%0 Journal Article
%T Cats, Postdramatic Blockbuster Aesthetics and the Triumph of the Megamusical
%A Vagelis Siropoulos
%J Image and Narrative : Online Magazine of the Visual Narrative
%D 2010
%I Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
%X (E): Despite its popularity, the megamusical is the most critically maligned and academically neglected form of theatre. Focusing on Cats (1981), the show that announced the megamusical¡¯s global dominance, this article will try to provide a culturally informed analysis of megamusical aesthetics that explains the popularity of the genre in postmodern culture. Particular attention will be paid to the megamusical¡¯s development of a commodified postdramatic, predominantly visual aesthetic, which informs other postmodern mass-cultural artifacts, like blockbuster films. To make possible the theorization of a commodified postdramatic aesthetic, the article will provide an intertextual reading of Hans-Thies Lehmann¡¯s seminal work, Postdramatic Theatre, with the theories of the Tel Quel group (Roland Barthes, Julia Kristeva) as well as cultural theory, from Walter Benjamin to Fredric Jameson. (F):  En d¨¦pit de sa popularit¨¦, la grande com¨¦die musicale (  megamusical  ) reste mal vue de la critique et totalement n¨¦glig¨¦e par la recherch¨¦ universitaire. Le pr¨¦sent article, qui porte sur Cats (1981), le show qui a lanc¨¦ l¡¯actuelle h¨¦g¨¦monie de ce type de spectacle, offre une analyse culturelle du genre qui explique son succ¨¨s en le rattachant ¨¤ la culture postmoderne. Il s¡¯int¨¦resse tout d¡¯abord ¨¤ la mani¨¨re dont la grande com¨¦die musicale ¨¦laborer une certaine esth¨¦tique visuelle tr¨¨s commercialis¨¦e et postdramatique, qui caract¨¦rise aussi d¡¯autres produits de la culture de masse postmoderne comme les films ¨¤ gros budget. Dans ce but, cet article s¡¯appuie surtout sur une lecture crois¨¦e du livre capital de Hans-Thies Lehmann, Postdramatic Theatre
%K Megamusical
%K Postdramatic Theatre
%K Blockbuster Films
%K Textuality
%K Semiotic
%K Modernism/ Postmodernism
%U http://www.imageandnarrative.be/index.php/imagenarrative/article/view/98