The Rise of the Jukebox Musical
In the past few years there has been a startling increase in jukebox musicals. That's right, musicals that contain pre-existing popular songs. Think Moulin Rouge , Mamma Mia , or Jagged Little Pill . Now, many would call this type of storytelling lazy or derivative, and admittedly I too jumped on the Jukebox hating train, but I feel that I've started to see the light, and I'm beginning to realize Jukebox musicals aren't all that bad. For starters, the idea of jukebox musicals being new is completely untrue. Although jukebox musicals are at the greatest height of popularity now, their roots can be traced back to songbook musicals like Ain't Misbehavin (1978). It was undoubtedly Mamma Mia that catapulted the genre into mainstream success in 1999, backed by it's already famous songs by the Swedish hit band Abba. However, it seems that the 21st century just CANNOT get enough of jukebox musicals. From Jersey Boys and Rock of Ages to & Juliet and MJ t...