There are some things that we, as musicians and as music-loving people, have evolved beyond. Some stories that we've now heard too many times to count; some stories that weren't that great to begin with; some conventions that have been DONE TO DEATH in the same exact fashion we now know we can exceed. These are the things I protest. Now, I'll be honest, some of these shows I don't dislike- some of which I own in various incarnations. But that doesn't mean that I'm not sick to death of them and ready for something different, something powerful, something I don't mind spending my hard-earned money on.

I felt the need to speak on these feelings after this year's Tony Awards. What gets awarded? South Pacific- done to death, and In the Heights- a non-musical musical. I strongly dislike this new Broadway trend toward more pop-like music and less traditional stagings. Does this seem at odds with my opening paragraph? Yes- but I'll clarify. I blame these old shows that we keep seeing revived in every community theatre in the country and even on Broadway. If people were reminded of the great things Broadway has done for music and get away from the easier, antiquated songs and dances, then perhaps they wouldn't react by giving me a show like Spring Awakening (ugh).

Yes, the story of little orphan Annie is on my list of "please no more!" Perhaps it's because I've been so exposed to it that I strongly dislike it- some community theatre group is always doing it somewhere nearby and there are multiple film versions. But Annie never got to me the way it's supposed to, not even when I was a kid. As an analytical adult, here's why not-

• Children on stage- Having a bit of theatre experience myself, may I just comment on how much I hate working with child actors. It complicates everything while you're trying to keep them quiet and contained and performing happily, and no matter how talented the kid is, the larger concepts of what is going on is going to be lost on him. Besides, it just gives the other actors another thing that can go very wrong while onstage!
• Unremarkable music- Come on, everyone can name the two big songs from Annie that people take away from the show: "It's a Hard Knock Life" and "Tomorrow." They're both so HOKEY. It's a hard life for everyone kids, and tomorrow will ALWAYS be only a day away. These are the kinds of songs that give musicals a bad image in the non-musical world.
• Unremarkable experience- Compare the feeling you have when you leave the theatre after seeing Annie to the feeling you have after you've watched Sweeney Todd, or Les Mis, or even Mamma Mia! and you'll see my point. There's just not that much to this story.

Grease is the word...a word that is on the lips of everyone who has ever been to high school and watched TV. We've all seen Grease- everyone saw it when it came out, and everyone still watches it when it comes on VH1 when they decide to actually show music. And even if we hadn't all seen the movie, every high school and community theatre does Grease because it isn't terribly difficult. So why are we showing it on Broadway again? When a piece is set in such a distinct period like Grease, it's hard to do too much differently to give it a sense of freshness.

Now I don't object to Grease on principle. I'll admit that I own the movie from my high school days. It's fun, it's got some catchy tunes, it's got a few lovable characters. But it's not too deep, and we've been over-exposed to it! Let's all move on.

Oklahoma! is my go-to example of a musical that we've "evolved past." It may have been ground-breaking and marvelous back in the day for a guy to come on stage and sing about a beautiful morning, but we get the idea by now. Like most Rodgers and Hammerstein pieces, the music doesn't hold many charms for the modern audience, and the lyrics really date the show. And really, what's so exciting about Oklahoma anyway?

Ok, now this for me is a concept that just didn't work. It never fails to shock me that this is the second longest-running show in world due to its success in England (the show didn't do too well in America). And I'm a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber, a big fan, which I guess is the saving grace of this show for some people. For me, I just can't accept that these actors on roller skates (yeah, it's the roller-skating musical that came before Xanadu) are supposed to be TRAINS. Living, feeling, singing, emoting trains. It just doesn't work for me at all. Now the story started out as a bedtime story for Lord Webber's kids, which is guess makes it more understandable, but I just can't put myself into a place where I can appreciate the show. It's too weird, and the music isn't accessible enough on its own to help me get past the odd premise.

I hate to admit that anything Sondheim was involved in is less than wonderful, but I'm afraid it's true. Yes, West Side Story is one of the most beloved musicals of all time (and that didn't stop me from hating on Oklahoma!) but that doesn't mean that it's competition for the good stuff that's come out since. To be honest, there aren't too many musicals that came out before the 70's that I'm a fan of- I love My Fair Lady, Guys and Dolls, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Sound of Music, and a few select pieces of other shows. The music just doesn't reach me the way modern musicals do, and the concepts and themes are mostly very safe, very fluffy, and nothing that's going to change your life. The stuff sounds dated, the lyrics are very dated, and all the singers are high sopranos and freakish tenors.

West Side Story has an immediate strike against it for me. It's based on Romeo and Juliet, and no matter how much I love Shakespeare, I can't say this play is one of his best. The story is ridiculous. Kids falling in love so deeply at first sight that they're willing to die over it? Absurd. But West Side Story adds silly dance-fighting and ridiculously high voices to a storyline that doesn't hold my interest. You watch Tony and Maria instantly fall deeply in love and start immediately causing problems and you start thinking "really?" Then they begin crooning in an octave that only the dogs can hear, and I find myself thinking just how far musicals have come.