After years of ever-shrinking orchestras, some Broadway musicals are going big
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Audiences at some Broadway musicals this season are noticing the return of something that was once familiar.
(SOUNDBITE OF FREDERICK LOEWE'S "CAMELOT: OVERTURE")
SIMON: For years, Broadway orchestras have been shrinking. Some shows have as few as four musicians, but several new productions feature big orchestras again. Jeff Lunden reports.
JEFF LUNDEN, BYLINE: When "Sweeney Todd" premiered in 1979, Jonathan Tunick orchestrated it for 26 musicians. But in every subsequent Broadway revival, it's used a smaller orchestra - until now.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE BALLAD OF SWEENEY TODD")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character, singing) Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd. His skin was pale, and his eye was odd.
LUNDEN: The new revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical stars Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford. And it features the full complement of strings, woodwinds, brass, harp and percussion. Tunick says audiences can feel the weight of that large ensemble in the opening number.
JONATHAN TUNICK: What happens there is that the brass come in for the first time supporting the chorus - except for the low instruments. We hold them off to the second bar, so (singing) swing your razor wide (imitating low instrument), Sweeney.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE BALLAD OF SWEENEY TODD")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As characters, singing) Swing your razor wide, Sweeney. Hold it to the skies.
ANNALEIGH ASHFORD: This is just such a rarity, to have this many pieces underneath you. It's quite overwhelming and spectacular.
LUNDEN: Annaleigh Ashford has been in a lot of musicals, but "Sweeney Todd" is the first time she's working with a pit orchestra this large.
ASHFORD: I think that anybody who has been in the American musical theater in the last 20 years has not had the opportunity to sing with an orchestra this large. It's just frankly not feasible from a financial standpoint.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BY THE SEA")
ASHFORD: (As Mrs. Lovett, singing) By the sea, Mr. Todd, that's the life I covet. By the sea, Mr. Todd, oh, I know you'd love it.
LUNDEN: "Sweeney Todd's" producer Jeffrey Seller says using a big orchestra allows audiences to have a, quote, "goosebump experience." In fact, the orchestra size has been part of the revival's marketing strategy.
JEFFREY SELLER: I thought we could do it responsibly so that we could make a modest profit for our investors. A killing? No way. A modest profit? Sure. Is that worth 26 musicians? You bet.
LUNDEN: Finances are one of the reasons producers have given for reducing orchestras. Broadway was shut down by a musicians' strike 20 years ago over just this issue. But Alex Lacamoire, who's "Sweeney Todd's" music director, says the change in orchestra size is also driven by musical considerations. He orchestrated and conducted 10 musicians in "Hamilton."
ALEX LACAMOIRE: The style of music is changing. "Hamilton" did not need 26 musicians.
LUNDEN: But in Broadway's golden age, large orchestras were routine. Orchestra members and actors were rarely miked. So orchestrators had to think about how to balance the sound so that singers weren't overwhelmed. Kimberly Grigsby, who conducts the 30-piece orchestra for "Camelot," says the show's two original orchestrators...
KIMBERLY GRIGSBY: They get out of the way of the voice. If we play what's on the page and play the dynamics that are given, no one has to be back in the back of the house, pulling down the orchestra or pushing the orchestra.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE LUSTY MONTH OF MAY")
PHILLIPA SOO: (As Guenevere, singing) Tra-la. It's May, the lusty month of May, that lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray.
LUNDEN: Phillipa Soo, who plays Guenevere, says she feels supported not just musically, but dramatically by the big orchestra.
SOO: I feel so lucky that we get to have them there with us basically being, like, the ground under our feet. And it's such a beautiful relationship that we get to have with musicians and our storytelling.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE LUSTY MONTH OF MAY")
SOO: (As Guenevere, singing) It's mad. It's gay, a libelous display.
LUNDEN: "Camelot" is at Lincoln Center Theater, which is a nonprofit. It has the resources to present old shows with big ensembles. They did "My Fair Lady," "The King And I" and "South Pacific," full out. But new shows are risky and expensive, so musical ensembles are usually kept small. "Some Like It Hot," with a jazz score set during the Prohibition, is on the higher end of the spectrum with 17 musicians, says co-orchestrator Charlie Rosen.
CHARLIE ROSEN: Outside of revivals, it's incredibly rare for a new musical to have a pit this big. And that's sad. Because to get this sound of this era of musical theater and MGM movie, this is, like, the minimum you can get away with, you know? And we're on the small side for that. We only have three strings, and they're cranking in there.
(SOUNDBITE OF MARC SHAIMAN AND SCOTT WITTMAN SONG, "SOME LIKE IT HOT")
LUNDEN: Annaleigh Ashford at "Sweeney Todd" has a suggestion for people who see musicals on Broadway.
ASHFORD: I just encourage anybody who comes to see any show, but particularly a show with this luxurious, large orchestra that is so rare, to just take a moment and look down in the pit before you leave the house because it's just a world of magic down there.
(SOUNDBITE OF MARC SHAIMAN AND SCOTT WITTMAN SONG, "SOME LIKE IT HOT")
LUNDEN: For NPR News, I'm Jeff Lunden in New York.
(SOUNDBITE OF MARC SHAIMAN AND SCOTT WITTMAN SONG, "SOME LIKE IT HOT")
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