I've been thinking about musicals

I've been thinking about musicals lately and how they work. Most importantly, is there a written equivalent to a "show tune" in prose?

I did some research and found this great essay by Dr. Larry A. Brown of Lipscomb University (I think). He identified the key characteristics of songs in a musical. My thinking is that maybe if prose writers incorporate these characteristics, they have given their work the equivalent of a song. Maybe? Let's look into it.

"My Fair Lady" - my favorite musical.

1. Story has priority. Dr. Brown suggests that songs are not there to usurp the plot, but to hold it up. In prose writing, or in poetry, you could equate this to not letting your writing get in the way of the story. Flowery writing does this just as much as awkward or confusing writing.

2. Opening numbers establish mood and setting. This translates into "Use your beginning to evoke an atmosphere for your book/poem." There is always a lot of focus on the first sentence, but perhaps we should expand that to the first paragraph, or even the first couple sentences.

3. Collaborators work to achieve smooth transitions from script to music. A lot of the time, it grows naturally from the dialogue that is already there. So in writing, allow emotion to expand dialogue. This can be more than just choosing the words that fit the situation; make the words sound like the emotion. Put assonance and alliteration to work. I'm thinking of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven." Read this aloud and see if you can hear the raven:

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
Only this and nothing more.”

The consonants give us a hard sound that almost literally taps in "tapping," "rapping" and "muttered." Notice that the last line in this quote has no hard sounds. It sounds sleepy in comparison. Tricks like this can be used in prose just as well as poetry.

This is another favorite of mine.

4. Songs should express the deepest thoughts and feelings of the characters at that moment, using the character's vernacular. Read: Express your characters' deep selves, but in a way they would say it. One of the joys of reading is being able to see the world from another's point of view and to see into that person. Note: Minimalists will say not to be obvious with this like musicals are. Maximalists would argue for drawn-out soliloquies about just how each character is feeling. Find the best middle ground for you.

5. The style of music relates closely to the specific lyrics. I could see this playing into setting--have your description of the setting match the mood you are trying to convey. Don't have it rain because your character is crying, unless they have some sort of weather magic or something, though. That's cheap. Instead, if your character is crying, bring out the grays and blues, focus on the sad memories associated with the props around them, or find some other way to describe things sadly. Give them some sad background music of words. If you want to read a brilliant setting description with emotion in it, read the short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

6. Reprises are often used to show development of character. So put in a reprise. The usual approach to this in stories is to bring the character into the same situation all over again and see how they respond differently. You could also reprise an argument, put in a flashback that shows a difference in perspective, or bring your character into the same setting, one you've largely abandoned (then describe it a bit differently to show the character development).

7. Rather than choreography for its own sake, song and dance should tell a story through music and movement. In essence, make movement count. Why is your character moving? Does it advance the plot? The scene? Their development?

One other thing from Dr. Brown's essay I should mention is that "The addition of music to a standard play heightens emotion, reinforces dramatic action, evokes atmosphere and mood in ways that words alone cannot." Perhaps you should look at your current draft as the play and focus on these functions during a revision, making your next draft the musical version? Just an idea. Either way, try to prove him wrong about the words thing.

For more on musical analysis, if you're interested, check out this website.