Before I get to today’s blog…

Thinking about doing more with your writing? Why not join me in Paris June 2-7 for my Masterclass in Screenwriting? Come be part of a dynamic community of writers and literary agents to learn, to write, to network, to energize your literary goals—and just to have fun in the City of Light!

The Paris Writers Workshop is the longest running literary program of its kind. This program offers 6 masterclasses by renowned authors, each a specialist in their field—and I’ll be teaching the Screenwriting Masterclass—in English, of course.

The workshop will be held at Columbia University’s beautiful Reid Hall campus in the heart of literary Paris—Montparnasse.

Registration is now open: https://wice-paris.org/paris-writers- workshop

We’ll have a great time getting your story ideas off the ground!!

Musicals—2

Last week we looked at The Wizard of Oz [1939] as an example of a musical with archetypal characters that had a story with universal appeal. Not all musicals have that, though, do they?

Most of the musicals that came out following The Wizard of Oz in the 40s—and we’ll be talking about a few—stick to that tried and true method of relatable [if not archetypal] characters and stories that almost anyone can enjoy—stories that were also upbeat with invariably happy endings. Which makes me feel sorry for musicals like Blues in the Night [1941] by Robert Rossen, who would go on to win an Oscar for his screenplays for All the Kings Men [1949] and The Hustler [1961]. Blues in the Night received an Academy Award Nomination for its title song, but it received no nominations for awards of any kind for anything else in the film, that’s for sure!!

Let’s just say audiences weren’t ready for a noir musical, which is what the film attempted to be. If you see sometime that it's on late night TV, take a look. It tells the story of a blues combo… they’re not doing that well and travel between gigs by hopping on boxcars. So when they get an offer from a gangster, Davis, to play in his New Jersey roadhouse, they feel they need to accept it if the band is going to stay together.

The main characters are the trumpeter of the band, Leo, and his wife Ginger, the singer. The band is led by Jigger and the other pivotal character is Kay—the temptress. Remember, it’s 1941 and women were temptresses if they weren’t wives and mothers. Well, probably not ALL women, but plenty—per the men writing these stories and a large percentage of the audience watching them.

The story has Kay seducing Leo and the two of them running off together. Poor Ginger. But when Leo later finds out Ginger’s pregnant, he comes back to her… and we have hope he might have come to his senses and realized his love for Ginger. But things go a little south when Kay returns, has a fight with gangster Davis and fatally shoots him. She then takes up with Jigger… who knows she’s bad news but… what a great temptress! He tries to get the band to toss Ginger as the singer and give the job to Kay, but when that doesn’t work he decides to run off with her.

Then, fate steps in—this guy Brad, who Kay crippled, sees her waiting in the car for Jigger, and Brad gets behind the wheel and drives the two of them over a cliff. End of heartless temptress and the wounded band stays together and continues to play the blues… since they all now actually know what the blues are all about.

Whew. It’s traumatic. And it didn’t succeed… but it was good.

It’s good to remember that if you’re looking to find a story that’s going to sell, you have to be careful of what’s going to appeal to the audience. And in 1941, it wasn’t a noir musical.

But in 2019, well, maybe it’s time for a noir musical. And maybe you could write it. But you have to know your genre, know what audiences are expecting, and for that reason, we’ll keep talking about musicals and seeing what makes them work…with the hope of giving you a fighting chance of making your musical work!

Copyright © Diane Lake

04Aug19

Email Diane a question to Diane@DianeLake.com