Pippin

• The musical town of the show’s first season is an amalgamation of the golden age musicals of the 1940s and 1950s.
• Happily, it works: the corny musical tropes become deeply meaningful and a vital therapeutic resource for the couple.
• Brecht believed that dramatic music’s seductive charms could dupe audiences into submission, so the musical comprised a dangerous smokescreen.
• In Josh and Melissa’s case, the musical has distorted their sense of reality and they are about to enter a world of danger.

The musical darkens

• This era is more concerned with terror, excitement, shock and disgust – themes familiar in gothic fiction.
• These musicals resemble the formulaic gothic dramas of excess, hyperbole and fantasy, which garnered a similar mass appeal from the late 18th century.
• This era was also associated with concept musicals, which rejected traditional storylines and linear narratives in favour of abstract ideas.

How season two deviates

• Season one followed the structure of a golden age musical.
• Season two’s outcome, however, is less predictable.
• The musicals of this era have no clear moral and the couple have no idea what lesson they must learn in order to escape.
• While Melissa is an expert in old-timey musicals, she is less familiar with the Schmicago era.

• The song lyrics were written by Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Wicked) and the "Hands Around the World" music team.
• The piece began recording this past week at composer Nathan Barr's Bandrika Studios in Los Angeles.
• All funds raised will go to critical climate change projects to make real impact.
• Featured vocalists and participants in the first session included Cody Simpson, Natasha Bedingfield, Major, Mary Mary and Tay Da Prince.