Line #16 Theatre/TheFrogs


1	[[quoteright:215:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/215px-frogssondheim_4630.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:215:[[OhCrap Brek-ek-ek-ek!]] [[HellIsThatNoise Brek-ek-ek-ek!]]]]
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4	The world is in a bit of a mess. The art of good theater and literature in general has gone downhill, and things seem to be going to pieces. The [[Myth/GreekMythology Greek god Dionysus]] decides that he won't stand for this nonsense, and sets off with his DeadpanSnarker slave Xanthias to bring Creator/GeorgeBernardShaw back from Hades to set things back on track. What follows is a hilarious journey as the pair try to break into the Underworld, are beset by singing frogs in Hades (the creatures hate change and want things to stay the way they are), and finally must decide if Shaw really ''is'' the best playwright to bring back to life.
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6	An adaptation of a play by Creator/{{Aristophanes}}, this musical was created for a college performance at Yale in 1974. Written by Burt Shevelove with music and lyrics by Music/StephenSondheim, it was based on an adaptation that Shevelove had written and directed during his own senior year at Yale in 1941. It was staged in the college gymnasium, with the scenes involving the River Styx and the frogs being performed in the pool, with the Yale swimming team (hence lines in the original opening song, begging the audience not to swim during the performance). In 2004, Creator/NathanLane expanded the show into a full-length musical, writing the new book himself (Shevelove having passed away in 1982) with Sondheim contributing seven new songs. This expanded version played on Broadway with Lane and Roger Bart as the leads.
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9	!! Tropes in this work:
10	* AnAesop: Dionysus gives one to the audience in the final number, in which he warns everyone about the dangers of apathy and how important it is to take action before the world falls apart.
11	* BreakingTheFourthWall: The very first number, "Instructions to the Audience", has the actors playing the leads go onstage and instruct the audience how to behave (turn off cell phones, don't talk during the performance, etc). The finale number, which is a reprise, has Dionysus directly address the audience with a plea to not stand by while everything falls apart around them.
12	* DumbMuscle: Hercules, if only because he ''went'' to the Underworld for one of his Twelve Labors and tells Dionysus how it's a horrible place that he'll need a disguise to get into, when it's really a very pleasant place. Lampshaded by Pluto, who notes that Hercules "isn't the brightest flame in the candelabra".
13	* EveryoneHatesHades: Subverted. The song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xeTSecKRho Hades]] is all about how great the Underworld is, and how awesome everyone finds living there to be.
14	--> And you get to live in Hades/Where it's always 2 A.M.!/ Where you party 'till you drop/ And it never stops/ 'Cause there's nothing we condemn!
15	* HappilyMarried: Dionysus and Ariadne.
16	* AHellOfATime: The Underworld turns out to be a pretty nice place, all things considered.
17	* HijackedByJesus: Subverted in general, as the musical remains faithful to Aristophanes's play, however there are a few instances where the characters (including Hades himself) refers to the Underworld as "hell". In some cases it's clearly a case of the character not understanding the Underworld, and the place is shown to be quite pleasant.
18	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: When Dionysus goes to Pluto and begs him to allow George Bernard Shaw to come back to Earth, Pluto and the GreekChorus point out that it's very naive (if optimistic) to think that one playwright's works would be all it would take to change the world. The GreekChorus follows up by singing for Dionysus to relax because "[[SeriousBusiness It's only a play]]!"
19	* TheLostLenore: Ariadne.
20	* PromotedFanboy: InUniverse, Dionysus, a massive fan of Shaw's work, ''squees'' at being able to meet his idol.
21	* SelfDeprecation: In the "Instructions to the Audience", one of the instructions is that "if by a sudden miracle / A tune should appear that's lyrical, / Don't hum along". May also double as TakeThatCritics, considering how Sondheim's songs once were criticized for being too complex to hum along to.
22	* ServileSnarker: Xanthias.
23	* SettingUpdate: A Classical Greek play updated to, well, some time after Shaw's death.
24	* ShoutOut:
25	** The last line of the title song (spoken by Xanthias after seeing his master attacked by a giant frog) is "I think we're gonna need a [[Film/{{Jaws}} bigger boat]]."
26	** When Dionysus tries on Hercules's lion skin and asks Xanthias, "How do I look?", Xanthias replies, "[[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Like the Circle of Life has stopped]]."
27	* WeAreAsMayflies: One of the few things that makes Dionysus act truly sorrowful is the memory of his wife, who died years ago because she was mortal and he was not.
28	-->She was young, she was shy. Ariadne! She was young, so was I, surely she was much too young to die!

Context Theatre / TheFrogs