<p>saintfan, I never said there was anything wrong with musicals that are purely fun and entertaining. What I was asserting was that I disagreed with your notion that that was the purpose of the genre overall (plus corniness). Many musicals do not fit that description and in fact, I prefer them. But sure, there are musicals that are just entertaining and not much more, and Mamma Mia is an example of that kind of piece. I would say that is not the sole purpose in musicals like Spring Awakening, Hair, RENT, Ragtime, Follies, Into the Woods, Evita, La Cage Aux Folles, Nine, West Side Story, Gypsy, Light in the Piazza, In the Heights, and so on.</p>
<p>true - I stand corrected on that - I was overly broad in response to what seemed like a blanked dissing of the “lowbrow” entertainment that “Spice, The Musical” might provide for people who like that kind of thing now and again. :)</p>