The Jukebox Musical

As most people who are into Broadway, you're familiar with the Jukebox musical. If not, by simple definition, it's essentially a musical where they use real songs, instead of original songs, to tell the story. Some famous examples would be Mama Mia and Across the Universe. Personally, I like both, but my personal favorites are Jersey Boys and Beautiful. I personally loved the J.B. movie, where it focused on the famous group, The Four Seasons. I remember my first time watching it. It was like 7 in the morning (on a Saturday...we only have so many days to sleep in 😑) and my parents were screaming the songs at the top of their lungs. While I was initially annoyed, it wasn't long before I got caught up in the story of these four young men rising from criminal pasts...sort of, to rise to stardom. I loved the songs and the stories behind how each one was created (mind you, as the movie decided to tell it) and I now have the album on my ipod. About two months ago, I was introduced to the music of Carol King, who served a major importance in the development of modern pop and rock music. My mom wanted someone to join her to see the musical, Beautiful, since it was all music from her time, and I was curious to listen to it. I didn't realize how caught up I was and how much I loved her story, and how amazing her songs were, and all the emotion that was put into it, and what a truly gifted lyricist she was. I even found myself recognizing songs that were such a major part of my childhood, despite the majority of people being familiar with the songs being over the age of 50. I had to thank my parents for my love of the musicals, since it opened me to songs of the past, and I realized how they still had a place during this decade. If you don't believe me, listen to the music. It's definitely worth it.