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An illustration of some intriguing, if unsurprising, trends in the influence of social media on the experience of musical theatre.Summary
Rating
Good
This short academic essay examines the way the experience of musical theatre has been changed by social media. Through case studies for three key platforms, YouTube, Twitter (X) and TikTok, Trevor Boffone, a lecturer in Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of Houston, illustrates a few intriguing, if not entirely surprising, trends.
Firstly, he contends that social media virality has changed the meaning of “liveness” and “live performance” for musicals. For out-of-town fans, enjoyment of a live musical performance is often a small fraction of the fan experience: belonging to one of the social media communities that have adopted a musical provides the further pleasure of creating and sharing thematic digital artefacts, from home-made videos to fully orchestrated songs, or engaging in a two-way conversation with cast members.
Secondly, he proves that social media has become not merely a space for fandom and criticism but also a space for innovation and co-creation. He examines the ways in which fans act as ambassadors of their favourite musical and how social media platforms act as clearing houses for disseminating musical-related content. He analyses ways in which fans engage by creating entirely new musicals or spin offs collaboratively with other fans: YouTubesicals and Ratatouille: The TikTok Musicalbeing cases in point.
Thirdly, Boffone claims that social media has proven time and time again it is a force capable of shaping the trajectory of musicals. He points to examples where actors’ ability to engage with their large cohort of social media followers has influenced casting choices by casting directors. He lists several musicals whose fortunes have been revived thanks to memes and intelligent engagement on YouTube by the cast and producers, despite having initially flatlined at the box office. He examines the unlikely success of the 2022 Grammy award for Best Musical Theatre Album, bestowed not to music composed by a musical theatre production team, but to an album produced by two TikTokers who created, and then posted on the platform, fully orchestrated songs for each of the characters in the Bridgerton Netflix series. Bridgerton the Musical might have become staged for real, had a Netflix copyright infringement lawsuit not put a stop to it.
The essay is somewhat lacking perspective in several of its more sweeping claims about social media’s power to shape musicals and popular culture and its ability to create an instant connection between fans and cast. Much more important social processes have been similarly shaped and disrupted: democratic representation and political elections come to mind.
The book is at its strongest, however, when working through examples of successful social media campaigns for musicals. It is precisely this rich portfolio of marketing templates that makes this slim booklet required reading for any audience development professional in the musical theatre space.
Written by: Trevor Boffone
Published by: Methuen
Social Media in Musical Theatre is available from all good book retailers, including Bloomsbury Publishing here.
