# Musicals that are "musicals" in-universe **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 9, 2019, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicals-that-are-musicals-in-universe/832304 "2019-04-09T22:56:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicals-that-are-musicals-in-universe/832304/61 "2019-04-19T22:14:25Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > I was thinking that “The Band Wagon” which is about a musical revue (in part) would qualify, but “That’s Entertainment!” and “Shine on my Shoes” don’t fit. That being said, everyone should see “The Band Wagon” - it’s great. You can even (if you squint a bit) see how the numbers in the eventual production would have fit into the musical version of “Faust” which was the original conception of the (in-universe) production. Yeah, that’s the one I was going to mention, and the other non-qualifying number is “Dancing in the Dark”. And I want to second the part about how everyone should see it. Really. What about “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”? IIRC, that one is “a play within a play” in its entirety. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicals-that-are-musicals-in-universe/832304/62 "2019-04-19T22:20:03Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > What about “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”? IIRC, that one is “a play within a play” in its entirety. Not that I recall, at least not the film. I haven’t seen the stage version. Although the main character is aware that he’s in a play, and breaks the fourth wall. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicals-that-are-musicals-in-universe/832304/63 "2019-04-19T22:38:00Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Not that I recall, at least not the film. I haven’t seen the stage version. Although the main character is aware that he’s in a play, and breaks the fourth wall. I’ve only seen the stage play. I saw it 48 times though. I saw a lot of classical musicals 48 times, my first job out of college was as lighting director for a dinner theater that specialized in classical musical comedy. But the opening number - Comedy Tonight - sets it up as a play within a play. “Nothing that’s grim, nothing that’s Greek, she plays Medea later this week”. That’s the line that stuck with me. So the opening number establishes that they all know they’re in a play. But -except for the main character- they all stay in character the entire time and don’t step in and out. Not sure that counts. Especially since Comedy Tonight wasn’t in the very first rendition, it was added in tryouts. But, in order to meet the qualification otherwise, you have to find a show where the cast slips in and out of character but no one ever sings when they’re off-stage/not performing. That’s tough. Maybe a work that’s a biography or drama about a singer would fit. Most musicals with plots aren’t that limited, though. ---
**Author:** ![Tarataratara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Tarataratara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarataratara)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicals-that-are-musicals-in-universe/832304/64 "2019-04-19T22:54:31Z")
Can’t Stop Singing from Teen Beach Movie [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rPKM2178YkU/maxresdefault.jpg "Can't Stop Singing - Music Video - Teen Beach Movie - Disney Channel Official") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPKM2178YkU) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicals-that-are-musicals-in-universe/832304/65 "2019-04-19T23:16:25Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > The Pineapple song breaks the pattern though - Schultz and the landlady sing that purely as an expression of their feelings (as I recall). That’s why I specified the movie: that song was dropped. Fosse’s goal was to stage all the numbers where it was natural for people to be singing. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicals-that-are-musicals-in-universe/832304/66 "2019-05-18T12:58:44Z")
In the store the other day I heard _That Thing You Do_ on the PA system. Took me back to [del]1964[/del] 1996. I think the move _That Thing You Do!_ qualifies. A ton of music. Not all of it replays of the title song. (Which doesn’t have the “!”, btw.) Here’s a [listing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_Thing_You_Do!#Soundtrack) of the soundtrack. My favs are _Shrimp Shack_ by Cap’n Geech & The Shrimp Shack Shooters and _I am Spartacus_. 😉 Some or all of the title song is heard 11 times in the movie. It peaked at number 41 on the Billboard charts yet somehow made it to a store music playlist. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicals-that-are-musicals-in-universe/832304/67 "2019-05-18T13:05:56Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > The only song in the Blues Brothers movie that is not set in the real world is Aretha Franklin’s Think. **People in restaurants do not break into elaborate song-and-dance routines.** > > And for that song, especially Blue Lou’s sax, I will make an exception. [But they do in & around music stores?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdbrIrFxas0) :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicals-that-are-musicals-in-universe/832304/68 "2019-05-18T13:54:50Z")
You’ve never been to a street festival? I’ve seen singing and dancing around those (okay, maybe not to that degree of professionalism, but still…) ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicals-that-are-musicals-in-universe/832304/69 "2019-05-19T16:40:38Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Been awhile since I saw it, but I think _Jersey Boys_ qualifies. > > _Beautiful_ also seems to set all its songs at either a performance or showing someone plugging it. As would _Motown: The Musical_. And while I haven’t seen it, I suspect that _Ain’t Too Proud_ would also qualify. ---
**Author:** ![lew\_cody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e274bd/32.png) [@lew\_cody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lew_cody)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2019, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicals-that-are-musicals-in-universe/832304/70 "2019-05-27T18:18:12Z")
I think all the songs in _The Gang’s All Here_ (1943) are performances – either onstage or at other functions. Even “A Journey to a Star” is sung by Alice Faye primarily to demonstrate her singing ability to James Ellison, not really to advance the plot. The same goes for the 1954 _A Star Is Born_ – the musical numbers are all performances. Judy Garland sings two songs to James Mason privately (“Someone at Last” and “It’s a New World”), but they’re still performances that aren’t required for the plot. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2019, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicals-that-are-musicals-in-universe/832304/71 "2019-05-27T19:29:29Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > _White Christmas_ [fails](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH2KGboA35c). > > _Blues Brothers_ [fails](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vet6AHmq3_s). > … Why wouldn’t four singers break into a little song? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicals-that-are-musicals-in-universe/832304/72 "2019-05-27T22:20:25Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think both [Once](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_(film)) and [Sing Street](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sing_Street), both by John Carney, qualify, although it’s been a while since I saw them. (BTW, the former is fairly well-known but the latter is not, but I liked it a lot and recommend it.) My wife and I loved _Sing Street_ and wish it had been a huge hit. There is one scene where the song they’re performing is greeted with a lot better response than it actually had been, but for the most part it was all in context. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicals-that-are-musicals-in-universe/832304.md?page=3)