical production. Mackintosh studied stage management at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London but left after one year. He became a stagehand at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, cleaning the auditorium after performances to earn extra money. His first West End presentation, a 1969 revival of Anything Goes, failed. In 1976, however, his production of the musical revue Side by Side by Sondheim ran 781 performances in London before transferring to Broadway, his first stateside effort. (Lawson, 1999) Before we move further to discuss his journey with the development of Megamusical, it is preferable to present a detailed overview of the overall development of the megamusical and combine Mackintosh's role along with it. Megamusical: An Overview Sternfeld (2006) explains in detail that the term may appear to be comical, like many other neologisms, but to describe the content in this paper it may be most precise and accurate. This term Megamusical actually refers to the type of musical genre which today is the prominent compulsion on the Broadway and got attention in the decades of the 1970's and 1980's. This paper doesn't use this word for the first time, as in the 1980's it began to appear on the New York Times. By different reviewers and journalists, the tag was sometimes selected sarcastically and has originated its way into theater analysis and olden times. There exist a number of synonyms such as extravaganza, blockbuster musical and spectacle show, however, the most accurate is the megamusical. The surroundings of the show and the show itself are the aspects that differentiate a megamusical from a common musical. The most prominent of the genres of the megamusical in the 1980's were the sports style as sports were of significance in those days, however, over the years it has evolved into other flourishing genres. However, a sturdy constancy materializes as an assembly, but a megamusical doesn't demonstrate all of the characteristics of the