“Maybe It’s My Turn,” by Cecily Strong, Thursday , September 12, 2024

 

Hollywood entered a golden age starting in the 1930s. The silent film era was coming to a close and films like The Wizard of Oz were including technicolor. As part of the multi-sensory experience of going to the theater, filmmakers, harkening to film’s cousin, the live theater, opted not for realism but for artistic takes on the material adapted for the screen. One popular storytelling motif was the inclusion of original songs, often sung by the stars portraying the main characters on the screen. Because songs often didn’t push the film’s plot forward, their inclusion made short films the classic 80-minute (or longer) movie length to excruciatingly long.

I’VE GOT A KNACK FOR HIDING IN THE BACK. After the 1950s, musical films began to decline. Directors opted for realism rather than characters bursting into song. Although on the decline, musical films still left impressions on viewers from these times. Viewers may ask if Mrs. Bucket’s “Cheer Up, Charlie” is necessary for the plot of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but the Oompa Loompa’s songs certainly are. As live-action musical films declined, animated films kept most of these elements, with most Disney animations including an original soundtrack of iconic songs. While musicals may not have been as popular on the big screen, Broadway and The West End continued to keep the genre alive with composers like Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber. But even as producers explored dark or comical themes, some felt that musical theater was not for them. They may have felt like musical theater has a certain culture or fanbase that they didn’t identify with, which can lead to feelings of being an outsider or not understanding the enthusiasm that others have for it. Others felt annoyed by the seemingly inauthentic way that the suspension of disbelief was broken by a song. For all of those non-Broadway fans, producers started making fun of itself with musical comedies for viewers who would normally hate musicals. Shows as early as 1982’s Little Shop of Horrors to 2003’s Avenue Q to 2011’s The Book of Mormon were shows that people who would have never been caught dead on The West End laughed raucously. 

MAYBE THESE FRIGHTENED FEET WILL SNEAK INTO THE LIGHT. Last year, AppleTV+ aired the second season of Shmegadoon! The first season imagined what it would be like if an unsuspecting couple were to wander into a 1930s-style musical. The magical world of the series’s first season was built on strong musical actors--Dove Cameron, Kristin Chenoweth, Aaron Tveit--and trusted comedians (who can also sing)--Keegan-Michael Key, Cecily Strong, Alan Cumming, Fred Armisen, Martin Short, among others. But when Key and Strong’s Josh Skinner and Melissa Gimble try to go back to the magical town of Schmegadoon in the second season to seek escape from their real-world problem of being unable to conceive a child, they are greeted with the dark and dingy city of Schmicago, which ultimately gives the couple new problems to face. The plot of season two is influenced by the darker musicals of the 1950s and ‘60s; however, the parodies of those musicals are just as ridiculous and fun as the first season. In the fifth and penultimate episode of season 2, Strong sings the song “Maybe It’s My Turn Now.” The song is about overcoming feelings of inadequacy. Josh and Melissa are so distracted in the dark world of Schmicago that they temporarily forget their problems. Yet, when they overcome the problems in the dingy city--the main challenge of finding a happy ending in a genre that doesn’t lend itself to happy endings--they learn that “every day can be ‘A Happy Beginning.’”

Read the lyrics on Genius.