PB1A: Broadway Musical Reviews as a Genre
People categorize all sorts of things into different genres. We see genres all around us and do not even know it. Genres speak to a person’s interests and what they enjoy in life. A genre that particularly interests me happens to be the genre of Broadway Musical Reviews. This specific genre informs its readers of all the amazing and ground-breaking musicals hitting the Broadway stages.
These reviews help spectators determine which shows are a “must-see.” Some of these exact reviews have helped me decide which shows I wanted to attend. One of the best shows I have seen on Broadway was Miss Saigon. This show captured my interest as I was learning about the Vietnam War through my American History class. This musical brings to light a story of perseverance and how a mother’s love for her child is one of the strongest things. Before I purchased a ticket for this show, I went onto the NY Times’ website to read a review of the show. This review gave me the information needed in order for me to buy a ticket. This article expresses many of the quantities we see in a Rhetorical Message.
A Rhetorical Messages’ main components include audience, purpose, context, tone, and style. These can be seen in many of the reviews that I have read over the years. We see audience when the journalist references how the audience reacted to certain parts of the musical. Some examples include characters appearing onstage, applause after a singer's nails a song, or even when certain set pieces emerge. The journalist discusses the purpose of the show when he or she points out the lessons learned from attending this show. They do this when describing their feelings throughout the show and what they will take away from the performance. Context comes into play when the author describes the plotline to the readers, without giving too much away. They use the time period (including a brief history), characters, and main ideas of the show. The tone is described by the writer when they share their feelings when watching the show: did it make you cry; did you connect it to anything personal. The style can be seen in these reviews when we read about the set designs or even the overall aura in the theater. The Rhetorical Messages stand pretty tall in these reviews.
Some of the different key components to a Broadway Musical revue can be found below. These can be seen in all reviews such as reviews for Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton, and even Once On This Island.
1. the author talks about his experience
⁃ Others around him
⁃ His reaction to what is happening onstage
2. Background on the musical
⁃ creators
⁃ Its history into becoming a show
⁃ Notable performances
⁃ Dates
3. Actors’ performances
4. songs
⁃ Tone
⁃ Best vocals
⁃ Feeling listening to the song
⁃ Lyrics
5. Best moments in the show
⁃ What you should look out for when watching?
6. standout characters/stars
7. set design
⁃ What props were used?
⁃ Backdrops
⁃ Lighting
⁃ Notable set pieces
8. Interviews with cast members
9. Recommendations
⁃ Should you see the show?
10. Images from the performance
11. Overall takeaway
⁃ Why should you go see this?
12. information
Where the show is located?
⁃ Website to purchase tickets
⁃ Runtime
⁃ Release date/closing date
⁃ Phone number of the theater
Hey1, i love how thorough you were with this. You gave us background on what it meant to consider something a convention, or a rhetoric. Also, i like the fact that it is on broadway shows. I myself never really watched broadway and never always understood what it meant to be a broadway show. i like the examples you provided and the overall informative tone of your PB1A.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you went about this and set everything up! You have many examples/conventions! You had topics and subtopics; very specific! You described what it meant to you for a broadway show to actually be in that group.
ReplyDeleteI basically like everything about this post. I'm not a fan of musicals, but the way you wrote this had me super interested in every word on this page. The organization of this is phenomenal. Your introduction very smoothly guides the topic towards the purpose of the post. It's not just like BAM this is what I'm writing about. You gave just the right amount of background information needed for the reader if they aren't interested in a topic like this. Not only that, but the information lures the reader in; like it did to me! One last thing, I like how under some conventions you wrote sub-conventions that help the reader to understand more about that specific convention.
ReplyDeleteI think you have a great intro. i love that you opened with a little bit of background in your post. Also, the definitions was a good move too. Broadway reviews is a great rhetoric to choose. I like your organization and the list that was included. You did an amazing job.
ReplyDelete