Is musical theatre on the rise again, with young people and social criticism?

Mia becomes Alan. A topic that is increasingly dominating everyday life in schools and families. The plot of the musical about Alan is based on a true story. The production company WeColorMusic has already successfully turned several social debates into musicals.

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The production company is supported by the NACE Association (No to School Bullying). The musical ‘Alan’, which was also shown in Miami in July 2024, highlights a new line of business: bringing reality, not glamour, to the stage. ‘Alan’ can be seen in Madrid until 17 December.

Image: WeColorMusic

The 17-year-old character, Alan Montoliu, took his own life in 2015 at the age of just 17. Depicting such a controversial topic in song is risky, because until now, fantasy and love stories were considered to be more reliable material. ‘Alan’ shows how difficult the teenage years are for the whole family... in a very sensitive way.

Image: WeColorMusic

‘Alan’ is not only new in terms of content. There are also only 4 actors and original music, which makes the production much cheaper and, therefore, the tickets. The majority of the audience at the premiere in Madrid were young people. The play, which was already a success in Barcelona, won the ‘Butaca Award for Best Musical Composition’ in 2024 and offers tickets from 10 euros.

Image: WeColorMusic

The musical theatre business has been growing for years. New York, Hamburg, London and Madrid - they are all world leaders in the industry. The Broadway production company ‘No Guarantees’ points out in a study that marketing needs to change. Social media should be used more in advertising to communicate with young people.

Musicals have generated an economic importance on a city. The Society of London London Theatre (SOLT) releases annual box office stats, with 2022 seeing total box office revenue for the West End set at £892,896,521 (per show).

Back in 2013, the NZZ reported on the ‘wave of reality-based, socially critical or satirical musicals’ that were making their way into London at the time. The topics ranged from homeless young people to serial killers. In 2017, ‘Everybody's Talking About Jamie’ also brought the topic of homosexuality to the stage. It was a resounding success.

There are, of course, audiences which still prefer the classics. According to 'Broadway World', 'The Lion King' is top of the list for highest grossing musical theatre productions. After which you have other classics such as 'Phantom of the Opera', 'Chicago' and 'Mamma Mia' in the top 10.

Although tickets for the lavish classics sometimes cost over 100 euros, the conditions of the dancers and singers are often poor - especially in Spain. This year, producer Nacho Cano was accused of employing Mexican actors without residence permits for his musical ‘Malinche’.

At the ‘Premios del Teatro Musical’ award ceremony in Madrid in June 2024, the actor from Aladdin, Roc Bernadí, could not help but remark, according to El País, that the working and wage conditions for musical theatre actors in Madrid cannot be compared with those in London and New York. In some cases, even leading actors only earn a little more than the agreed minimum wage.

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