I Answer with Song

About the Topic

We once believed

language was the most direct bridge between people.

Yet there are moments when words remain insufficient.

Some feelings resist explanation;

some intentions cannot be voiced;

even after everything has been said,

we may not arrive where we hoped.

In life, we fall silent.

In the theater, we answer with song.

We will begin with The Phantom of the Opera, Hamilton, Les Misérables, Six, and Hadestown, and step briefly beyond musical theater to Shakespeare.

I do not intend to introduce these works one by one.

Instead, I would like us to listen again to songs we may have heard many times.

Putting aside the question of what a song is about, let’s ask how musical theater speaks.

For example—

When Christine turns to another man, why does the Phantom say, “I gave you my music”?

Why does an eighteenth-century politician speak through hip-hop, while his former king sings a sweet love song?

Why does the same melody return at different moments?

Musicals tell stories through plot, convey meaning through lyrics, and create feeling through music. Their particular language lies in the way these elements work together in the theater.

Decades ago, this language addressed love, death, power, and fate. Today, new voices also address identity, freedom, choice, and our own times.

As we are moved by other people’s stories, we keep asking:

Who are we, and what are we singing for?