Act I: Building Blocks of a Musical
- Rebecca Burnham
- May 1
- 7 min read
This week, I’m returning to the Building Blocks of a Musical series, which I'm writing in preparation for a multi-month collaborative workshop for composers, lyricists and librettists. This will be aimed specifically at creators who want to write musicals that lift and unite at the same time that they are supremely entertaining. The supremely entertaining part is important when you're wanting to create art that helps to change the world, because it's the entertainment factor that reliably draws the audiences.
For this post, I’m backing way up in deference to a reader’s request (I love reader requests!) He said he’d have an easier time following the Building Blocks posts if he had a mental map for where we were going. So this post is the map, 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). Les Miserables, which is one of the world’s longest-running musicals and possibly my all-time favourite, is kind of a cross between a musical and an opera and largely blazed its own trail. So yes, there is room to innovate and create a huge hit. But, there are reasons that the traditional framework works. Understanding those reasons can help a creator innovate wisely.
So, with no further ado, here is a basic outline for a classic Broadway musical, with examples from a more recent hit, Beauty and the Beast. I’m drawing largely on Jack Viertel’s framework, set out in The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built. The explanations and commentary are my own. I’m also linking to the deeper explorations I’ve already written on the first four items.
1. Ground Us in the Setting - Opening Number(s)
The first thing a musical needs to do is immerse us in the world of the story. Sometimes, we need some crucial backstory. We also need to get a sense of our protagonist’s normal life before they take whatever action it is that starts the story moving forward. If we can also get a sense of the tensions that swirl around them, all the better. The opening numbers for Beauty and the Beast offer both backstory and a solid grounding in the present moment.
“The Prologue” tells us about the origin of the Beast. It also sets the stakes for the story and starts a ticking clock: if the Beast doesn't find love, and soon, he’ll be a beast forever.
“Belle” gives us a peek into her bemusement at the complacent monotony of her new village, the villager’s perplexity at her questing imagination, and the unappealing future (in the person of Gaston) that the whole village expects her to embrace.
“No Matter What” starts out by underscoring how Belle does not belong in her village, and then reveals the secure relationship of unconditional love that she enjoys with her father. This is important, because it’s her love for her father that is going to impel her to take the step that starts her story moving forward. But before we get there, we need to get invested in her dream.
2. Invest Us in Our Protagonist’s Dream - The “I Want” Song
In order for that investment to happen, we need to be pulled into our protagonist’s inner world. The plot and dialogue can help us do that, but music is so good at pulling on our emotions that there will almost always be an “I Want” song. In a romance, there might be two “I Want” songs. There may be one or two additional numbers to pull us fully onboard with our protagonist.
Gaston’s “Me” is one of those other songs, a self-adoring proposal of marriage that’s so unappealing it adds some welcome comedy between Belle's father’s ordeal with the Beast and her own. It’s a tough task to get us shipping for the Beast, but Gaston’s offer is sufficiently narcissistic that the Beast is starting to look not so bad by comparison.
We are now ready for Belle’s “I Want” song: “Belle (reprise).“ Her longing for adventure, a partner who understands her, and “so much more than they’ve got planned” offer a compelling contrast to Gaston’s offering. And we’re ready to hope that this imaginative and independent-minded woman, with a facility to look beyond superficial appearances and a heart that is eager to be loved but not owned, might have the extraordinary qualities that will lead her through the adventure of reacquainting a despairing soul with his own humanity, and onward to so much more than even she has dreamed.
3. Create Relationship Tension - The Almost Love Song
The best plots, for musicals as well as any other kind of story, are character driven. And it’s the tension between characters, each with their own competing objectives, that keep us interested and the story moving forward. In a romantic musical, the next step is usually to establish some sort of magnetism between the love interests along with some obstacles that keep them apart. If the story is not a romance, there will still usually be some other dynamic relationship, maybe a rivalry, that needs to be established here. There will usually be a song that does that around this point in the show.
