The Contrast that Carries the Message Home

Today, we’re returning to the Building Blocks of a Musical Series, with installment number 3 on how Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat formula can be effectively applied to musicals. 

First, though, because I’ve been getting questions about it, I want to explain where Save the Cat got its name. Snyder did not name his book after the 15 “beats” (or key story components) that make up the bulk of his formula. He named it after one of his favourite tips for writing prickly protagonists in a way that audiences find sympathetic: shortly after introducing them in all their antagonistic glory, have them do something that shows the soft heart underneath, like maybe saving a cat who’s stranded in a tree. The book has a great deal more to offer than that one (very effective) tip. But “Save the Cat” is a more intriguing title that sells better than something more descriptive, like “15 Beats to Storytelling Success.” 

Normally, I’ll be exploring one beat at a time. But today I’m addressing three of them, Beats 1, 2 and 15, because they are all so closely connected that it’s pretty much impossible to do them justice separately. 

In a movie, Beat 1 is the opening image and Beat 15 is the closing image.  In a musical, what’s going on musically will matter as much as what’s going on visually, so Beat 1 will include the opening number and Beat 15 will be the finale. We’re treating these together because there needs to be a contrast between them that highlights the journey of our protagonist. And we’re also discussing Beat 2, the introduction of the unifying theme, because the theme is what the contrast between Beats 1 and 15 needs to highlight.  

Great stories generally convey a number of compelling messages, but here we’re focussing on a very specific them, the unifying message that gives shape to the protagonist’s journey. It’s the important truth the protagonist does not yet understand at the beginning, but needs to learn in order to earn their happy ending. 

STC formula calls for the theme to be stated or suggested early in the story, often by a side character whose message is not getting through to the protagonist. In a musical, it might not be stated in dialogue. It might first be suggested in a song, and then repeated with increasing clarity until the protagonist internalizes it in order to resolve the conflict. Sometimes, it won’t be the theme, but its antithesis that gets expressed early on. Here’s how all three components work together in the 5 model musicals we’re studying. 

The Lion King

Beat 2:  The unifying theme is “Your nobility lies within you and can’t be taken from you so long as you, yourself, honor it.” It’s the opposite idea - that nobility is granted by circumstances of birth and can be taken away by unlucky chance - that is first verbalized by Scar, early in the show. He informs the mouse he’s about to eat, “Life’s not fair, is it. You see, I will never be king and you will never see the light of another day.” 

Scar believes he’s been robbed of his nobility by the birth of his nephew. Then, we see young Simba grappling to understand that “there’s a lot more to being king than getting your way all the time.” Shame will eventually destroy his faith in his own nobility, while Scar destroys the Pride Lands with his efforts to hold onto a crown achieved by treachery. When Simba learns that his nobility is innate and reclaims it, he gets to the happy resolution that he and the savanna both need. 

Beats 1 and 15:  The opening and closing numbers work together to help convey this message. The musical opens with Rafiki, singing “Circle of Life” on an empty stage. The creatures of the Pride Lands gradually gather to honour Simba’s nobility, bowing deeply as Rafiki presents him to the assembly from the top of Pride Rock.

The closing scene begins similarly, only this time, it’s Simba on an empty stage after he’s just defeated both his shame and Scar. “King of Pride Rock” plays as his friends and family gather and acknowledge him as king. The music then transitions to “Circle of Life.” Simba summits Pride Rock and all the creatures of the Pride Lands gather. Nala and Rafiki join him there and Rafiki presents their cub to the gathered multitude. The circl of life has come full circle, and a new generation will need to learn about their innate nobility. 

Hamilton: 

Beat 2:  Again, it’s the antithesis that first appears about seven minutes in with Hamilton’s I Want song: “My Shot.” He thinks he’ll make a name for himself and justify his existence by dying for his country, “Don't be shocked when your hist'ry book mentions me/ I will lay down my life if it sets us free/ Eventually, you'll see my ascendancy/ And I am not throwin' away my shot,” he sings. Hamilton’s misbelief, that a man’s legacy is defined by public heroics, seems to be shared by almost everyone in his circle. But he will learn the opposite, that it’s your private actions, more than your public heroics, that most define your legacy.

Beats 1 and 15:  The stark contrast between the opening and closing numbers helps to carry home that unifying theme. The show begins with music and a dark stage. Aaron Burr, and then John Laurens begin singing “Alexander Hamilton”.  At last, a spotlight shines on Thomas Jefferson and then broadens to include the various important men who’ve gathered to tell us the story of the audacious and brilliant founding father. 

