Save the Cat has not yet been adapted to musicals. Maybe that’s because musicals have not always been about telling a great story. But modern audiences are accustomed to tightly-woven and fulfilling stories, and the story of a Summit Stages musical needs to do more than just entertain; it needs to inspire audiences in a way that builds the Beloved Community. That’s why I’m working on adapting Snyder’s model to musicals. 

This is Part II in a brief overview of the framework for a classic musical, as illustrated by Beauty and the Beast. We'll discuss a tried-and-true pattern for keeping the audience invested and entertained all the way from the Entr'acte to the Finale.

An overview of the key components that were common to musicals during Broadway’s golden age. Even then, not all musicals had all of them. But most of the successful ones generally followed this outline (and many modern smash hits still follow it today).

Elphaba sings "The Wizard and I" While the opening numbers of a musical give us a taste of what’s coming and get us oriented to the world...