Learning English Through Music: Musicals
- Samantha Lai
- May 17, 2017
- 2 min read
Learning English through music isn’t just a DSE topic, it can also be something you can do yourself. One way to do so would be to watch musicals, in which performers use music to do the storytelling. Here’s a list of recommendations for all the music fanatics out there.
Hamilton
Hamilton is a musical about an American founding father who founded the nation’s financial system. Sounds kind of drab right? Well then, how did it become a hit musical and cultural phenomenon of 2016? Long story short: catchy songs, beautiful choreography, talented actors. It’s totally worth checking out, although getting tickets can be considered as a borderline impossible task…
Rent
If you’re interested in learning more about America’s AIDS epidemic, this is the musical for you. The story is heart-wrenching (pro tip: getting attached to certain characters WILL result in extreme emotional trauma) and focuses on a group of people trying to get by while struggling with high rent, poverty and the prospect of imminent death. Seasons of Love is the most popular song of the musical, although it is by no means the only good one. A movie was made with the original Broadway cast so getting to watch it is definitely significantly easier than getting to watch Hamilton.
Wicked
We all know the story of the Wizard of Oz, but there’s a lot that goes unexplained in the story. Why is the Wicked Witch of the West so insistent on getting those red slippers? Why does she like evil monkeys so much? What made her evil? Wicked explores the backstory of the Wicked Witch and her friendship with the Good Witch of the North. Watching the musical is a great way to revisit this childhood classic and lose yourself in a vividly beautiful imaginary world.
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a timeless classic that tells the story of Maria, a young Austrian studying to be a nun, who is sent to work as the governess of the von Trapp family, which consists of a widower and his seven children. All this occurs during the rise of Nazism, which adds an element of suspense and emergency to the story. A movie starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer was released in 1965. It may not be as high- definition as the movies we watch nowadays, but it’s definitely no less excellent.
Les Misérables
This is another Broadway classic that is well- loved by the masses. The story follows the lives of various characters that live in early 19th- century France, beginning in 1815 and culminating in the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris (again, don’t get too attached to anyone). Issues such as poverty, youth and redemption are covered in the musical in an easily understandable and touching manner. A film adaptation was made in 2012 so you won’t have to travel all the way to Broadway or West End in order to watch it
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