What Is the Difference Between Theatre and Musical Theatre?

Musical Theatre|Theater

The difference between theatre and musical theatre can be quite subtle. While both forms of entertainment involve actors and scripts, musical theatre requires singing, dancing, and music to tell its story.

In traditional theatre, scripts are usually a blend of spoken dialogue and dramatic action. Plays are usually focused on character development rather than music or choreography. In musical theatre, however, the story is told through song and dance in addition to spoken dialogue.

A big part of what defines a musical is its use of music to set the tone for each scene.

Each song in a musical has its own purpose and helps to propel the story forward. This could be a love song that conveys the feelings between two characters or an upbeat chorus number that sets the stage for an exciting finale.

In addition to the use of music, choreography is also a major component of musical theatre. Dance numbers are used to enhance certain scenes or bring certain characters to life in a way that would not be possible with just dialogue alone.

Finally, it’s important to note that while both require actors who can sing and dance, musical theatre often requires more specialised skills than traditional theatre does. Actors in musicals need training and experience in singing, dancing and acting all at once, which is something that most traditional actors do not need.

Conclusion:
To sum up, the difference between theatrical performances and musicals lies mainly in their use of music, choreography, and specialised skills from their actors. Theatre performances rely more heavily on dialogue while musicals rely on singing, dancing, and complex choreography as well as strong vocal performances from their actors.