The songs are initially written as part of the score – be that for film or stage musical – and have over time become detached in most people’s minds from the original context and are viewed as stand-alone pieces. Although show tunes vary in style they do tend to share certain common characteristics – they fit the context of a story being told in the original musical and are very useful in enhancing and heightening particular moments – “Do Re Mi.” from The Sound of Music, for example, or “Surrey With the Fringe on Top” from Oklahoma! to name but a couple. Musical theatre, from which show tunes originate from, is a style of theatre that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance.
The story itself and the emotional content displayed to the audience such as pathos, humour, anger or love are all communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects. Although musical theatre does overlap with other such theatrical displays such as opera and dance, its distinguishing feature is the equal importance that is given to the music as well as the dialogue and movement. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre has generally been referred to as musicals. With music being part of drama presentations since ancient times, it was during the 19th century that modern Western theatre emerged, culminating in the works of Gilbert and Sullivan and Harrigan and Hart.
This was followed by numerous Edwardian musical comedies, which led in turn to the ground-breaking musicals of Show Boat in 1927 and Oklahoma! in 1943. Some of the most iconic musicals whose show tunes still wow audiences today can be found within each decade of the twentieth century: West Side Story in 1957; Hair in 1967; A Chorus Line in 1975; Les Miserables in 1985 (the recently released film of which is soaring at the Box Office and has one of its stars tipped for a Best Actress Oscar); The Phantom of the Opera in 1986; Rent in 1994; The producers in 2001 and Wicked in 2003.
Show tunes, covering all manner of topics from heartbreak and loss to sheer elation, are tunes that often make you want to sing out loud, the most popular of which are instantly recognisable, even when the musical in its entirety is not. Listen in to the newly launched Showstoppers programme with Graham Dene, every Tuesday and Thursday from 7pm-10p.m