The closing number “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story,” begins with important men again – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison – all singing about Hamilton. But then Angelica takes over, the men fade into the background, and Eliza comes forward to finish telling her husband’s story and relating how she continued his work. Her proudest accomplishment: the private orphanage she established for children like him. At last, she sings that she can’t wait to be reunited with him,  looks out and gasps as if seeing him again, and the stage goes black. We are left with a strong impression that our family relationships and the private good we do outlast and outshine our public reputation. 

Wicked: 

Beat 2:  “Are people born wicked, or do they have wickedness thrust upon them” is the question, right at the end of the opening number, that introduces the unifying theme of the musical. Asking a question is an effective mechanism for opening the audience's minds to a message without risking becoming didactic. The musical will answer that question, but it’s up to us to see the hints that recur throughout and catch hold of the unifying message: goodness is what happens when we refuse to let wickedness be thrust upon us. 

Beats 1 and 15:  The opening and closing numbers show us the same scene, but with different eyes. The musical opens with a representation of Elphaba dissolving in a puddle of green onstage, and then an eruption of celebration among the Munchkins, singing, “No One Mourns the Wicked.” Glinda presides over the scene from aloft in her bubble carriage. To the uninitiated, this looks like a straightforward celebration of the triumph of good over evil. 

By the time we get to the closing number, our understanding of the opening scene has completely transformed. We now see Glinda grieving while the Munchkins are maligning and rejoicing over the death of her best friend. But she is finally becoming Glinda the Good, a title that she has always worn without dessert. And all of that is going on upstage, while downstage, Scarecrow/Fiyero helps Elphaba climb out of a trap door, they embrace, and then exit, leaving Oz to Glinda’s care. As they exit, Glinda is singing “For Good” in a counterpoint to the more muted singing by the Munchkins of “No One Mourns the Wicked.” 

Les Miserables:

Beat 2:  This show is unusual in that the protagonist discovers the unifying message during the “Prologue:” redemption comes in the choice to accept love and share it with others. He spends the rest of his life seeking to be true to that understanding in the face of a multitude of reasons to protect himself at someone else’s expense. His ultimate triumph isn’t achieved because of a new epiphany, but because he held true, even at the cost of everything he cared about. 

Beats 1 and 15:  The contrast between the opening and closing numbers is stark. The opening number “Look Down” shows Jean Valjean, chained alongside other prisoners, laboring in a work camp with his head down, his faith abandoned, and his heart embittered by the injustice of his situation. 

The “Finale” shows Jean Valjean, reunited first with the daughter and son-in-law he thought lost, then his spirit being guided home by the souls of those he had blessed in life. Then, the spirits of the many we’ve seen die in the struggle to bring about a better world come forward and sing about climbing toward the light, chains being broken and freedom in the garden of the Lord. Valjean stands joyous and fearless, faith vindicated, and bitterness long forgotten. And, to ensure we don’t miss the message, the most memorable line from the finale is, “to love another person is to see the face of God.” 

The poignant, escapist opening number for Newsies

Newsies: 

Beat 2:  The unifying theme for this musical is, “you can’t find happiness by running from your problems; you need to ‘Seize the Day’ and face them.” Again, it’s the antithesis that appears first, in “Santa Fe”, Jack Kelly’s I Want song. He dreams of escaping out west from New York, a city that seems intent on grinding him to nothing. But he learns that everything he needs (in opportunities, inspiration, and partnership) to create the life he longs for, is already within his reach, if he can have the courage to take hold of it. 

Beats 1 and 15:  The opening number is that I Want song. It shows us Jack with his buddy crutchie, waking in the pre-dawn on the scaffolding that Jack calls home. They are high above the city, very head-in-the-clouds, while Jack sings about his dream of a very different life in “Santa Fe.” The mood is yearning.

The finale occurs with Jack’s feet on the ground. He is surrounded by all the newsies and the woman of his dreams and they’re dancing their hearts out while singing “King of New York.” He’s now going anywhere. The mood is settled and joyous. The whole company raises a fist in triumph on the final note. 

Take Away

This exercise has driven home to me the value of being intentional about the opening and closing numbers. They offer a powerful opportunity to carry home the unifying theme of a musical. We will see theme reappearing in other beats as well. Please stay tuned for those when we return to the Building Blocks series later this month. 

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