Uploaded February 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
"I saw a couple of original songs being taken pretty seriously, and I thought, 'I’m a composer and I have Logic, I have a MIDI keyboard, and I have a microphone. I have the equipment. Why not throw my hat in the ring?'" RJ Christian, composer (2020)
A crowdsourced movement of musical theatre artists spent the last three months of 2020 turning Pixar's "Ratatouille" into a digital musical. By the New Year, the musical had become a star-studded benefit concert with a professional team behind it. But what does the movement mean for Broadway, and what was lost in the quest to make it "real?"
Zach Barr (they/them) explores the tumultuous, fast-paced history of the "Ratatousical:" what both the trend, and the subsequent hour-long production, mean for digital artists and Broadway artists alike.
Bibliography: docs.google.com/document/d/1PlbVLPZBRWK5qlFA-LE-QWRQZlOEMUQMtLP6mFvvkbI/edit?usp=sharing
"And Now, They Sing" playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4vfdXUW5yrUATqDIsz1d5C8wDdewZflz
For suggesting topics: twitter.com/AdmiralZachBarr
For donations: ko-fi.com/admiralzachbarr
"I saw a couple of original songs being taken pretty seriously, and I thought, 'I’m a composer and I have Logic, I have a MIDI keyboard, and I have a microphone. I have the equipment. Why not throw my hat in the ring?'" RJ Christian, composer (2020)
A crowdsourced movement of musical theatre artists spent the last three months of 2020 turning Pixar's "Ratatouille" into a digital musical. By the New Year, the musical had become a star-studded benefit concert with a professional team behind it. But what does the movement mean for Broadway, and what was lost in the quest to make it "real?"
Zach Barr (they/them) explores the tumultuous, fast-paced history of the "Ratatousical:" what both the trend, and the subsequent hour-long production, mean for digital artists and Broadway artists alike.
Bibliography: docs.google.com/document/d/1PlbVLPZBRWK5qlFA-LE-QWRQZlOEMUQMtLP6mFvvkbI/edit?usp=sharing
"And Now, They Sing" playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4vfdXUW5yrUATqDIsz1d5C8wDdewZflz
For suggesting topics: twitter.com/AdmiralZachBarr
For donations: ko-fi.com/admiralzachbarr
![Low Budget Milky Whites [LIVE at BroadwayCon 2024]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/m6EUYZNgxT4/mqdefault.jpg "Low Budget Milky Whites [LIVE at BroadwayCon 2024]
He wasn’t puppeteering her just yet; she was still inanimate. Then he tilted her head ever so slightly, and instantly there she was: imbued with life and seemingly quizzical — even if her big, almost teary eyes are really just beveled foam coated with clear epoxy that catches the light. Yeah, we’re best friends, said Kanagawa. -Laura Collins-Hughes, 2022
Of all the characters from “Into The Woods,” none have seen more…variation between productions than Jack’s beloved cow. The defunct Tumblr blog “Low Budget Milky Whites” catalogued a bestiary of staging choices: puppets, masks, facepaint, balloons, and more. But, funny as they are, what can these costumes teach us about the medium of theatre? Zach Barr (they/them) discusses the differences between Static and Dynamic Art, through the lens of the cow as white as milk.
Performed July 27, 2024 – LIVE at BroadwayCon 2024
Thank you to BroadwayCon and the Mischief Management staff for hosting me! This was my first time ever presenting And Now They Sing live, and it was a blast the whole way through. Special shoutout to the attendee who brought their own Milky White puppet and asked me to sign the udder afterwards – I missed your name but you made my whole weekend.")
