Dara Healy

I've found a girl

A wonderful girl

A girl of magic and beauty

She has that kind of look

She has that kind of touch

That makes me feel

Nothing is too much to achieve

But I'm beginning to believe

The thing that have me hook

She can cook!

- Ti Jean's Love Song, From Ti Jean & Mariquite by Eintou Springer

This week, the Tony Awards for excellence in plays and musicals on Broadway honoured Joel Grey and John Kander with Lifetime Achievement awards.

From Fiddler on the Roof, to the song New York New York, from Chicago the film to the audacious Cabaret set in 1931 Berlin, Joel Grey and John Kander unflinchingly placed their creative stamps on Broadway and Hollywood.

What is the value of musical theatre to our lives and is this an artform that we should see more of in TT?

Like other theatrical forms, musical theatre revolves around key elements. The songs, music and movement further the dialogue and the plot. There are main characters, conflict and resolution. I highly doubt that classics like Jesus Christ Superstar, The King and I, Lion King, Annie, Porgy and Bess, Hello Dolly, or the Wiz would have had the same impact if they were not musicals.

In TT and the Caribbean, our musical performance traditions are linked to our shared histories and quest for self-determination.

Performance arts are celebratory, but they are also about claiming the right to inhabit this space. Errol Hill recalls early Caribbean dramatic presentations about Marcus Garvey staged in Jamaica in 1930 and an exploration of Toussaint L'Ouverture by CLR James' performed in London in 1936.

The world was struggling with global economic depression, while at home, we raged over social inequity and racism during labour riots led by Uriah "Buzz" Butler. Some calypsonians denounced colonial bureaucracy, corruption and discrimination.

Hill makes the point that plays often drew from European traditions in how they were structured or staged. Indeed, there was a belief that these forms were superior to local theatre.

However, after independence, efforts were made to reject external interpretations of local life and reclaim ancestral cultural forms of the peoples who inhabited this new space.

These included dramatic festivals such as Ramleela from the East Indian community, Chinese theatrical practices that incorporated music, dance and pantomime among others, and African traditions of dance, song or storytelling.

Theatrical protest expanded to the masquerade.

Peter Minshall is quoted as saying, 'carnival is theatre.' He incorporated choreography and other theatrical devices into his portrayals, highlighting social challenges and global issues that impact us at home.

In 1987, Eintou Springer presented Ti Jean and Mariquite, a musical play for children with Wendell Manwarren in the lead role and music by Andre Tanker.

The love story addressed questions of good, evil and the importance of community and family. Critically, the play contained a significant patois content, reflecting her c