8. Explain the importance of music and spectacle in any performance. Give an example of each to motivate your thinking.​

In The Poetics, Greek philosopher Aristotle identifies six elements of drama central to good performance: plot, character, theme, diction (language or vernacular), music and spectacle. Although Aristotle deemed spectacle the least important element in drama, the visual elements or spectacle of a musical fantasy such as The Wiz are crucial in telling the story. In fact, many musicals rely on spectacle as a foundation of their attraction:

In Phantom of the Opera, the main character rows a boat through floating candles, and a chandelier crashes onto the stage.

In The Lion King, puppetry recreates the landscape and wildlife of the African savannah, and a vision in the sky of Mufasa—the protagonist's dead father—suddenly becomes a flock of birds that fly away.

In Miss Saigon, a helicopter actually lands on the stage!

The Wiz was no less visually stunning when it opened on Broadway. Critic Douglas Watt from Newsweek reported:

Tom H. John's settings also have real wit: his Emerald City is a kind of utopian cocktail lounge, a cool green art-nouveau grotto studded with green-glowing stones, like traffic lights telling fantasy to Go! [Geoffrey] Holder has also designed sensational costumes: the tornado that whirls Dorothy from her Kansas home to Munchkin Land is whipped-up black-clad dancers led by a tall Tornado Queen whose plumed headdress gradually wraps the stage in an infinity of twisting wind. This and all of choreographer George Faison's dances are exciting, funny and jumping with character.

The Wiz's blackness can be seen and felt in every aspect the musical. In addition to providing opportunities for people of color to lay claim to a story that they may have felt removed from, black culture makes an indelible mark through its visual spectacle and musical styling, the vernacular used in the lyrics and dialogue, and its costuming and choreography. The show knows its roots.

DEFINITION

Spectacle: something exhibited to view as unusual, notable, or entertaining, especially an eye-catching or dramatic public display. In theater (and as defined by Aristotle), spectacle includes all the visual aspects of a production, including costumes, make-up, scenery and special effects.

Explanation: