Hey guys,
I started writing a play to be performed at a friend's theater, and it was going well. I showed it to a friend, who passed it along to songwriter who is somewhat known, who apparently has been wanting to write a musical but has been wanting to have someone else write the book. He has expressed interest in writing music for the show, which is exciting as the dude is an insanely gifted songwriter, however, the play has been written thus far as having five characters who remain in one room during the entire show.
All of the characters are introduced in the first scene. This is giving me a bit of an issue when trying to find places for songs, as in my experience most musicals use music to introduce new characters, or scenes... It seems awkward for me to have the characters talk, talk, talk, sing, talk, talk, talk, sing.
Am I making sense?
Basically, it is like putting music in a play like 12 Angry Men. How do you do it? Are there some good examples? Is the awkwardness just in my head?

Id think you got it a bit on the wrong foot here. Music in a musical can be used for so much more than what you described. If you take a look at musicals like Wicked youll find severel new ways to use music, like stating what the leading characters want (The Wizard and I), introducing a whole city (One Short Day) or that a character has made a critical decision about her future (Defying Gravity, No Good Deed) and making new friends (Popular.) Introducing new character songs would be No One Mourns The Wicked and Dancing Through Life.

Good points for a song is whenever one off the characters made a critical decision or needs to express him or hers feelings over a subject.

Id also think its a great idea to talk with youre composer over where and when he would like to have songs in the musical, he might find places and ways off telling things that you never have thaught off.

It seems difficult, but hasn't here been a few musicals that have achieved musicalising small plays like that successfully? I think the most wellknown example must be My Fair Lady? I haven't read Pygmalion, but as far as I understand, Lerner and Loewe basically opened up the small chamber play by expanding the role of Doolittle, and including scenes that were only referred to in the play?

As Profetikus says here, there are lots of things to sing about that isn't about introducing characters. An example is the variations on a theme-song. Where one or more characters expand on a topic. The simplest and most famous ones are often list songs, like Cole Porter's You're the Top. It depends much on the style of the show, of course, as that song doesn nothing but entertain forever. That can feel strange in a modern, plot-oriented show, but can work in the right setting.

A looser for ofthe same sort of song is a song where a character debates different aspects of a themethat has more connection with the show, like all the songs in A Little Night Music. They are all expressions of different perspectives on love and sex, fidelity and flirting.

I remember reading that when Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater were writing "Spring Awakening" they wrote the songs as innermonologues. That might be something to think about.

Have you talked to the composer? If they've read the play, maybe they have ideas for the songs. The other option could be to keep the play as is, and to start a new work together that you plan as a musical from its inception.

That's definately something to think about. Avoid it all all costs. Sadly, Spring Awakening is very annoying to sit through, as it does not merely fulfill the cliché about musicals being a play where all the action stops for someone to holler out saome song. It wallows in it.

The tactic is interesting the first time, but after the second and third song one starts to think is this what Rodgers and Hammerstein worked to form the musical as an integrated whole for? It soon feels stale and pre-Oklahoma!-like, and and old fashioned.

Totaly agree with Hans, the best musical songs are part off the action by itself. Its often used when characters made a critical desision about his or hers future life thats gonna affect the drama later on, such as Defying Gravity in Wicked. Some one said that all the best songs tells a story and thats ceartanly thrue in the world off musical music.

I also think that some of the best songs are soliloquies that reveal a characters inner thoughts. By putting these to music the emotion behind the thoughts can really come out. One of my favorite examples of this is Billy Bigelow's soliloquy in Carousel. He is really soul searching about his child to be born and what to do with his life now that is is becoming a father. Another prime example is Anthem from Chess.

Thoose kind off songs could be really good, such as "Hemma" (Home?) from Krisitina from Duvemåla and "Du måste finnas/Youll Have to be There" from the same musical, but done wrong, or not so good they can also drag the show down and make it come to an complete halt dramaticly. Id guess that the best off thoose songs still tells a story, or at least propells the drama and or is part off the action.

And yes, Anthem is a really good song, even thou I am not a fan off the swedish translation to it since its lost a lot off the meaning off the text in it.