Belle’s relationship with the Beast is a very slow burn. It’s far too early for her to be thinking about love at this point, although everyone else in the castle is banking on it. So we have “Home” where she characterizes the Beast as a “monster” and strains against her imprisonment, and we have “Home (Reprise)” where Mrs. Potts gives restrained expression to everyone else’s hope that Belle will “find home here, too.
4. Re-energize the Audience: The Big Noise
Musicals need a pronounced energy curve. Because the music heightens our emotions, we need quieter, introspective scenes after big production numbers. And then we need big, high-energy numbers after those vital quieter moments that move the story forward. At this point, we may have had one or two solo “I Want” Songs, maybe a duet that establishes relationship tension, and maybe a couple other small numbers thrown in. It’s time for something big and loud and energizing that gives us a sense of momentum as the story moves down the track.
Gaston is just the high-energy number we need at this moment. Once again, it offers some comic relief and another look at the bullet Belle dodged. This helps console us and makes her current situation a little less dismal. Yes, the Beast’s desperation makes him tyrannical, even when he’s trying to make a good impression. But, at least the castle is filled with other characters who call him to account, and genuinely appreciate Belle. That’s a sight better than the unthinking mob back home who fawn over Gaston and blame Belle for not accepting him.
5. Uncharted Territory
What happens at this point of the musical depends on the story that’s being told. Our protagonist’s story is well on its way. But it might need more songs here. Or there may be some subplots that need attention, and some secondary characters (including our antagonist) that need to be rounded out. Generally, these need to be treated in a way that serves the energy curve and keeps the main story moving forward toward a crisis that will end Act I.
Gaston’s plot to force Belle to marry him or see her father locked away in a lunatic asylum gives us “Gaston (Reprise)”.
Meanwhile, “How Long Must This Go On” shows us the Beast’s internal torment and his fear that he will never be granted forgiveness. It doesn’t make him appealing as a love interest for Belle, but it does show him as someone who’s redeemable, in large part because he wants to change.
6. Re-energize the Audience
About ten minutes or so before the intermission, the audience’s energy is starting to flag. They may even be looking at their watches and wondering how long before they’ll get to sneak away to the bathroom. That’s why musicals will usually have big production number here. If it moves the story a little closer to that looming crisis, all the better.
“Be Our Guest” is the all-stops-out number that dispels any stray thoughts about sneaking out before the intermission. It builds and builds and builds, until we’re terrified that the Beast is going to be drawn to the dining room by all the noise and blow up at everyone. He isn’t and he doesn’t. But it primes us well for what happens next.
7. Dash Everything to Pieces to End the Act
Throughout Act I, we’ve been moving incrementally toward that happy ending our protagonist/s hope for. Now, right before the Intermission, their prospects are supposed to unravel almost, but not quite, beyond redemption. Then, we need that glimmer of hope that will bring the audience back to see how things work out. If this moment gives one or both of the stars a chance to show off their vocal prowess, that’s a big bonus.
When Belle sneaks into the West Wing, finds the enchanted rose and almost touches it, the Beast reacts with such vehemence that she flees the castle. He realizes he has lost what is probably his last hope for redemption and sings If I Can’t Love Her . Up until now, he’s been preoccupied with how he’s been cursed to look like a monster. But now, finally facing himself in the mirror, he recognizes the character traits that have made him monstrous. “And in my twisted face/ There's not the slightest trace/ Of anything that even hints of kindness/ And from my tortured shape/ No comfort, no escape/ I see, but deep within is utter blindness.” Belle has left the castle. The Beast believes all hope is lost. But he is finally facing the truth. He’s recognizing that it’s his own unlovingness that keeps him cursed. And, even in his despair, he’s singing “If I can’t love her” not “If I couldn’t love her.” So, he can’t have given up entirely. And neither can we. The curtain comes down and the audience is sure to come back after the intermission.
That brings us to the end of Act I, and this post is already long enough. I'll be back next week with the outline for Act II.
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Thank you for this overview of the pieces of Act I!