Musicals And Writing

When I agreed to write a piece for this fabulous website about how musical theater influences my writing, my first thought was: “How long am I allowed to ramble?” My second was: “How do musicals NOT influence my writing?”  Full disclosure, though you can probably tell from the [Title of Show] reference in the title, for longer than I can remember (there’s video proof out there), I’ve loved musical theater. “It may not be cool, but it’s so where I live.”

I mean, I could belt out some Really Rosie before I was two. Thus, my books are packed with subtle and not-so-subtle musical lyric references, and, let’s be real, part of me still believes my characters will come to life and sing duets with me like in City of Angels. However, one of the biggest ways I use my total obsession in my writing, is as emotional influence.

Seth Rudetsky, during one of his three Sirius XM radio shows on the “On Broadway” channel, commented that though many pop songs are centered around love, what makes musical theater songs unique as a category, is that they can be (and often are) about literally anything. The comment was an epiphany (and not the scary Sweeny Todd kind).

Now, I write romance, so a romantic relationship is the focus of all of my books, however, a story about a relationship would be pretty boring if all the emotional development involved either pining or “feel[ing] the love tonight.” In romances, the characters have personal arcs, goals, and conflicts that augment the relationship story. Thus, I often find my best writing inspiration from songs like “Sincerely, Me,” from Dear Evan Hansen or “Any Dream will Do,” from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

I’m going to get a little nerdy regarding musical theater history and theory here, so bear with me for a second: After Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma, modern musical theater developed as not just a place to showcase a specific performer, but instead as a way to tell a story enhanced through song.

The theory became that songs should be written not merely to entertain the audience, but to further the plot of a show. Hence, musical theater songs are often written to dig deeper into character development, i.e. as an inner monologue to show emotion and or growth or to reveal who a character is and what they want. Listening to these sorts of songs helps me write realistic actions and reactions for my characters, beyond mining my own experiences.

For example, though I’m a parent, and have parents, a great deal of the parent-child-relationships in my books are based on musical theater relationships and the emotional resonance songs about parenting from different shows create.  Specifically, in my debut Appetites & Vices (Carina Press, February 18, 2019), my heroine, Ursula Nunes’ father, Judah, is a major character and their relationship is key to the plot.

To get the emotional notes right, especially as he isn’t a POV character, I listened to a lot of Les Miserables (Jean Valjean—especially in “In My Life”), Fiddler on the Roof (Tevye through-out the entire show), and Into the Woods (the Baker—especially in “No More”). I paid attention to the emotions of those songs and how, when performed, they were blocked in writing his actions and reactions through-out the story.

Similarly, when Ursula gets to be a mother—and not a POV character—in Dalliances & Devotion (Also Carina, August 2019)—I gave her a little Golde, as well as some Auntie Mame (“If he Walked into my Life”) and a touch of the Witch (“Stay with Me”) while my heroine in that story is totally singing “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now” from Hairspray and “Breathe” from In the Heights.

For me, it’s important to understand what’s going on in every character’s head and get their reactions right on the page. Listening to actors convey those emotions (and fine, performing them myself in my car…or shower…or kitchen…or office) has helped me figure out what each character should do and say in a scene. I know I have it right when I feel the same emotion a good musical theater song makes me feel when I read.

There are at least “five-hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred” ways being a musical theater geek has shaped my writing. Indulging in my passion has made be a happier, if not better writer. And I’m truly “lucky to be alive right now,” with so much access to these fabulous songs and performances. I totally urge other writers to check them out. Who knows? Musical theater may change your writing for good (sorry, tiny Wicked reference—I had to).  

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Felicia Grossman wanted to write stories ever since her father read her Treasure Island when she was four-years-old. The Delaware native never lost her love of words, earning both an English degree and a law degree. Felicia now lives in the northern part of the country with her spouse, children, and dogs. When not writing, she can be found eating pastries or belting showtunes in her living room.

Find out more about her on her Website https://feliciagrossmanauthor.com/

Follow her on Twitter @HFeliciaG

APPETITES AND VICES, Felicia Grossman

He’s her ticket into high society…

Banking heiress Ursula Nunes has lived her life on the fringes of Philadelphia’s upper class. Her Jewish heritage means she’s never quite been welcomed by society’s elite…and her quick temper has never helped, either.

A faux engagement to the scion of the mid-Atlantic’s most storied family might work to repair her rumpled reputation and gain her entrée to the life she thinks she wants…if she can ignore the way her “betrothed” makes her feel warm all over and stay focused on her goal.

She’s his ticket out…

Former libertine John Thaddeus “Jay” Truitt is hardly the man to teach innocent women about propriety. Luckily, high society has little to do with being proper and everything to do with identifying your foe’s temptation—an art form Jay mastered long ago. A broken engagement will give him the perfect excuse to run off to Europe and a life of indulgence.

But when the game turns too personal, all bets are off…

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, On Writing